The Chicago Cubs were quite solid against the Pittsburgh Pirates for the first six innings. They got to an early lead and it seemed like they were headed for their first series win of the year. Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn’t sustain a four-run lead and the Pirates stole another from Wrigley and won 5-4 on the road.
It was a pleasant game for the Cubs through the first innings. Travis Wood did a stellar job on the mound – striking out nine and only allowing one earned run through six – and the offense really backed him up. Emilio Bonifacio scored on a throwing error by Gaby Sanchez in the third and then the Chicago added three more runs during the fourth.
An RBI single from Starlin Castro scored Anthony Rizzo and then Nate Schierholtz scored on a wild pitch. Castro later scored on an RBI single from Welington Castillo to put the Cubs up 4-0 after six. But just like yesterday, the long-ball proved to be an issue the Pirates took full advantage of.
Travis Snider sent a two-run bomb off reliever Brian Schlitter and Pedro Alvarez added a three-run shot off James Russell during the seventh inning. That put the Pirates up by one run and their bullpen was rock-solid to hold on the lead until the end of the game.
It’s clearly not the result the Cubs wanted and it shows that there’s still work to do especially with the bullpen. Travis Wood was solid and the hitters produced but like it has been the case all season long, it wasn’t enough. Once everything was said and done, the Cubs dropped their sixth game of the year in another contest they could’ve easily won.