The Pittsburgh Pirates had a game on Saturday they would like to forget in Major League Baseball action. At Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Pirates lost 21-0 to the Chicago Cubs in a National League Central Division battle. Interestingly, it was their biggest blowout loss in the history of their franchise. Prior to Saturday, the biggest loss in Pirates history came on April 22, 2010 in a 20-0 Pirates loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
This was also the biggest shutout win in Cubs history. Their previous biggest shutout came on May 28, 1886 in a 20-0 Chicago win over the Washington Nationals. At the time the Cubs were known as the Chicago White Stockings. They became the Chicago Colts in 1890, and then the Chicago Orphans in 1898, before finally being the Cubs in 1903.
Saturday’s contest
In the Cubs win over the Pirates on Saturday, Chicago scored one run in the first inning, eight runs in the second inning, two runs in the fourth inning, five runs in the sixth inning, one run in the seventh inning, and four runs in the eighth inning. In all, the Cubs averaged more than two runs per inning, and had 23 hits.
All nine Cubs in the batting order scored at least one run. Five Cubs meanwhile scored three runs each. They were catcher Willson Contreras, left fielder Ian Happ, right fielder Seiya Suzuki, second baseman Jonathan Villar, and center fielder Jason Hayward. First baseman Alfonso Rivas hit the lone home run for the Cubs. It came in the second inning, and was a three-run shot. Rivas led the team with five runs batted in, while shortstop Nico Hoerner led the team with four hits.
From a pitching perspective, Kyle Hendricks only gave up two hits in seven innings of work for Chicago. From a Pirates perspective, Zach Thompson and Diego Castillo gave up four earned runs each, while Miguel Yagure gave up seven runs.
The Cubs and Pirates have identical records of seven wins and eight losses in the National League Central. Ironically, the Pirates beat the Cubs 4-2 on Friday. Even though they have the same record, the Pirates’ chances of winning the World Series are +50000, while the Cubs are at +10000 according to betonline.ag.
Related: Seiya Suzuki and Jose Ramirez Named MLB Players of the Week
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