In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
The downward spiral continues for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they were defeated by the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday 8-6.
The loss marked the ninth defeat in the past 11 games for the Pirates as they stay six games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.
The Pirates had leads of 3-0 and 4-2 behind homers from Elias Diaz and Austin Meadows.
Even though Nick Kingham pitched good enough to win, allowing three runs in 5.2 innings, it was once again the bullpen that faltered, coughing up the lead.
Edgar Santana, who came into the game without allowing a run in 13 consecutive appearances, coughed up the lead by allowing three runs in the seventh.
Anthony Rizzo made an impact with his bat in this one instead of his slide as he tied the game at four with a solo shot. Ian Happ gave the Cubs the lead for good with an RBI double and he came around to score on a single by Jason Heyward.
If that wasn’t enough, Michael Feliz continued his struggles, allowing a two-run homer to Kyle Schwarber in the eighth to make it 8-4.
The Bucs did mount a rally in the ninth when Starling Marte drove in a pair with a single to make it 8-6. Marte finished 3 for 5 with three RBI.
Despite having the tying runs in scoring position with one out, Josh Bell followed with a terrible at bat and struck out and pinch hitter Corey Dickerson flew out to end the game.
If there was any good news for the Pirates, it came in the form of Felipe Vazquez, who looked healthy in throwing a scoreless ninth inning.
UP NEXT
The Pirates will try to salvage something when they meet the Cubs tonight in the series finale.
Kyle Hendricks (4-3, 3.16 ERA) gets the ball for the Cubs and will be opposed by Joe Musgrove (1-0, 0.00) who makes his second career start for the Bucs after a tremendous debut.
#BUCSin280
#Pirates lose to the #Cubs 8-6. Kingham was okay, giving up 3 over 5.2. The bullpen imploded…again. Rizzo was 2-3 with a home run, double, and 2 walks. He gets the last laugh. Meadows remains a young god. He homered again. But yeah, the team is really bad right now. #BUCSin280
— Pirates Breakdown (@piratebreakdown) May 30, 2018
Daily Links
- Braves rally to win yet again
- Top 20 players who could move by the deadline
- Best draft picks ever for all 30 MLB teams
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
