Sanchez leads Pirates past Cubs

Tuesday, August 29, 2006 His three hits raised his league-leading batting average to .349. PITTSBURGH (AP) — Freddy Sanchez had three hits to raise his NL-leading batting average to .349, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 11-6 Monday night in a matchup of the teams with the poorest records in the National League. Chris Duffy had three hits, three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base, and Ronny Paulino had three hits and two RBIs for Pittsburgh, which got 15 hits in the first five innings, took a 9-1 lead and stopped a three-game losing streak. The Pirates finished with 19 hits. Ian Snell (12-8) won despite allowing five runs, five hits and three walks in 52/3 innings. Derrek Lee, who had been on the disabled list since July 24 because of an inflamed right wrist, had a two-run single for the Cubs, and Juan Pierre went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Guzman shelled Angel Guzman (0-4) allowed eight runs and 10 hits in three-plus innings. He lost to the Pirates 8-0 on May 2 in Chicago. The Cubs (54-87) went ahead when Pierre hit the third pitch of the game for his second home run, but Pittsburgh (51-81) took the lead for good on Jason Bay's two-run homer in the bottom half. Duffy, Jose Bautista and Sanchez hit RBI singles in the third. After Guzman walked Bay with the bases loaded and no outs in the fourth, Paulino hit a two-run single off Glendon Rusch. Bautista's RBI single made it 9-1 in the fifth. Chicago closed in the sixth on Lee's two-run single and Michael Barrett's two-run double, which chased Snell. Notes Pierre's home run was the third of his career leading off a game. ... Bay's 29th homer stopped an 0-for-12 slide. ... Duffy was 0-for-14 coming in. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.