Pirates, Cubs split doubleheader at PNC
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH
J.A. Happ has spent most of the last six weeks doing a pretty solid Jon Lester impersonation.
Pitted against the real thing on Tuesday night, Happ wasn’t quite crisp enough on the mound — and his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates not nearly crisp enough at the plate — to produce a doubleheader sweep of Lester and the Chicago Cubs.
Lester limited the Pirates to five hits in a 2-1 win that earned Chicago a needed split if it wants to have any shot at catching the Pirates for the top spot in the NL wild-card chase. Pittsburgh took the opener 5-4 when Pedro Florimon scored on Starling Marte’s sacrifice fly in the eighth, but Lester’s first complete game for Chicago drew the Cubs back within four games.
“(Lester’s) an ace for a reason,” Pittsburgh first baseman Michael Morse said. “Guys say they saw him well but he was able to keep it off the barrel.”
Lester (10-10) walked one and struck out nine while picking up his 12th career complete game. David Ross and Javier Baez had two hits each for the Cubs.
Happ (9-8) had his five-game winning streak end. Happ pitched in and out of trouble, allowing two runs on eight hits in 52/3 innings. Aramis Ramirez had two hits but Pittsburgh’s rejiggered lineup mustered little.
The Pirates’ best chance came in the seventh. Ramirez led off with a single and moved to third on single by Francisco Cervelli. Morse worked the count to 3-1 before hitting a sharp grounder to Chicago shortstop Addison Russell, who turned a double play. Lester then hit Sean Rodriguez to put the tying run on first. With the crowd chanting his name, Lester struck out pinch-hitter Jung Ho Kang with catcher David Ross pumping his fist in celebration.
Lester retired the final seven batters he faced, needing only six pitches to navigate the heart of Pittsburgh’s order in the ninth.