Rizzo sparks Cubs to win over Pirates

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Anthony Rizzo shook off the boos and sparked a late rally with his ninth home run of the season as the Chicago Cubs held off the reeling Pittsburgh Pirates 8-6 on Tuesday night.

A day after his aggressive slide at home plate that took out Pittsburgh catcher Elias Diaz drew a rebuke from Major League Baseball, Rizzo doubled in the first inning and sent a solo shot off Edgar Santana (2-1) just over the railing of the Clemente Wall in right field to knot the game at 4.

The Cubs then piled on against Pittsburgh’s sagging bullpen to hand the Pirates their ninth loss in 11 games. Chicago scored five times against Pittsburgh relievers, including Ian Happ’s go-ahead double two batters after Rizzo tied it and Kyle Schwarber’s two-run homer off the right-field foul pole in the eighth.

Jon Lester (5-2) lacked his usual crispness, allowing four runs in six innings, but picked up the second multihit game of his 13-year career by going 2 for 3, including an RBI single in the sixth that drew the Cubs within a run. Jason Heyward went 3 for 5 with an RBI for Chicago.

Brandon Morrow gave up a two-run single to Starling Marte in the ninth but got two outs for his 12th save.

Marte finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs, Austin Meadows hit his fourth home run since being called up on May 18 and Diaz exacted a measure of revenge by taking Lester deep in the third, but Pittsburgh’s bullpen couldn’t keep the Cubs in check after rookie Nick Kingham worked 52/3 effective innings while making a spot start for injured Ivan Nova.

The Cubs spotted the Pirates leads of 3-0 and 4-2 but kept coming.

Rizzo stressed he didn’t attempt to injure Diaz and placed part of the blame on a rule that lacks clarity.

Rizzo shrugged when asked if he was worried about retaliation, and while the Pirates plunked catcher Willson Contreras twice, they didn’t really take aim at Rizzo until reliever Michael Feliz went tight inside three times in the eighth.

By then, the game was already over. Though Rizzo was greeted by a cascade of boos every time he stepped in the box, it hardly mattered.

Santana hadn’t given up a run in 14 appearances since April 25 but came undone against the heart of Chicago’s lineup. Rizzo’s home run was caught by a fan wearing Cubs gear in the first row of seats above the 21-foot high Clemente Wall. Umpires took a look but the call was upheld after a 93-second review and Santana fell apart.

Contreras singled and scored on Happ’s double to put the Cubs in front. Heyward added his third hit of the night two batters later to push Chicago’s lead to two.

Pittsburgh closer Felipe Vazquez (left forearm) pitched a scoreless ninth in his first appearance since complaining of left forearm tightness while blowing a save against St. Louis on Sunday.

UP NEXT

Kyle Hendricks (4-3, 3.16 ERA) makes his 12th career start against the Pirates in today’s series finale. Joe Musgrove (1-0, 0.00) makes his second start for Pittsburgh since coming off the disabled list last week.