CHICAGO — Any hangover the Chicago Cubs may have felt after dropping a doubleheader Wednesday — their first back-to-back losses this season — had vanished by mid-afternoon today.
Addison Russell, Kris Bryant and David Ross smashed multi-run home runs off Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano. The Cubs scored three runs in the fourth and five in the fifth to jump way ahead before cruising to a 9-4 win in a series opener at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs now are 26-8, the best start to a season since the 1998 New York Yankees held the same record. The Pirates (18-16) are 0-4 against the Cubs this season and eight games back of the division lead.