It was bombs away in Pittsburgh, Pa, as the Cubs bats finally came to life and avoided a sweep by downing the hometown Pirates by an 11-3 score.
Left-handed batters were supposed to be Pirates starter Jordan Lyles’ kryptonite, and he was facing only three of them in the Cubs lineup, but by the fifth innings Lyles was touched for a home run and a double off the center field wall by right-hander Kris Bryant and a pair of long balls by another right-handed batter, Willson Contreras.
The Pirates hung tough against Cubs starter Jose Quintana, getting a pair of runs in the second, keyed by Jung-ho Kang’s double and another in the third on Josh Bell’s deep sacrifice fly, and after four innings the Pirates trailed by only single run, 4-3.