CHICAGO -- On Thursday, it was the bullpen. On Friday, a lack of timely hitting. On Saturday, one critical defensive mistake and a dominant pitching performance by the Cubs sent the Pirates to their third straight loss.
Center fielder Starling Marte slipped and fell as he tried to settle under a fly ball in the first inning, and the Cubs capitalized by scoring two runs against right-hander Nick Kingham. That was all Chicago needed to help left-hander Jon Lester beat Pittsburgh, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
The Pirates have lost 16 of their last 21 games; Saturday's defeat clinched their seventh consecutive series loss.