MLB Round up: Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Chicago Cubs 2-1 in three-game series
National League’s Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs both displayed an amazing battle in an exhilarating three game series. Pirates did a stunning job as they sealed a 2-1 victory after defeating the Cubs in this series. Pirates have had an astonishing
season so far as they got a satisfactory Win-Loss record during the season.
Let us take a concise summary of the series.
Game 1 – April 1: Pittsburgh Pirates 6 – Chicago Cubs 3
Pirates managed a 6-3 win in the first game, as Kevin Correia was incredible with his pitching. He tossed six innings with an ERA of 3.00 and struck-out three batters in the Pirates victory. Neil Walker said, “I knew I hit it good, but the adrenaline and
everything else. ... I didn't quite know if I got enough for it to go over, but fortunately it did.”
On the other side, Cubs’ batters posted just three runs right through the game. Ryan Dempster pitched well for the Cubs but that was not enough to steal a win for his team. He was able to strike-out seven batters during his 114 pitches and gave away four
walks, six hits, six runs, two home-runs and six earned runs with an ERA of 8.10.
Game 2 – April 2: Pittsburgh Pirates 3 – Chicago Cubs 5
In the second game, Cubs outclassed the Pirates by 5-3. Cubs’ starter, Carlos Zambrano threw the ball in right line as he pitched six innings and permitted only three runs with an ERA of 4.50. Zambrano struck-out four batters on his 99 pitches.
Cubs’ manager, Mike Quade said, “We finally put an inning together.”
Pirates’ batters struggled with their hitting but contributed just three runs until the end of the game. Evan Meek had a shaky day with the ball as he pitched under an inning with an ERA of 10.80 and permitted three hits, five runs, two earned runs and one
walk on his 29 pitches.
Game 3 – April 3: Pittsburgh Pirates 5 – Chicago Cubs 4
During last game of the series, Cubs lost 5-4. Pirates’ third baseman Pedro Alvarez shined as he hit three RBIs and went 3-for-5 with an average of .308. Speaking to reporters, Matt Garza said, “Even though the 12 singles are annoying, I just kept telling
myself to get to the next pitch and keep attacking.”
Ross Ohlendorf was little bit shaky in this game as he threw six innings with an ERA of 6.00 and permitted eight hits, four runs, four walks, four earned runs and one home-run on his 96 pitches. He struck-out three batters on his respective pitched innings.
Cubs’ batters added only four runs in the series decider. Starlin Castro, Darwin Barney, Marlon Byrd and Alfonso Soriano each singled to put in four runs for Cubs on the score-board. However, a group effort gave the Pirates a series win against the Cubs.
Although Cubs performed well in the spring training season but they seemed unsteady at the start of regular season. Conversely, Pirates improved their rankings a little bit after beating the Cubs convincingly. It will be a great challenge for Cubs to improve
their performance for the rest of the season.
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