Pittsburgh Pirates defeat Chicago Cubs 7-4 – MLB Update
Mike McKenry put in decent effort as he hit his first Major League home-run to beat the Chicago Cubs 7-4 at PNC Park on Friday, June 8.
The first game of the series was dominated by exciting hits and wonderful pitching keeping the packed ground buoyed.
Even though it was the Cubs which got early lead, the Pirates rallied from behind to reverse the tide and win the game.
However, the player whose performance was arguably the single most brilliant show on Friday was McKenry. He did not boast about his exploit, giving a clear indication of his fierce ambition, but maintaining humility.
Once inquired if he felt a hero, McKenry said, "I don't know about being the hero. There were eight other innings where guys just battled their brains out."
Aramis Ramirez got an RBI single in the very first inning to give Chicago an early 1-0 lead in the face of rapidly increasing pace of James McDonald’s fastballs. The Cubs’ pitcher, Rodrigo Lopez pitched two quality innings to keep the lead intact,
Nonetheless, Neil Walker hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 2-1 for the Pirates. The game was in the Pirates’ favour till the sixth inning when Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run RBI to reverse the lead in the Cubs favour with a 3-2 score.
Andrew McCutchen levelled the score in the sixth while Darwin Barney came back hard with a single to left to take the score 4-3 for the Cubs. While the game was completely in the favour of Chicago, the Pirates overhauled their strategy in the eighth.
Josh Harrison’s single levelled the score once Sean Marshall came to pitch as the reliever. Michael McKenry offered what was indeed the best moment of the game with his marvellous hit.
McKenry hit a three-run homer soon after Harrison’s single to take the Pirates’ lead to 7-4, effectively shattering the hopes of Chicago to make a come-back.
"I've learned from experience that you don't put expectations on people," Pirates’ manager Clint Hurdle said. "You draw up a plan and follow that plan. I don't what's going to happen from here on in. I'm not an expert. My job is just to get ready to play.”
The avid crowd kept enjoying the game. "Anytime you have sellout crowds, it's usually an electric atmosphere," Hurdle said. "And the atmosphere has truly been electric in this ballpark. It's been great to see and be a part of it."
With a 7-4 lead entering in the ninth, Joel Hanrahan came with possibly best inning to steal the show, giving a wonderful 7-4 victory to the Pirates with a shut-out inning.
Tags: