Game Recap: Swanson's go-ahead homer leads Cubs past Pirates |
Dustin Riese
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- 13 hours ago
CHICAGO - It may not always come easily, but a win is a win in professional baseball. Given how poorly the Chicago Cubs' (43-28) offense has played in recent weeks, they will take wins any way they can get them as they continue to battle through a lengthy stretch of games without an off day.
One day after falling to the Pittsburgh Pirates (29-43) 2-1 in extras, the Cubs found themselves once again locked in a pitcher's duel as Wrigley Field continues to be a nightmare for hitters. This time, it was the Cubs finding a way to get it done, as a Dansby Swanson homer was the difference in the Cubs' 2-1 win over the Pirates. What is becoming the norm every five days, Matthew Boyd was not only on the mound but also continued to make his case to land on the All-Star team this season. Nearly three months into the season, Boyd has proven to be one of the best free agent signings of the offseason, as he is sporting a 2.79 ERA. That included another strong start today that lowered his ERA even more than where it was, as Boyd gave the Cubs six strong innings, walking one and striking out three. Anytime you get a performance like that from your starter, you have to think your chances to win a game increase, but with Mike Burrows striking out eight across 5 1/3 strong innings, runs were once again at a premium for both clubs. The lone run of the game for the Pirates came just two batters into the game as Andrew McCutchen touched up Boyd for a solo shot. Boyd doesn't give up many home runs, so when he does, it almost comes as a shock to the entire team. Apart from that, the Pirates didn't have many scoring chances, as they had just four hits the rest of the way. In fact, Boyd went on to retire the next 14 hitters he faced and allowed just one base runner the rest of the way, which came on a walk. With Boyd doing his part, the Cubs' offense knew they needed to do their part, and, once again, it was a struggle offensively. Given how good the Cubs' offense has been this season, no one is going to panic. However, there are some concerns with the offense right now as they try to hit their way through the struggles. It took the Cubs three innings to tie things up as Nico Hoerner led off the bottom of the third with a single before swiping second base. Hoerner would advance to third on a Matt Shaw grounder before tying things up on an Ian Happ sacrifice fly as Happ continues to dominate the Pirates over his career. Kyle Tucker added a single later in the inning, as did Pete Crow-Armstrong in the fourth, as those three hits accounted for half of the Cubs' hits in the win. With things still tied 1-1 in the sixth, it was Swanson coming up clutch in a massive spot as he connected for his 13th homer of the season to put the Cubs on top for the first time, 2-1. Dansby Swanson - Chicago Cubs (13) With Boyd now out of the game, it was up to the Cubs' bullpen to keep the lead, as they have been dominant as of late. As good as they have been, Ryan Pressly had a shaky seventh as he allowed a leadoff single to McCutchen before allowing two more singles later in the inning. Pressly was bailed out by a double play to erase McCutchen to begin the inning and managed to work around the other two singles to keep the Pirates off the board. That was the last of the scoring opportunities for either side as Drew Pomeranz and Daniel Palencia allowed one base runner in each of the final two innings to secure another tight win, 2-1. Tucker and Hoener paced the Cubs' offense with four of the Cubs' six hits. Palencia also secured his sixth save since taking over the closer role and lowered his ERA to 1.73. The Cubs will go for the series win on Sunday when they send Colin Rea to the mound against Mitch Keller. The first pitch is set for 1:20 Central Time.
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