Left-hander Jordan Wicks made a splash in his major league debut Saturday, giving up just one run in five innings and striking out nine in the visiting Chicago Cubs’ 10-6 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Wicks, 23, a 2021 first-round draft pick, gave up two hits and walked one to earn his first win.
Seiya Suzuki hit an RBI triple and two-run double, Ian Happ laced a two-run double, and Cody Bellinger and Jeimer Candelario each had an RBI single for the Cubs, who have won six of their past eight.
Adbert Alzolay got the final out for his 21st save.
Ke’Bryan Hayes homered and added an RBI single, Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run double, and Alika Williams had an RBI single for the Pirates, who have lost three of four.
Pittsburgh’s Colin Selby, starting as an opener, pitched two scoreless, hitless innings, with three strikeouts.
Osvaldo Bido (2-5) got rocked for eight runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings, with one strikeout and five walks.
Hayes led off the first with his 10th homer. Reynolds followed with a single, and Andrew McCutchen walked.
Then Wicks clamped things down. He struck out the side to end the first, the start of a stretch of retiring the final 15 he faced.
In the third, Miguel Amaya walked with one out and went to second on Nick Madrigal’s single. Michael Tauchman walked. Dansby Swanson and Happ walked to force in runs, and Bellinger’s groundout brought in another for a 3-1 Chicago lead.
The Cubs broke it open in the fifth.
Tauchman singled with one out and Swanson followed with a walk. Happ’s double drove in both to make it 5-1. Bellinger singled to bring Happ home. Suzuki’s triple drove in Bellinger. That chased Bido for Ryan Borucki, who gave up an RBI single to Candelario for an 8-1 Chicago lead.
The Pirates responded with their own five-run inning in the seventh.
Connor Joe singled. An out later, Joshua Palacios singled. Joe scored on Liover Peguero’s sacrifice fly. Jack Suwinski walked. Palacios scored on Williams’ single to make it 8-3. Hayes drove in Suwinski with a single. Reynolds drove in two more with a double to close it to 8-6.
Suzuki’s two-run double in the ninth provided breathing room.
–Field Level Media
