Patrick Wisdom hit a three-run home run to help pace the visiting Chicago Cubs on Sunday to an 8-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ian Happ and Esteban Quiroz each added an RBI single for the Cubs (67-86), who won three of four in the series. They also clinched the season series 10-9.
Chicago starter Adrian Sampson (3-5) allowed one run and four hits in six innings, with three strikeouts and no walks. Left-hander Brandon Hughes got the final out with the bases loaded in the ninth for his seventh save.
Bryan Reynolds hit a home run for the Pirates (56-97), who have lost nine of 10.
Pittsburgh starter Luis Ortiz (0-1), in his third major league start, gave up one run and one hit in 4 2/3 innings, with seven strikeouts and two walks.
In the top of the fifth, the Cubs’ Zach McKinstry drew a two-out walk. That put Ortiz at his hard pitch-count limit of 80, and he was replaced by left-hander Manny Banuelos.
Banuelos walked Quiroz before giving up an estimated 445-foot homer to Wisdom, his 25th, to center for a 3-0 Chicago lead and just the Cubs’ second hit.
With two outs in the sixth, Reynolds got the Pirates on the scoreboard with a home run to right-center, his 26th of the season that closed the deficit to 3-1.
In the seventh against the Pirates’ Duane Underwood Jr., Quiroz singled to left and Wisdom was hit by a pitch. Happ knocked in Quiroz with a single to center. Wisdom and Happ executed a double steal as Nico Hoerner struck out, then both scored when shortstop Oneil Cruz misplayed Nelson Velazquez’s grounder for a fielding error, making it 6-1.
In the eighth against Pittsburgh’s Miguel Yajure, Alfonso Rivas singled to left and, an out later, went to second on a wild pitch before McKinstry walked. Quiroz drove in Rivas with a single to right, and McKinstry scored on a wild pitch and throwing error by catcher Jason Delay, making it 8-1.
Pittsburgh picked up two runs in the ninth on sacrifice flies by Rodolfo Castro and Jack Suwinski.
–Field Level Media
