A pair of home runs and a shutdown effort from the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen helped the Buccos beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 on Thursday night. A pair of youngsters led the effort with prospect Jared Jones taking the bump for Pittsburgh and Nick Gonzales launching a home run. This was Pittsburgh’s first win in their last three tries.
It was another struggle for Justin Steele against Pittsburgh on Thursday. The Chicago Cubs ace let up two home runs and all five of the Pirates runs, suffering his first loss of the season. The Cubs offense was always chasing the Pirates and came up just shy in several late-inning opportunities. The bullpen’s strong showing was not enough to salvage this one and the Cubs now fall to two games back of the NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers.
Steele Surrenders Pair of Long Balls
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After getting battered around by Pittsburgh in his last start, Justin Steele struggled again against the Pirates. Steele surrendered two home runs on Thursday night after allowing three on Saturday. This time around, the damage came early for Steele, as Edward Olivares belted a two-run bomb in the first inning to get the scoring started.
Young Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Nick Gonzales tagged Steele in the fourth for a solo home run. Both dingers came on fastballs from the Chicago Cubs ace, and Steele might have to adjust his pitch selection if he wants to get back on track in 2024. His league-leading reliance on his fastball, which led to his success in 2023, may be getting overused and accounted for by opposing hitters, specifically the Pittsburgh Pirates in his last two outings.
The fourth tally of the night for the Pirates came in the fifth. Michael A. Taylor led off with a double and reached third on a sacrifice bunt and came in to score on a Bryan Reynolds double. The Cubs almost made it out of the inning, but Christopher Morel was unable to snag a Reynolds grounder down the line.
The sixth inning started the same as the fifth for Steele. A double and a sacrifice started the frame, placing Edward Olivares on third with Yasmani Grandal at the plate. The Pittsburgh catcher popped a fly ball into right field and Seiya Suzuki got ahead of himself and tried to set up the throw to the plate before he had secured the ball. The ball scooted away, and the Pirates took a 5-3 lead. That led to Steele being taken out.
Pittsburgh Pirates Prospect Delivers For Six Innings
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Opposite Steele on the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates was Jared Jones. Jones has been in the shadows of Paul Skenes as a top pitching prospect for the Buccos, but Jones has had more of an impact on the major league team in 2024 and performed better against the Cubs than Skenes.
On Thursday night, Jones nearly replicated his last outing against the Chicago Cubs, going six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, striking out seven, and throwing 91 pitches. The 22-year-old fireballer found success with his fastball up and above the zone and was able to paint the black on the edges of the zone when he needed to. Aside from his fastball, Jones primarily utilized his slider to get swings and misses at the bottom and below the strike zone.
Jones got into trouble when he couldn’t locate his electric stuff. In the second inning, he let a fastball run too far over the inside of the plate and Ian Happ connected for a solo home run. In the bottom of the fourth, he let a slider stay in the strike zone too long and Nick Madrigal took it to the opposite field and Michael Busch hustled in to beat the throw from Olivares in right field.
The final run the Chicago Cubs were able to get on Jones was off the bat of Cody Bellinger, who laced a fastball down the right field line after a lengthy battle, scoring Mike Tauchman. Each run Chicago was able to drive in off Jones made it a one-run game, but they were never able to turn the tide and Jones left the game after the bottom of the sixth.
Strong Bullpen Performances at Wrigley
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Over the final three innings the relievers for both teams pitched great. For Pittsburgh, with Jones out of the game manager Derek Shelton turned to Aroldis Chapman, Colin Holderman, and closer David Bednar for one inning of work each.
Chapman worked a one-two-three seventh where he struck out two. Holderman got into some trouble when Grandal committed an error on a Bellinger dribbler, allowing Seiya Suzuki to get to third. Suzuki came in to score the fourth and final run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Christopher Morel. Holderman stranded Bellinger in scoring position and escaped the eighth with a one-run lead.
For Chicago, Hayden Wesneski relieved Steele in the sixth and stranded a runner on second. Wesneski went back on the mound and worked a scoreless seventh inning. Newly acquired Tyson Miller took over for Wesneski and in his second outing with the Cubs pitched a perfect two innings.
In the bottom of the ninth, beleaguered Pittsburgh closer Bednar came in for the tenuous save. Bednar has an elevated ERA and has already blown three saves on the season, but made quick work of the bottom of the Chicago Cubs order. The Pirates notched the victory in the first game of this four-game series.
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