Chicago – Yu Darvish pitched six shutout innings, Jason Heyward hit a key two-run single and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-3 on Friday night.
Darvish (1-1) allowed two hits, struck out seven and walked one, bouncing back nicely after he struggled in his first start last weekend against Milwaukee. The Cubs are counting on the Japanese right-hander to help anchor their rotation after his strong finish last year.
Chicago also got a solo home run from Jason Kipnis in its fourth win in five games. It was the first homer of the season for the veteran second baseman, a suburban Chicago native who agreed to a minor league deal with the Cubs in February.
Pittsburgh’s lineup continued to struggled after it lost 3-0 to Milwaukee on Wednesday night. The Pirates began the day with a major league-low .171 team batting average.
Jarrod Dyson singled in Gregory Polanco in the eighth for Pittsburgh’s first run. The Pirates had runners on the corners with two out, but Kevin Newman lined to right to end the inning.
Chicago responded with two in the bottom half on Anthony Rizzo’s bases-loaded single, and closer Craig Kimbrel worked a shaky ninth in a non-save situation. Josh Bell and Colin Moran homered for Pittsburgh before Kimbrel retired three in a row to end the game.
Kipnis connected in the fourth, sending a drive to the empty bleachers in right. The Cubs added two more in the fifth, taking advantage of a combined four walks in the inning for Trevor Williams (0-2) and reliever Nik Turley.
With two out and the bases loaded, Heyward lined a 0-2 pitch from Turley into right to drive in Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber for a 4-0 lead.
Williams was charged with three runs, two earned, and four hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked three.
Source : Baseball – The Japan Times