Phillip Evans homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates put up a seven-run second inning Saturday to break a six-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs.
Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run double, Kevin Stallings and Colin Moran each hit a two-run single, and Adam Frazier added an RBI double for Pittsburgh, which had not won since topping the Cubs on Opening Day.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller (1-1) pitched five innings, giving up one run and five hits, with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Kris Bryant hit an RBI double and Joc Pederson an RBI single for the Cubs, who have lost three of four.
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Chicago Starter Zach Davies (1-1) allowed seven runs on five hits in a career-low 1 2/3 innings, with three walks and two strikeouts.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first. Ian Happ drew a leadoff walk and, two outs later, scored on Bryant’s double off the wall in the gap in left-center.
Pittsburgh sent 12 players to the plate in the bottom of the second.
Moran walked to lead off and went to third on Erik Gonzalez’s double off Happ’s glove at the wall in center. Gregory Polanco walked to load the bases.
Stallings’ single to left brought Moran and Gonzalez home to put the Pirates ahead 2-1 and sent Polanco to third. After Anthony Alford struck out, Keller reached on a fielder’s choice bunt.
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Frazier followed with a double to right to drive in Polanco and make it 3-1, and Evans walked to load the bases for Reynolds, whose ground-rule double to left scored Keller and Frazier to up it to 5-1.
Moran’s base hit to right drove in Evans and Reynolds to close the scoring that inning and make it 7-1, chasing Davies.
Against reliever Dillon Maples in the sixth, Evans hit his third homer, a one-out shot to the bullpens in center, to increase the Pirates’ lead to 8-1.
In the eighth with Pittsburgh’s Clay Holmes pitching, Willson Contreras reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on Pederson’s bloop down the line in left.
–Field Level Media