Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) – Jason Hammel pitched eight shutout innings
and Kris Bryant hit a two-run single to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 win
over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
Hammel (2-1) bounced back from a loss to Pittsburgh last week to give up just
four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
Bryant wasn’t the only rookie to contribute. Jorge Soler and Addison Russell
also chipped in to help the Cubs take the series opener for their third win in
a row.
Bryant and Soler had two hits apiece and Russell added one. Soler and Russell
both scored a run as Chicago ended Pittsburgh’s five-game winning streak,
which began with consecutive victories over the Cubs last week.
Vance Worley (2-2) had one of the four hits off Hammel but took the loss,
giving up all four Cubs runs in six innings.
“They’re talented,” Worley said of the Cubs. “It’s just about making pitches
and keeping them off balance.”
Dexter Fowler drew a two-out walk to spark a three-run Cubs rally in the third
inning. He went to third on Soler’s single and scored the first run on Anthony
Rizzo’s double.
Bryant followed with a two-run single that dropped softly in right-center
field to make it 3-0.
Russell hit a leadoff single in the fifth and eventually scored on Rizzo’s
base hit for a 4-0 lead.
“We’re playing with a lot of energy, having fun and really playing with a
purpose,” Rizzo said.
That was more than enough for Hammel, who gave up a single to Worley in the
third inning and a two-out hit to Neil Walker in the fourth before facing any
kind of trouble.
Francisco Cervelli hit a one-out single in the fifth inning and made it to
third, but was stranded there. Hammel retired the side in order in each of the
next two innings before giving up his fourth hit, a single by Chris Stewart in
the eighth. He threw 71 of his 107 pitches for strikes.
Pedro Strop threw a 1-2-3 ninth to finish the game for Chicago.
Game Notes
Worley and Hammel also faced each other last Wednesday, a 4-3 Chicago win …
The Cubs recalled outfielder Junior Lake from Iowa and optioned right-hander
Brian Schlitter to the Triple-A team.
