The Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t offer much offense against Chicago Cubs starter Jake Arrieta last night in a 5-0 loss at PNC Park. The Bucs managed only two hits off Arrieta over seven innings, and finished the night with four hits total. Starling Marte had two of the four hits, including a double. J.A. Happ made his debut for the Pirates, allowing four earned runs on eight hits over 4-1/3rd innings. He walked two and struck out six. The victory was Chicago’s sixth in a row. They now lead the San Francisco Giants by a half game in the Wild Card standings. The Pirates are three games in front of the Cubs.
The Pirates didn’t lose any ground to St. Louis, as the Cards lost 3-2 to the Cincinnati Reds last night. The Cardinals lead the Pirates by 5-1/2 games. The Cubs are 8-1/2 back. The Bucs and Cubs finish their series tonight at 7:05pm. Pre-game on WISR 680am is 6:40pm. Jeff Locke will start for the Pirates. Dan Haren will make his debut for the Cubs tonight.
The Pirates have an off day Thursday, then host the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games over the weekend, before heading to St. Louis for a three-game series beginning next Tuesday.
Pirate reliever Rob Scahill has been cleared to make a couple of rehab appearances in the near future. Scahill went on the disabled list with forearm tightness in late June.
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