Cubs stay hot in chilly June, sweep Pirates with 7-2 win
It was so cold at Wrigley Field on Thursday that a security guard by the press box wore gloves and a winter hat.
On June 15!
But the Cubs' bats were impervious to the bone-chilling conditions and remained red hot during a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field.
Ian Happ (3-for-5, 2 RBIs), Christopher Morel (3-for-3, 2 RBIs) and Nico Hoerner (2-for-4, walk, stolen base) spearheaded a 12-hit night as the Cubs completed a three-game sweep of the first-place Pirates. The Cubs (31-37) are still in fourth place in the NL Central but only 3.5 games behind Pittsburgh.
"It was a really good series," said Happ, who was 5-for-12 with 8 RBIs in the series. "Offense coming through all three days. Clutch hitting. Driving in enough runs to give our pitchers a breather - that was huge. To be able to finish with a sweep was nice."
Starter Marcus Stroman (8-4) earned a win in his sixth straight start, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits while walking two and striking out five in six innings.
"We have a little momentum going now," Stroman said. "Things have kind of turned in our favor. Everybody in this clubhouse knows a run like this is (possible). ... There's nobody in the league that we can't play with. It's just a matter of putting wins together."
The Cubs trailed 2-1 after four innings, but erupted for 6 runs in an entertaining fifth. The highlights were an RBI double by Cody Bellinger to right field; an RBI single by Christopher Morel that had a 103.4-mph exit velocity and bounced off the mitt of third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes; and a suicide squeeze bunt by Nick Madrigal that scored Bellinger to make it 5-2.
Happ also turned in a highlight-reel, diving catch of a Ji Hwan Bae line drive in the fourth.
"That's a huge momentum (boost)," Stroman said. "Anytime a big play like that (happens) that only makes me lock in even more."
Bellinger, who was activated off the injured list and batted sixth, played a flawless first base. His double truly impressed manager David Ross.
"He's done a nice job of coming through in those moments all year," Ross said. "Pushing the envelope there - running right in the (right fielder's) face is pretty spectacular. Love that brand of baseball."
Morel has a five-game hitting streak and is 8-for-17 with 2 HRs and 8 RBIs over that time. Hoerner is 8-for-24 with 2 walks in his last six.
The Cubs scored 28 runs in three games against the Pirates. They had only 32 in their previous 13 contests.
Mervis sent down:
With Cody Bellinger returning from a knee injury, the Cubs sent first baseman Matt Mervis back to Triple-A Iowa. Mervis, 25, got off to a decent start when he was called up in early May, but he was just 3-for-39 (.077) with 1 home run and 3 RBIs in his last 13 games.
"He's an intense young man. Better at first base than I thought," manager David Ross said. "Still has a lot to learn. Mentally things were hard on him at times.
"If I look back on some of the young guys we've had, it's rare that (they) don't struggle. ... Just didn't have the offensive performance he was (hoping for), and things sped up on him at times when you're dealing with that. But I'm happy for his future here and excited about him coming back and helping us win a lot of ballgames."