Fly the W: Cubs sweep first-place Pirates
David Banks - USA Today Sports

Fly the W: Cubs sweep first-place Pirates
by - Senior Writer - Fri Jun 16 07:51:53 GMT-04:00 2023

CHICAGO - They did it! The Chicago Cubs (31-37) actually did it as they completed a three-game sweep against the first-place Pittsburgh Pirates (34-33) 7-2. Led by strong pitching throughout the series and an offensive attack that saw them score 28 runs across the three games, which was more than they had scored in June, the Cubs earned their first sweep since Oakland and pulled within 3.5 games of first.

Just when you thought this team was dead, they pulled us back in as they have gone 5-1 over their last six games to get fans excited again with a big series against the Baltimore Orioles looming. Regarding the Cubs and their quest for a sweep, what better way than having your ACE and the National League ERA leader Marcus Stroman take the ball?

In what has become the norm for Stroman this season, the right-hander continued to churn out quality performances as he picked up his MLB-leading 13 quality start allowing two runs in six innings. Stroman also picked up his sixth consecutive win to improve to 8-4 with a 2.45 ERA.

“There’s nobody in the league we can’t play with,” said Stroman after the game. “It’s just a matter of putting wins together.”

Initially set to face Rich Hill, Derek Shelton elected to go with hard-throwing right-hander Johan Oviedo as he had the Cubs guessing early. Oviedo was impressive through four innings, holding the Cubs to one run and striking out eight. Then came the fifth inning, where his high pitch count forced him out of the game after 4 1/3. That fifth inning was also the inning that changed the game as the Cubs scored five times to seize control and then cruised for another easy win.

Despite earning the sweep, it didn't come as easy as it looked, as the Cubs had to play from behind in all three games. Thursday was the same as the Pirates built another early lead against the Cubs with hopes of it holding up. Unlike the Cubs, who wasted a pair of singles in the second, it took three innings for the Pirates bats to get going, but once they did, the hits kept coming.

Ji Hwan Bae led the third inning off with a single, followed by two more singles from Jason Delay and Tucupita Marcano. The one from Marcano brought home the game's first run as the Pirates grabbed a 1-0 lead. Following a one-out walk to Andrew McCutchen to load the bases, Carlos Santana came through with an RBI groundout to double the lead, but that was it for the Pirates offense in the game.

The Cubs managed to get one of those runs back in the bottom of the third on an Ian Happ single as he capped off an impressive series.

Happ had arguably his best series of the season as he hit near .500 while driving in eight across the three games. Chicago had a chance to pull even in the fourth when Christopher Morel connected for a one-out triple, but per usual, the clutch hit didn't come as the Cubs still trailed 2-1.

If you want to talk about clutch hits, point to the bottom of the fifth as the inning to give you clutch hits. Like in the previous two games, this was the inning where the Cubs asserted their will, and surprisingly, they did it without hitting a single homer which is impressive in itself. Nico Hoerner started that inning with a leadoff single before racing home on the Happ double to make things 2-2.

That double began a long stretch of hits as Dansby Swanson followed that with a single, and Cody Bellinger returned to Chicago and used an RBI double to put the Cubs in front for good 3-2.

Say what you will about the players on this team. Bellinger is one of the more important players on this Cubs team, as his absence saw this offense go into a huge funk.

The Cubs continued their great work later in the inning, with Christopher Morel picking up an infield hit to make things 4-2 while a perfect bunt from Nick Madrigal extended the lead to 5-2. Chicago capped off their five-run frame with an error as they got out of the fifth, leading 6-2 and putting the ball back in Stroman's hand, who finished off the sixth before turning things over to the pen.

One inning after busting out at the plate, Happ set his team up again, using a leadoff triple to put himself in scoring position. Two batters later, it was Morel coming through again as his sacrifice fly capped off the scoring with the Cubs leading 7-2. The rest of the game was about finishing things off and getting to Friday, as Anthony Kay, Julian Merryweather, and Michael Rucker all worked scoreless frames to finish things off.

For Kay, he worked around a leadoff double while Merryweather and Rucker had a lot less trouble on the mound. Merryweather is also a guy to keep tabs on over the next few weeks, as he has posted an ERA below 1.3 over his last 15 appearances and is starting to become the best arm in the pen.

The win moves the Cubs back into the positive regarding run differential, as they are the only team with a positive run differential in the division.

“It's never not 'go time' in the Major Leagues for me,” Ross said after the win. “I think the players would probably reiterate that.”

Morel and Happ were on a mission at the plate, leading the team with three hits and two RBIs. Hoerner added two more hits as Seiya Suzuki and Tucker Barnhardt were the long players without a hit. On a side note, Matt Mervis was optioned back to AAA Iowa with the return of Bellinger and is hoping increased playing time can get him back on track.

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