Cubs’ Fowler leaves game because of discomfort in hamstring

Taillon admitted he had a rough go in the opening inning when the Cubs quickly had two runners on and scored the game’s first run as he threw 33 pitches.

Szczur hit a two-run homer in the first inning on Francisco Liriano’s second pitch of the game.

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh).

The Chicago Cubs look to complete the sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday night on ESPN.

Besides the home run, Hendricks had the Pirates on their toes all night. In baseball that does not sound so unusual, but this was the first official bat for Contreras in the majors and he connected for a 415-foot home run at Wrigley Field. He only needed one pitch, a change up from Andrew Schugel, to instantly win the hearts and minds of the already very friendly crowd. This is an incredible feeling. The cheering didn’t let up until the 24-year-old Venezuelan catcher hopped out of the dugout and tipped his cap.

A fan even returned the ball to Contreras, which sat in his locker.

It was more than enough for Kyle Hendricks, who struck out a career-high 12 batters in six innings, allowing just a run on seven hits and zero walks. Hendricks is 0-1 with a 6.63 ERA and 20 strikeouts in his career against the Pirates.

“I never go into a game trying to do that”, he said of striking out a lot of hitters. “I think we could cover, but he’s been all of that”. “That was the answer”.

Boston left-hander David Price snapped a personal three-game losing streak by pitching eight sharp innings as the Red Sox downed the Mariners 2-1, while Jose Ramirez hit an RBI single with two out in the 10th inning to Cleveland to a 3-2 win and a three-game sweep over the Chicago White Sox.

“That’s movement, man”, Joe Maddon said.

Rizzo finished 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and a walk as the Cubs overcame a pair of deficits.

Taillon gets his first big-league start against someone other than the New York Mets, his opponent in each of his first two outings. The 26-year-old ran into trouble in the sixth inning Monday at Washington and allowed four runs (three earned) in 5 1/3 innings in a 4-1 loss.

Of course, Contreras is still a rookie, and the team’s No. 3 catcher. “Got a little out of whack in the sixth but got back to just throwing in the zone down”.

“That was amusing”, Contreras said.

Pirates: Marte went 3 for 5 and stolen a base in his first start since taking a one-hopper off his face Wednesday against the Mets. Hurdle said the knee is the biggest concern. The Chicago Cubs continue to score a truckload of runs, and they’ve won 10 of their last 11 games when scoring more than three runs. “It would not be good”, Maddon said. We’re going to keep fighting, we’re going to keep pushing and our confidence is not going to waver, that’s for sure, especially this group of guys. He is the son of Pitt basketball coach Kevin Stallings.

“We came out swinging the bats today”, Hendricks said.

After Sunday’s win, they are 8-1 against the Pirates and hold a 12.5-game lead in the NL Central. The catcher prospect also joins an impressive list of Cubs accomplishments in their debut games.