 to protect a one-run lead in the ninth and the Pirates pounced.Elias Diaz walked with one out, Kang followed with a double to right field that Chicago's Willson Contreras couldn't track down. Diaz beat the throw to the plate from Chicago second baseman Addison Russell on Adam Frazier's fielders' choice. Kang followed Diaz home when Dickerson's fly ball to left field was deep enough to allow Kang to easily beat Kyle Schwarber's heave.The Pirates have won three straight and 12 of 17 to pull within one game of .500 (42-43). Richard Rodriguez (3-3) earned the win after pitching a scoreless ninth.Starling Marte collected three hits for the Pirates. Melky Cabrera went 3 for 4 and delivered a two-run home run off Chicago starter Yu Darvish but was also thrown out at home by Contreras to end the eighth while trying to score on a single by Colin Moran.Victor Caratini homered from both sides of the plate for the Cubs, including a go-ahead two-run shot in the seventh off Francisco Liriano to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead. Javy Baez added his 22nd home run for Chicago but the Cubs lost their fourth consecutive game.Chicago missed a chance to pull even with Milwaukee for first in the jam-packed NL Central, where all five clubs are separated by 4 1/2 games heading into July 4.No team has been able to take control of the division. Chicago looked like it was ready to in early June, but an 8-19 stretch brought the Cubs back to earth.General manager Theo Epstein has threatened changes if the Cubs don't get going, and Chicago called up outfield prospect Robel Garcia on Wednesday after he racked up 21 home runs in the minors following a five-year stint playing in Italy.Garcia ended up striking out in the eighth in his first big-league at bat, but by then Caratini had already given the Cubs the lead.Caratini's fourth home run of the season and second of the game put Chicago starter Yu Darvish in line to win his first game since April 27. Darvish endured a stretch of 10 straight no-decisions - the longest by any starting pitcher in 42 years - before a loss to Atlanta last week. He worked crisply for most of his 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and no walks while throwing 62 of his 86 pitches for strikes.Brandon Kintzler got the last out of the seventh and Pedro Strop survived an eventful eighth to set the stage for Kimbrel, who signed a three-year deal with the Cubs last month to shore up Chicago's bullpen.Yet Kimbrel was knocked around in mop-up duty in an 18-5 loss on Monday. He wasn't any sharper with considerably more on the line two days later.Pittsburgh starter Chris Archer left his previous start with an aching left hip but took his scheduled turn in the rotation. Archer gave up three runs on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.TRAINER'S ROOMPirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (right elbow strain) plans to play catch in the near future and hasn't ruled out a return to the mound this year. Taillon, who hasn't pitched since May 1, said recent imaging on the elbow suggested he is healing. ... C Francisco Cervelli (concussion) has been cleared to practice but has not been cleared to put on the catcher's gear and remains out indefinitely. RHP Keone Kela (right shoulder inflammation) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday and is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Saturday. ... RF Gregory Polanco (strained left shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.UP NEXTCubs: Jose Quintana (5-7, 4.12) will try to win consecutive starts for the first time since April in the series finale on Thursday. Quintana threw six shutout innings in a victory over Cincinnati last Saturday.Pirates: Jordan Lyles (5-4, 3.71) takes a three-game losing streak into Thursday. Lyles is 3-2 with a 3.59 ERA in 13 career appearances against Chicago.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Will Cubs figure out Maddon's message vs. Pirates?FLMHolding a team meeting is an annual rite of early summer for Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon. He held the 2019 version before the team's Tuesday road game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, though the early returns were less than encouraging.Now, after Pittsburgh won the first two games by a combined 23-6, the Cubs must win the next two games just to split with the Pirates."I was talking about some concepts that I think are important that we may have gotten away from that I want to get us back into and really rally around the group ... because that's who we are," Maddon told reporters of the meeting before Chicago's 5-1 loss."We've been a tight-knit group that has thrived on our method. So I wanted to make sure that's reinforced, that that's at the forefront of their mind as we continue to move forward." The Cubs have not won a road series since May 17-19, when they took two of three at Washington.The Pirates, meanwhile, have been enjoying effective offense. On Monday, Josh Bell hit three homers. On Tuesday, Adam Frazier was 4-for-4 with a three-run homer and a double after he had four doubles Monday. He has hits in seven straight at-bats."Coming into camp, we knew that we could be a force (on offense), and now we're showing it," Bell told The Athletic.Chicago right-hander Yu Darvish (2-4, 4.98 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday against Pittsburgh righty Chris Archer (3-6, 5.50 ERA) as the Pirates avoid having to find another spot starter or adjust the rotation.Pittsburgh has had at least one starter, and as many as three, on the injured list most of the season, and after exiting last Thursday's game at Milwaukee after four innings due to hip discomfort, Archer said his hip "doesn't feel great." But he told MLB.com on Tuesday that he is OK to pitch Wednesday.Archer is 2-4 with a 6.17 ERA in eight starts since he returned from IL after recovering from right thumb irritation. But Pittsburgh has won each of his past three starts and five of his past six starts.Long balls have plagued him, however, as Archer has given up at least one homer in 10 of his past 11 starts. Against Chicago, Archer is 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA in four career starts.For Darvish, the good news is that his last time out, on June 26 against the Atlanta Braves, he finally snapped his franchise record of 10 straight no-decisions. The bad news is that he did it by taking the loss in a 5-3 game.He struck out eight but allowed five runs on five hits and two walks in five innings. Four of the runs came on two Braves homers.Maddon put equal blame on an ineffective offense, however."I just can't lay it on him," Maddon said of Darvish. "We need to do better. We're getting guys out there (on base). Like we've been talking about: We've got to score some runs. You've got to win a game 6-5 once in a while, too, and then the onus goes away. So, we've got to get better at that." Those no-decisions weren't all due to short outings. Darvish has pitched at least six innings in six of his past eight starts.Against Pittsburgh, Darvish is 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA in three career starts.--Field Level Media
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