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Benches Clear in Pirate 2-1 Win Over Cubs

Joe Musgrove pitched seven strong innings and his hard slide led to both teams emptying their benches in another tense moment in the series between NL Central rivals, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs 2-1 on Wednesday night.
 
Musgrove (2-0) helped end the Pirates' four-game losing streak by overcoming a shaky first inning to allow one run on seven hits and four walks. He also had five strikeouts, five days after pitching seven scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals to win his Pirates' debut.
 
Musgrove slid hard into second baseman Javier Baez to break up a potential double play in the third inning. Baez was knocked off balance but did not hit the ground.
 
No punches were thrown as both teams milled around the infield and there were no ejections.
 
Umpire crew chief Gerry Davis instituted a video replay review to see if Musgrove interfered with Baez. However, replay officials at Major League Baseball's central office in New York informed Davis that it was not a reviewable play.
 
The Pirates were angered Monday when Anthony Rizzo's slide upended catcher Elias Diaz at home plate, successfully breaking up a potential double play in the eighth inning of Chicago's 7-0 win.
 
Musgrove began the season on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder. He was acquired with three other players from the Houston Astros in an offseason trade for Gerrit Cole.
 
Kyle Hendricks (4-4) surrendered two runs and seven hits in five innings while striking out one and walking one. The Cubs' three-game winning streak was snapped.
 
Josh Harrison hit the sixth leadoff home run of his career in the bottom of the first inning and Gregory Polanco put the Pirates ahead 2-1 in the second with a sacrifice fly that scored Corey Dickerson, who led off with a triple. Polanco went 0 for 3 and is hitless in his last 21 at-bats.
 
Albert Almora Jr. led off the game with a double and scored on Baez's single as the Cubs took a quick 1-0 lead. However, Musgrove struck out Kyle Schwarber and Addison Russell to escape a bases-loaded jam and Chicago wound up stranding 11 runners.
 
Felipe Vazquez pitched a scoreless ninth, getting Kris Bryant to hit a game-ending groundout with two men on, for his 10th save in 13 opportunities. The left-hander blew each of his three previous chances.
 
Pittsburgh's Colin Moran and Chicago's Jason Heyward had three hits apiece.
 
LHP Jose Quintana (5-4, 4.78 ERA) will start against Mets RHP Seth Lugo (1-1, 2.48) in the opener of a four-game series tonight in New York.

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