Joc Pederson hit two home runs, Jake Arrieta beat Pittsburgh for the third time this season and the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pirates 4-3 Tuesday night.
Pederson hit a solo shot in the third inning, and his two-run blast in the fifth tied it at 3. It was the 16th multihomer game of Pederson's career, and he doubled his season homer total to four.
The leadoff-hitting left fielder also doubled and is hitting .369 in May. He had a .137 batting average in April after the longtime Los Angeles Dodger was signed as a free agent in the offseason.
Arrieta put the Cubs in a 3-0 hole after two innings but settled down to raise his record to 3-0 against Pittsburgh in 2021. He has a 15-6 lifetime record versus the Pirates.
Arrieta (5-4) went five innings and gave up three runs - two earned - on five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.
Four Cubs relievers combined for four scoreless innings, with Craig Kimbrel working the ninth for his 10th save. The bullpen has allowed only one unearned run over its last 29 2/3 innings.
Kimbrel gave up a leadoff double to Cole Tucker but retired the next three batters. He moved into a tie for 11th place on the MLB all-time saves list with Troy Percival with his 358th.
Chicago won for the seventh time in nine games and is 14-7 in May. Pittsburgh lost again in its first game back home following a 1-5 road trip.
Both of Pederson's longballs came off rookie Cody Ponce (0-1), who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day to make his first start of season and fourth of his career.
Ponce allowed four runs in five innings while taking the rotation spot of Trevor Cahill, who was placed on the injured list last weekend. The Cubs got nine hits off Ponce, who struck out two and walked one.
Trevor Williams (2-2, 5.97 ERA) starts against rookie Pirates RHP Wil Crowe (0-2, 4.91) on Wednesday night. Williams is 0-1 in two starts this season against the Pirates, who released him last December, and has allowed seven runs in 7 1/3 innings. Crowe will be looking for his first career win in his ninth start and 10th appearance.
