The Pittsburgh Pirates completed a three-game series sweep of the Chicago Cubs with a 9-5 victory last night at PNC Park. The Bucs had 16 hits off Cubs pitching. Melky Cabrera, Jose Osuna and Pablo Reyes had three hits each. Erik Gonazalez had a hit for his 10th straight game.
Joe Musgrove won his 11th game of the year. He allowed two earned runs on three hits over six innings. Musgrove walked two and struck out eight.
The Pittsburgh Pirates open their final series of the season tonight when they host the Cincinnati Reds. Game time tonight is 7:05pm. Steven Brault will start for the Pirates.
The Pirates and Reds play Saturday at 7:05pm. It is Steve Blass Night at PNC Park. The Pirates will honor Steve’s 60 year history with the club. Blass is retiring from the broadcast booth after Sunday’s game. Hear coverage on WISR beginning at 6:40pm.
Sunday’s final game begins at 3:05pm. The Neil Huntingdon Show will air on WISR beginning at 2:05pm.
The Pirates enter their final weekend of the season 68-91 overall. The Reds are 73-86.
Last night’s loss was the Cubs ninth in a row. They finish the season in St. Louis this weekend. The Cardinals will try to hold of the Milwaukee Brewers, who won their seventh game in a row last night, and are just one game back in the National League Central. It is the only division yet to be decided entering the final weekend. The Brewers are in Colorado this weekend.
In the American League, Cleveland lost to the Chicago White Sox 8-0 last night. The Indians are now two games out of the final Wild Card with three games remaining. They are trying to catch the Tampa Bay Rays. Oakland has the top A.L. Wild Card spot.
Cincinnati’s Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman ended his 46-year career as the Reds “voice” last night. He called the Reds 5-3 loss to the Brewers. The 77-year old Brennaman will skip the Reds series this weekend in Pittsburgh.
The Minnesota Twins became the first team in major league baseball history to hit 300 home runs in a season. The New York Yankees were idle last night, and currently have 299 home runs this season.