The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs 7-1 last night at PNC Park. Daniel Vogelbach led the Bucs with two hits, two runs batted in and a run scored. Rookie Bligh Madris hit his first major league home run. Ke’Bryan Hayes added a triple.
Roansy Contreras earned victory with one run over five innings. The run he allowed was the first he allowed at PNC Park. Contreras began his home career with 19-2/3rd scoreless innings, the longest home streak to start any Pirates career since Hal Smith in 1933.
Three Pirate relievers kept the Cubs scoreless over the final four innings.
The Bucs and Cubs play again tonight at 7:05pm. WISR pre-game begins at 6:40pm.
31-year old veteran pitcher Jerad Eickhoff will make his season-debut for the Pirates tonight. He was a non-roster invitee to the Pirates spring training and has pitched well at Triple-A Indianapolis. He has pitched in the major leagues for the Mets and Phillies.