Cody Bellinger's 4-hit game leads Cubs past Pirates as offense continues to struggle

The Pittsburgh Pirates have avoided some of the game’s biggest stars because of injuries, which sidelined the likes of Christian Yelich, Kris Bryant, Mike Trout and Dansby Swanson.

Cody Bellinger, however, returned in time to torture the Pirates.

After missing two weeks with a fractured rib cage, the Chicago Cubs designated hitter had his second game with at least three hits in a four-day span. Bellinger went 4 for 5 with two doubles and a home run as the Cubs rolled to a 7-2 win Friday night before 16,454 at PNC Park, as rain delayed the start of the game by 55 minutes.

It was the third consecutive loss for the Pirates and the third straight game an opponent had double-digit hits. The Cubs had 14 hits, as every starter got at least one, and Bellinger was one of three with multiple hits.

The Pirates got an early boost from the arrival of second baseman Nick Gonzales, a 2020 first-round pick who was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis because of his bat. Gonzales was hitting .358 with 14 doubles, four homers and 19 RBIs in 30 games at Indianapolis, and had a two-run single in the first inning.

But the Pirates didn’t score again, failing to provide run support for rookie right-hander Jared Jones (2-4), who allowed two earned runs on seven hits and two walks with four strikeouts. It marked only the second time in eight starts that Jones had fewer than seven punchouts.

“Really spotty but gave us a chance to win,” Jones said. “Obviously, didn’t have my best stuff, didn’t have my best putaway stuff today and that alone is pretty frustrating. … The strikeouts weren’t there. Got a lot of guys to two strikes and just couldn’t put them away.”

Jones threw strikes on all 11 pitches in the first inning, but Bellinger drilled one of them, a 100.5-mph fastball, 390 feet to right field for his seventh home run and a 1-0 Cubs lead. It was the eighth homer surrendered by Jones this season.

“He had good swings all night,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Bellinger. “The fastball wasn’t a bad pitch. Bellinger’s a good player.”

The Pirates didn’t trail long, taking advantage of Javier Assad’s command issues in a 30-pitch first inning. Andrew McCutchen reached on an error by third baseman Christopher Morel, and Oneil Cruz and Rowdy Tellez followed with one-out walks to load the bases.

Gonzales wasted no time making an impact, smacking a first-pitch sinker for a two-run single to left to drive in McCutchen and Cruz to give the Pirates a 2-1 edge.

The Cubs tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth. Nico Hoerner singled and scored on a double down the right-field line by Bellinger despite a perfect relay. Bryan Reynolds hit Cruz on the cutoff, and Cruz made a pinpoint throw to catcher Yasmani Grandal. But as Grandal tagged Hoerner’s helmet, the ball popped out of his mitt.

“Obviously, big play in the game,” Shelton said. “Swipe tag, the ball came out. They just continued to put the ball in play. They scored seven runs. I think they scored six of them with two outs. They just continued to do what they do: grind through at-bats, put the ball in play and find holes.”

Jones lost his chance for the win in the sixth after Michael Busch doubled then scored on a single to right by Miguel Amaya to give the Cubs a 3-2 lead. It was the fifth quality start of the season for Jones but the third one in which he ended up taking the loss.

“I thought he pitched good enough for us to win, and I think that’s all we ask out of all of our starters,” Shelton said. “He wasn’t as sharp as he’s been in some of his outings, but he’s been really sharp in some outings. I still thought he threw the ball really well.”

The Cubs blew the game wide open with a four-run seventh inning against Hunter Stratton. Mike Tauchman drew a full-count walk, advanced to third on Bellinger’s single to right and scored on another single to right by Christopher Morel for a 4-2 lead. Ian Happ followed with a double to drive in Bellinger, and Nick Madrigal added a two-run single for a 7-2 lead.

Cubs reliever Ben Brown (1-1) had six strikeouts in 3 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first career win.

The Pirates went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base, including Grandal on second after a leadoff double in the ninth. Shelton was frustrated that the offense came up empty again, as the Pirates scored two runs or fewer for the eighth time in 11 games.

“I think, to some respect, you get energy from offense,” Shelton said. “We got two runs early, and then we’ve got to collectively grind through it. I think we saw what the Cubs did. We’ve got to put the ball in play because even the inning off Stratton, they hit two or three ground balls that found holes. We’ve got to find a way to make that part of our way.”