Pirates, David Bednar Rebound to Secure Series Win

The Pittsburgh Pirates took the game and the series against the Chicago Cubs, pulling off a 3-2 win with a bounceback performance from their bullpen.

Mitch Keller took the bump for the Pirates (22-26), cruising through six innings on 83 pitches… although the Cubs started to square up on him their third time through the order, queuing manager Derek Shelton to end Keller’s day there. Jameson Taillon, who Pittsburgh selected second overall in 2010, started for the Cubs.

Hometown kid Jack Suwinski, who grew up in Norwood Park on Chicago’s North Side, kicked off the scoring with a 367-foot home run into the wind in the top of the second.

Chicago notched the equalizer in the third, as outfield defense plagued the Pirates for the second day in a row.

Right fielder Mike Tauchman put the Cubs in business with a one-out triple that trickled away from Andrew McCutchen, making his first appearance in the outfield in nearly a year. Seiya Suzuki lifted a lazy fly ball to center field, but Suwinski’s throw home missed badly, allowing Tauchman to trot home.

Pirates’ Pitching Prevails

Pittsburgh loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth, chasing Taillon from the game as they did so. Nick Gonzales capitalized on the opportunity, depositing a 1-2 sinker into center field to put the Pirates back ahead 3-1.

Chicago put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the sixth, but Keller limited the damage to one run, inducing a sacrifice fly and two more weak fly balls to right.

Colin Holderman and Aroldis Chapman each contributed a clean inning in relief, then David Bednar rebounded to record the save.

The Pirates will be back in action at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday, when they’ll host the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park to kick off a three game slate.