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 The Chicago Cubs left-hander gave up a two-run home run to
Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte but little else in a
6-2 Cubs victory.
"It all starts with the pitcher," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.
"Wood was very good getting through seven other than that hiccup, a
two run homer."
Wood (2-1) permitted just five hits and received early offensive
support as the Cubs won their fourth straight and second in a row
over the Pirates.
"(Wood) was aggressive with his fastball, change up played," said
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. "Maybe he pitched more to both sides
of the plate than we've seen in the past. But we weren't able to get
in control of any aspect of the game tonight."
Chicago pounded out 12 hits and gave Wood all the runs he needed in
a three-run second.
Center fielder Dexter Fowler and shortstop Starlin Castro had three
hits apiece, and left fielder Junior Lake added two in his first
appearance since a Monday call-up from Triple-A Iowa.
The Cubs stole five bases but left 12 men on base.
Pirates left-hander Jeff Locke (2-1) allowed six runs (five earned)
on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out five.
"What we've seen in the first couple of games of this series is a
very aggressive offense ready to hit the fastball," Locke said.
"You've got to be able to get ahead of these guys and try to put
them away as soon as you can, you can't let them hang around."
Marte went 2-for-4 and hit his sixth homer of the season in the
fourth inning.
"(The pitch) was down and it went back middle and that's what he
wants," Wood said.
The Cubs got to Locke for three runs in the second inning.
With no outs and runners on first and third, rookie second baseman
Addison Russell doubled to the left field corner to drive in Castro.
Russell and Lake, who was perched on third, then came home on
Fowler's single.
In the third, Lake delivered a two-out RBI double to score Castro
for a 4-0 Cubs lead.
The Pirates halved the deficit with Marte's home run to left with
two out. The two-out shot drove in center fielder Andrew McCutchen,
who reached on an infield single.
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In the fourth, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant made it 5-2 with a
two-out hit that scored first baseman Anthony Rizzo from third.
That was it for Locke, who departed in favor of left-hander Antonio
Bastardo with runners on first and third. Castro greeted Bastardo
with a base hit to left, driving in right fielder Jorge Soler for a
6-2 lead.
The Cubs stole four bases in the fourth inning, including two double
steals. It was the first time they had four steals in an inning
since Aug. 23, 1997, in the first inning against the Montreal Expos.
"It's being prepared, it's being ready and it's a lot of want-to,"
Maddon said.
The three-game Wrigley Field series concludes Wednesday.
NOTE: Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said OF Greg Polanco felt better,
but remained out of the starting lineup for the second straight game
with a groin strain. ... Tuesday night's game was only the second
time this season that Pittsburgh faced a left-handed starter. Cubs
LHP Travis Wood pitched both games but had no-decision in an April
21 meeting. ... The Pirates send RHP Gerrit Cole (3-0, 2.19 ERA)
against Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-0, 5.74 ERA) in Wednesday's
series finale. ... The Cubs had a starting infield this week (1B
Anthony Rizzo, 2B Addison Russell, SS Starlin Castro and 3B Kris
Bryant) in which every member was age 25 or younger. It was only the
third time in team history they had an infield collectively that
young.
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