Polanco, Pirates clip Cubs, 5-4

[April 24, 2015]  PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates' young outfield of Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco is regarded as one of the best in baseball. But Polanco was the last man standing Thursday with McCutchen and Marte out of the starting lineup.

Playing center field and batting third, Polanco came up in the seventh with a man on second and the Pirates locked in a tie game against the Chicago Cubs. Left-hander Phil Coke walked pinch hitter Corey Hart then put two quick strikes on the board to get ahead of Polanco before he fought back to work the count full.

"You don't take it personally but you're more focused and you say, 'I want to win this fight,'" Polanco said. "You always want to be ready every pitch because they walked the hitter before to try and make you out."

On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Polanco won the fight when he chopped a ground ball through the left side of the infield that sent third baseman Josh Harrison from second to home as the go-ahead run. Polanco finished 3-for-4 and drove in two runs to lead the Pirates in their 5-4 comeback victory.

"(I) just keep fighting and try to hit the ball the other way," Polanco said. "I can see the ball and just trust my approach and try to hit the ball always to the left side of the ballpark."

Polanco, one of baseball's top prospects before his debut last season, started hot, with an 11-game hitting streak, before struggling the rest of the way and batting .235 for the season. His big game Thursday made the difference for the Pirates and showed his continued growth as a major-leaguer.

"He's a cerebral kid," manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's aware of the sequences now -- how they're pitching him, how they're going after him. It was the battle at-bat we needed today."

Chicago struck first, going ahead 2-0 on a triple by third baseman Jonathan Herrera. Shortstop Starlin Castro and catcher Welington Castillo led off with singles, but Castro was thrown out at home as he broke on contact of second baseman Addison Russell's ground ball to first.

Herrera's fly ball to deep left-center field glanced off the glove of left fielder Sean Rodriguez, allowing the Cubs to take a 2-0 lead.

Rodriguez halved the Pirates' deficit in the home second with his first home run of the season. His homer to center field came on a 2-1 pitch from right-hander Kyle Hendricks.

The Cubs pushed their lead back up to two runs in the fourth after Castro singled and scored on Russell's double to right-center for a 3-1 lead.

Chicago added another run in the fifth as left fielder Chris Denorfia singled, first baseman Anthony Rizzo doubled and right fielder Jorge Soler walked to load the bases. Pittsburgh left-hander Jeff Locke walked center fielder Kris Bryant to force in a run, giving Chicago a 4-1 lead.

Pittsburgh tied the game with a three-run sixth inning that chased Hendricks from the mound. Harrison led off with a double and scored on Polanco's double two batters later, cutting Chicago's lead to 4-2.

Right-hander Edwin Jackson replaced Hendricks but failed to record an out against any of the three batters he faced. He was charged with an unearned run and allowed his inherited runner to score as the Pirates tied the game on shortstop Jordy Mercer's RBI single.

Hendricks allowed three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked none and struck out two.

"He's still not as sharp as he can be," Chicago manager Joe Maddon said. "I thought he fought through everything pretty well. It would've been really nice to get six (innings) out of him today."

Locke allowed four runs in five innings, giving up seven hits and three walks while striking out seven.

Right-hander Radhames Liz entered in the sixth and worked two scoreless frames to earn the victory. Liz (1-1) struck out two and gave up one hit, providing crucial help for a bullpen short two pitchers today.

"That was what we needed," Hurdle said. "That was what he needed. ... Very timely for him and for us."

Chicago's bullpen was also short but the Cubs relievers were unable to protect their three-run lead and right-hander Brian Schlitter allowed the go-ahead run to score. Schlitter (0-2) finished the sixth after Jackson couldn't get an out, but Schlitter gave up a hit and a run before he was pulled with two outs in the seventh.

Pittsburgh right-hander Arquimedes Caminero struck out a pair in a clean eighth before right-hander Mark Melancon earned his third save of the year with a perfect ninth.

NOTES: SS Jordy Mercer started for Pittsburgh after missing two games with a rib contusion suffered when he was hit by a pitch from Matt Garza on Sunday ... Pittsburgh CF Andrew McCutchen was out of the starting lineup Thursday with a scheduled day off.

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