Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Chi. Cubs 3, Pittsburgh 2
When: 12:35 PM ET, Thursday, April 3, 2014
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 57°
Umpires: Home - James Hoye, 1B - John Tumpane, 2B - John Hirschbeck, 3B - Bob Davidson
Attendance: 11418


Cubs 3, Pirates 2: Jason Hammel pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and Mike Olt belted his first major-league homer as visiting Chicago salvaged the finale of the three-game series.

Emilio Bonifacio contributed two hits and scored twice to finish the series 11-of-16 with four stolen bases while Anthony Rizzo knocked in a run for the Cubs. Hammel (1-0) allowed one run on two hits and struck out five in his Chicago debut while Pedro Strop worked around a leadoff single in the ninth for his first save.

Pirates starter Wandy Rodriguez (0-1) allowed three runs, five hits and struck out five over six innings while delivering a single in his only at-bat. Tony Sanchez, who had the winning hit in Pittsburgh’s 16-inning triumph over the Cubs the night before, drove in a pair of runs.

Bonifacio singled to lead off the first inning, stole second with two outs and scored on Rizzo’s opposite-field single to left-center. Olt lifted his homer into the first row of the right-field seats on a 3-2 pitch in the second and Bonifacio scored on Justin Ruggiano’s double-play grounder in the third for a 3-0 lead.

Hammel retired 13 in a row before leaving after a two-out walk in the seventh and Sanchez singled home two runs off reliever Justin Grimm later in the inning to bring Pittsburgh within 3-2. Brian Schlitter came on for the Cubs to get Pedro Alvarez on a grounder with two on and two out in the eighth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Chicago SS Starlin Castro recorded his first hit of the season after going 0-of-9 in the first two contests. … Cubs manager Rick Renteria earned his first career victory. … The Cubs, who avoided their first 0-3 start since 1997, open at home against Philadelphia while the Pirates host St. Louis to start a three-game series on Friday.

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Chi. Cubs   Pittsburgh
Jason Hammel Player Wandy Rodriguez
Win W/L Loss
6.2 IP 6.0
5 Strikeouts 5
2 Hits 5
1.35 ERA 4.50
Hitting
Chi. Cubs   Pittsburgh
Emilio Bonifacio Player Wandy Rodriguez
2 Hits 1
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
3 TB 1
.500 Avg 1.000
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Chi. Cubs 7 1 11 .219 7 7 2 1 1 1
Pittsburgh 6 0 7 .188 11 7 2 2 0 0