Bullpen Meltdown Spoils Bido’s First Start; Pirates Fall to Cubs 10-6

Recap

Osvaldo Bido made his major league debut and pitched well, but a bullpen collapse resulted in the Pittsburgh Pirates (34-32) falling 10-6 to the Chicago Cubs (30-37) on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.

In his first career start, Bido held the Cubs to just one run across four innings while punching out six. He allowed four hits and walked three batters.

Roansy Contreras’ struggles this season continued as he was tagged with five earned runs in 1.1 innings of relief, opening the door for the Cubs’ come-from behind victory.

Andrew McCutchen led off the game with a home run and Carlos Santana, who drove in four runs in the game, hit a two-run home run later in the inning. Austin Hedges connected on his first home run of the year with a solo shot to left field in the fourth for the Pirates’ third homer of the game.

Key Moment

With the Pirates leading 5-1 in the sixth inning, the Cubs erupted for six runs in the bottom of the inning against Contreras and Yohan Ramirez.

Star of the Game

Bido pitched well in his big league debut. The right-hander had to deal with some traffic (seven baserunners), but excelled at limiting the damage with four strong innings now under his belt.

Hidden Stat

McCutchen’s leadoff homer was his first since May 26 against the Seattle Mariners. That one also kicked off the ball game. It was the 22nd leadoff home run for McCutchen in his career.

Noteworthy 

• In Tuesday’s loss, the Pirates’ bullpen was tagged with seven earned runs in 2.2 innings. After allowing nine runs in 4.0 innings in this one, the Bucs’ bullpen has posted a 21.59 ERA over their last two games.
• After going 3 for 5 with a double and three runs scored, Bryan Reynolds extended his hitting streak to seven games. Over those seven games, Reynolds is hitting .391 (9 for 23) and has drawn seven walks.
• McCutchen’s home run was the 296th long ball of his career. Only nine active players have reached the 300 mark.
• With his go-ahead, two-run single in the sixth, Ian Happ extended his on-base streak against the Pirates to 32 games. In his career, the Pittsburgh-native is batting .315 (87 for 276) in 84 games against the Pirates.

Up Next

The rubber match between the Pirates and Cubs will take place on Thursday night. The Pirates have yet to announce a starter and Marcus Stroman (7-4, 2.42 ERA) will be on the mound for Chicago. First pitch: 8:05 ET.