Rizzo, Barney, Castro spearhead 14-4 Cubs victory

Cubs batters went wild against Pirates left-hander Erik Bedard, and Justin Germano picked up a victory in a spot start Tuesday night.

On a night when players hugged each other in the dugout to say good-bye, there were still some celebratory hugs and handshakes on a big offensive night as the Cubs crushed the Pirates 14-4 at Wrigley Field.

Anthony Rizzo hit his second homer in as many games, giving him 8 for the year. Starlin Castro equaled his career high with his 10th homer. And second baseman Darwin Barney was a double shy of the cycle. He crushed a 3-run homer in the fourth inning.

The Cubs sent 12 men to the plate in the fifth as they scored 9 runs.

Germano, starting in place of the injured Matt Garza, evened his record at 1-1 as he worked 5 innings, giving up 4 hits and 2 runs.

“I felt pretty good,” Germano said. “(I) hadn’t really thrown in a month or so. To be able to get out there and make another start and throw 5 innings was nice ... I’ll take that run support any day. ”

Starlin Castro also fell a hit shy of the cycle, with a double, single and a homer.

The Cubs improved to 43-58, and they’re 19-10 since June 25.

Garza throws in pen:Matt Garza threw a bullpen session Monday as he recovers from right-triceps cramping. He has not pitched since July 21. #147;It went extremely well, better than I imagined,#148; said manager Dale Sveum. #147;It was just a normal bullpen. He threw all his pitches. Velocity, extended (himself) to the slider, curveball, changeup. It went extremely, extremely well.#148;The Cubs hope to have Garza pitch this coming weekend at Los Angeles. #147;Not a certain game, but we#146;ll see how he feels in the morning or tomorrow afternoon at the same time and hopefully we can schedule him in three, four, five days,#148; Sveum said. Getting LaHair going:Right fielder Bryan LaHair was not in the lineup because the Pirates started a left-handed pitcher. However, LaHair has been slumping against just about everybody lately. He has not homered since July 4, and he is 0-for-15 in his last five games. #147;He#146;s obviously in a tough period right now,#148; said Dale Sveum. #147;Two months of some struggles here. We#146;ve got to get him going. We#146;ve got to get that bat going somehow whether it#146;s the confidence but obviously we#146;ve got to get some production out of that position.#148;BBN23601385Darwin Barney watches his 3-run home run against the Pirates during the fourth inning Monday at Wrigley Field.Associated PressBBN