Liriano nasty, Cubs lose 2-0
Francisco Liriano pitched two-hit ball over seven innings and the Pirates beat the Cubs 2-0 Friday for their major league-leading 10th shutout, matching Pittsburgh’s total for all of last season.
Liriano (4-2) walked five, his most since Sept. 1 last year, but struck eight to help Pittsburgh stop a three-game losing streak. He had lost his previous two starts.
Mark Melancon pitched the eighth, and Jason Grilli finished the five-hitter for his major league-leading 23rd save in as many chances. After two-out singles by Ryan Sweeney and pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro, Grilli struck out Darwin Barney.
Russell Martin had two hits, including an RBI double off Travis Wood (5-4) in the sixth as the Pirates won for the second time in seven games. Jordy Mercer doubled twice.
Pittsburgh continued to struggle at the plate after managing just one hit off Julio Teheran in a 5-0 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday. The Pirates managed seven hits against the Cubs.
Wood gave up one run and four hits in six innings with two walks and six strikeouts. He had the Cubs’ first hit, a one-out single in the fifth, after hitting his first career grand slam in a win over the White Sox last week.
Outscored 29-11 and shut out three times in their previous six games, the Pirates went ahead in the sixth.
After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the second, Wood retired 11 straight before Mercer’s one-out double. Mercer advanced on Andrew McCutchen’s flyout to right and scored on Martin’s double.
Travis Snider added an RBI grounder in the ninth against Carlos Villanueva after Russell Martin’s walk and Pedro Alvarez’s single.
NOTES: Pirates LHP Wandy Rodriguez is to throw a bullpen session on Monday before the team decides whether he will go on the DL, although manager Clint Hurdle did say there was no “acute structural damage to the ligament” in Rodriguez’s throwing arm. Rodriguez got only one out in Wednesday’s loss at Atlanta before leaving with tightness in his left forearm. ... Sweeney, the Cubs’ CF, made a neat catch in the eighth when he raced to his right and dove to snag Starling Marte’s drive. ... Sveum said Rafael Dolis, on the 15-day DL with a mild strain in his right forearm, is “a lot better,” and Shawn Camp (sprained right big toe) threw a bullpen session on Friday. Sveum also said no date has been set for Kyuji Fujikawa to have ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow. ... A.J. Burnett (3-6, 3.22 ERA) starts Saturday for the Pirates, with Jeff Samardzija (3-6, 2.96 ERA) going for the Cubs.