Seiya Suzuki hits a tiebreaking single as the Cubs edge the Pirates 3-1

CHICAGO (AP) Seiya Suzuki hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-1 on Saturday for a sorely needed victory.

Kyle Tucker hit a leadoff single against Evan Sisk (0-1) and stole second before coming home on Suzuki’s grounder into center field. Nico Hoerner tacked on a two-out RBI double following an intentional walk to Ian Happ.

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Chicago (69-53) had dropped four of five, including a 3-2 loss in the series opener on Friday.

Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga pitched seven innings of three-hit ball. Andrew Kittredge (3-3) got three outs before Brad Keller handled the ninth for his first save.

Tommy Pham homered for Pittsburgh (52-72), which lost for the sixth time in seven games. Rookie Mike Burrows permitted one run and five hits in five innings.

Imanaga retired his first 10 batters before Pham connected for his sixth homer in the fourth, a 428-foot drive to left. The Cubs got the run back in the bottom half when Tucker scored on Carson Kelly’s two-out single.

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Imanaga struck out six and walked two. About the only thing that seemed to ruffle the lefty were the sonic booms from military jets flying nearby during the Chicago Air and Water Show. He had to pause several times to let the planes pass, including the fifth, where he waited momentarily before freezing Liover Peguero for an inning-ending strikeout.

Nick Gonzales hit a leadoff single for Pittsburgh in the ninth. But Keller responded with three straight strikeouts against Andrew McCutchen, Joey Bart and pinch-hitter Spencer Horwitz.

The Cubs have scored three or fewer runs in 10 of their 14 games this month.

Cubs right-hander Javier Assad (0-1, 9.00 ERA) makes his second start of the season in Sunday’s series finale. The Pirates will use right-handed reliever Carmen Mlodzinski (2-7, 4.20 ERA) as an opener.

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