No history for Liriano, but Morneau wins it for Bucs .... Pinch-hitter Justin Morneau delivered an eighth-inning RBI single, lifting the Pirates to a 3-2 victory over the Cubs on Sunday in front of a crowd of 36,559 at PNC Park, the 20th sellout of the season setting a new club record. With one out in the eighth, Andrew McCutchen was hit by a pitch and Marlon Byrd singled. Morneau singled to left off Cubs reliever Pedro Strop, plating McCutchen and breaking the 2-2 tie. Strop took the loss, falling to 2-5. The Pirates have won two in a row and took three of the four-game series. They moved a half-game in front of St. Louis, which was facing Seattle on Sunday, in the National League Central and upped their lead over the Reds, who were in progress against the Brewers, to three games. Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but his pitch count stood at 99 starting the inning and he had issued four walks. Junior Lake broke up the no-hitter with an infield single to deep short, and Liriano lost the lead on a two run home run by Welington Castillo. Right-hander Bryan Morris came on and closed out the inning. Liriano tossed six-plus innings and gave up two runs on three hits. He received a no-decision, after factoring into the deicision in all 23 of his previous starts. While pitching for the Twins, Liriano tossed a no-hitter in a 1-0 win vs. the White Sox on May 3, 2011. He tossed 123 pitches in that game, walking six and striking out two. Cubs starter Travis Wood worked six innings and allowed two runs on five hits. The Pirates staked Liriano to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Jose Tabata led off with a triple and scampered home on a wild pitch by Wood. Jordy Mercer doubled and McCutchen singled, but Wood stranded them on the basepaths. The Bucs added a run to make it 2-0 in the fourth inning on a Tony Sanchez solo home run, his second of the season. Pictured: L) Justin Morneau delivered an eighth-inning RBI single, lifting the Pirates to a 3-2 victory over the Cubs. C) The Bucs added a run to make it 2-0 in the fourth inning on a Tony Sanchez solo home run, his second of the season. R) Pirates lefty Francisco Liriano carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 21:12:40 +0000
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