Cody Bellinger had a standout performance with four hits, including his seventh homer of the season, leading the to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.
In the first inning, Bellinger smashed a 100 mph fastball from Jared Jones into the right-field seats for the Cubs’ first run. He later added two doubles and an RBI single, showing strong form since returning from fractured ribs.
Ian Happ and Chris Morel also contributed with two hits each for the Cubs, who have won four of their last six games. Happ, a native of Pittsburgh, continued his strong play against his hometown team, extending his on-base streak against the Pirates to 60 games, setting a major-league record for one player against one opponent.
He later drove in a run with a double and has an impressive .322 batting average in 96 career games against Pittsburgh.
The Cubs broke the game open with a four-run seventh inning, highlighted by Nick Madrigal’s two-run single. Ben Brown pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Javier Assad to earn his first major league win.
Nick Gonzales made an impact for the Pirates with a two-run single on the day he was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis. Oneil Cruz also had a pair of hits for Pittsburgh, but it wasn’t enough to prevent their third consecutive loss and their 17th defeat in their last 23 games.
