Alexander Canario's grand slam sparks Cubs to 8-run 8th inning in pounding of Pirates

It didn’t take long for Alexander Canario to make an impact – accidental or intentional – in his second major league game for the Chicago Cubs.

The 23-year-old rookie was involved in an oddity when he was called for obstruction on a pop fly in foul territory while in the on-deck circle, then doubled to record his first career hit and RBI in the sixth inning.

Canario crushed a grand slam for his first career homer, as the Cubs cruised to an eight-run eighth on their way to a blowout by beating the Pirates, 14-1, Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.

It was a dubious start to a three-city, nine-game road trip for the Pirates. As the start of the game was delayed 85 minutes by rain and a steady drizzle drenched the field, the Pirates went through a drought. The Cubs, who recorded 16 strikeouts, retired 14 consecutive batters in one span.

Canario helped spoil the homecoming for a pair of rookie right-handers in Quinn Priester, an alum of nearby Cary-Grove High School, and Kyle Nicolas, who made his major league debut. Priester allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in six innings of relief, while Nicolas surrendered six runs on three hits and two walks.

Cubs starter Javier Assad used his sinker to generate 10 called strikes and three whiffs as he recorded a career-best eight strikeouts while allowing one run on five hits and one walk in five innings.

The Cubs took a 2-0 lead against Pirates left-hander Bailey Falter, who served as the opener. Falter walked leadoff batter Nico Hoerner, then served up an elevated 0-2 fastball that Dansby Swanson hit 374 feet to left-center for his 21st home run.

Priester replaced Falter in the second inning and also gave up a leadoff walk that would hurt him. After Christopher Morel got the free pass, he scored on Patrick Wisdom’s double off the right field wall to make it 3-0. Wisdom advanced to third on Canario’s groundout, then scored on Hoerner’s sacrifice fly when Pirates catcher Endy Rodriguez couldn’t hold onto the short-hop throw by right fielder Henry Davis, which covered 164 feet and was clocked at 103.1 mph, per Statcast.

The Pirates cut it to 4-1 in the third, when Ke’Bryan Hayes drove Assad’s first-pitch cutter 388 feet to right for his 14th homer. Jack Suwinski and Joshua Palacios followed with back-to-back singles, but, just as they had done in the first inning, both runners were stranded.

The Cubs, meantime, continued to connect on Priester’s pitches. Seiya Suzuki sent Priester’s 1-1 slider 402 feet to left for his 19th home run and a 5-1 Cubs lead in the third.

After being called for obstruction when he got in the way of Hayes and Rodriguez on a Patrick Wisdom pop foul while in the on-deck circle, Canario hit a liner to left for an RBI double that scored Morel for a 6-1 lead when Bryan Reynolds slipped on the wet grass.

In the eighth, Nicolas hit leadoff batter Yan Gomes with a pitch before getting Ian Happ to ground into a forceout at second. Nicolas then walked Morel and Pete Crow-Armstrong to load the bases for Canario.

Canario hit a 1-2 slider to left-center for a 10-1 lead. The Pirates pulled Nicolas after giving up successive singles by Hoerner and Swanson, but lefty Jose Hernandez gave up a three-run homer to Bellinger that stretched the Cubs’ lead to 13-1. Suzuki hit a double past a diving Reynolds in left, then scored on a triple by pinch hitter Jared Young.

The game ended fittingly, with Cubs reliever Luke Little striking out three Pirates in the ninth.