Cubs beat Pirates as Ian Happ provides heroics with winning single in 10th

Ian Happ has made a habit of providing heroics in his hometown, and the Mt. Lebanon alum came through again for the Chicago Cubs with the winning hit in the 10th inning.

With a pair of runners in scoring position, Happ hit a single to shallow right field to score the go-ahead run. An error by right fielder Connor Joe, who bobbled the ball, allowed another run to score.

The Pittsburgh Pirates scored in the bottom of the 10th, but the Cubs held on for a 5-4 win Thursday night before 14,651 at PNC Park.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton called Happ’s hit a “ball that we’re not gonna catch.”

“Connor came up aggressively,” Shelton said. “It looks like he lost it on the exchange. He secured the ball. As he tried to get it out of his glove, it looked like it popped out. … It’s one of those things that, on the exchange, he mishandled the ball.”

The Cubs took the lead with one out in the 10th, when automatic runner Mike Tauchman advanced to third on Nico Hoerner’s groundout and Dansby Swanson drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Pirates reliever Thomas Hatch. Both runners scored on Happ’s hit.

The Pirates cut it to 5-4 in the bottom of the 10th, when automatic runner Ke’Bryan Hayes advanced to third on a Bryan Reynolds groundout and scored on Joe’s sacrifice fly to right field. But they couldn’t muster another run as Joshua Palacios flew out to left to end the game.

“In extra-inning games, you know you have to score multiple runs because of what happened,” Shelton said. “Ground ball, fly ball and all of a sudden it’s one run.”

After falling behind by three runs early, the Pirates rallied to tie the score.

The Pirates recalled left-hander Rob Zastryzny to make the spot start, creating room on the active roster by optioning righty Yohan Ramirez to Triple-A Indianapolis and on the 40-man roster by transferring lefty Angel Perdomo (flexor strain) to the 60-day injured list.

Zastryzny gave up a leadoff double to Hoerner, who scored on Cody Bellinger’s two-out single to left to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Righty Andre Jackson replaced Zastryzny in the second and allowed two more runs as Seiya Suzuki hit a leadoff double off the Clemente Wall in right field, advanced to third on a bloop single to right by Yan Gomes and scored on Jeimer Candelario’s sacrifice fly to left. Hoerner hit an RBI single to right to score Gomes and stretch the Cubs’ lead to 3-0.

“The Cubs do a very good job of putting the ball in play,” Shelton said. “(Gomes) put the ball in play. Because of that, we end up giving up a run.”

The Pirates took advantage of Chicago mistakes in the bottom of the second, when Endy Rodriguez led off by drawing a full-count walk and advanced to second when Cubs starter Justin Steele made an error on Vinny Capra’s sacrifice bunt. Ji Hwan Bae singled through the middle to drive in Rodriguez and cut it to 3-1, but Steele struck out Hayes to strand a pair of runners.

When the Pirates got their next chance to tie the score, they didn’t miss. After Joe singled, Joshua Palacios crushed a 2-1 fastball 420 feet and over the right-field seats and into the Allegheny River for his sixth home run to make it 3-3 in the third.

It was the third home run launched into the river this season — Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho did so May 7 and former Pirates first baseman Carlos Santana on June 30 against the Milwaukee Brewers — and the 70th time a ball has landed in the Allegheny since PNC Park opened in 2001.

It was the second homer of the homestand for Palacios, who hit a three-run shot and had five RBIs in Monday’s 11-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

After giving up two runs in the second, Jackson pitched five scoreless innings for the Pirates in the longest outing of his career. He gave up six hits and had two strikeouts without a walk, throwing 55 of his 79 pitches for strikes while mixing his four-seam fastball and changeup.

“He’s thrown the ball really well,” Shelton said. “It’s reassuring that you have that guy in that bulk role who can not only give you six innings, but he was pretty efficient doing it.”

It marked the second time this season the Pirates have had a reliever pitch six innings — lefty Bailey Falter did it against the Cardinals on Monday — and the first time since 1984 they had multiple relievers go six innings or more.

“I think that’s the deepest I’ve been in a game in a long time,” Jackson said. “So, for me, it’s big to try to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Colin Holderman continued the scoreless stretch after replacing Jackson in the eighth, despite hitting Happ with a pitch. All-Star closer David Bednar retired the first two batters in the ninth before Nick Madrigal doubled to left, but shortstop Alika Williams barehanded Tauchman’s slow roller and threw him out. The Cubs challenged, but after a review the call on the field was confirmed.

The Pirates had a chance to win in the ninth, when they had a pair of runners on base. Jack Suwinski pinch-hit for Capra in the ninth, and the lefty drew a leadoff walk against Cubs right-hander Daniel Palencia. Alfonso Rivas popped out to Gomes, who made a diving snag.

Needing one home run for his career 300th, Andrew McCutchen drew cheers when he pinch-hit for Alika Williams. McCutchen grounded into a forceout at second base but beat the throw at first to avoid a double play. Bae drew a walk to put runners on first and second for Hayes, who flew out to the warning track in left-center.