Pirates use 7-run 4th, blast 3 homers to pound Cubs

What started as a strikeout duel between All-Star pitchers Mitch Keller and Justin Steele had Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton wondering from where and when the runs would come.

Shelton looked at the Wrigley Field scoreboard and saw that the Chicago Cubs left-hander was among the National League leaders in wins and ERA and had allowed three runs or fewer in 13 of his 17 starts at home.

That the game turned into a home run derby stunned everyone, as the Pirates and Cubs combined for five homers and 12 extra-base hits.

The Pirates used a seven-run fourth inning and blasts by Joshua Palacios, Jared Triolo and Connor Joe for a 13-7 win Wednesday night at Wrigley Field.

“It happens fast,” Keller said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show. “Everybody probably thought it was going to be a low-scoring game. Then we broke it open … and all hell broke loose there in the fourth inning.”

Even more meaningful for the Pirates was that it came one day after the Cubs won, 14-1, tied for their most lopsided loss of the season. Pirates coaches talked with the young team about putting it behind them, and they responded with one of their most impressive performances at the plate this season. The Pirates had 15 hits, five for extra bases.

“Sometimes, you’re going to have rough games. It’s part of the season, the ups and downs,” Palacios said in an on-field interview with AT&T SportsNet. “When you have those tough games like that, you come back with more focus, more intent the next day and make it more impactful.”

Four players had multi-hit games, as Triolo, Joe and Ke’Bryan Hayes had three each and the Pirates knocked Steele (16-5) out of the game in a seven-hit, seven-run fourth inning. A leading NL Cy Young candidate, Steele gave up six runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and no walks in only three innings.

The Cubs scored five runs on five hits against Keller (13-9) in the fifth, including a solo homer by Christopher Morel and a grand slam by Ian Happ. Keller allowed seven runs on nine hits and one walk with six strikeouts in 5⅔ innings, reaching a career benchmark.

After giving up a leadoff double to Cody Bellinger in the second, Keller recorded his 200th strikeout of the season when he froze Dansby Swanson on 2-2 sinker in the second inning. Keller became the third right-hander in Pirates history to record 200 strikeouts in a season, joining A.J. Burnett (209 in 2013) and Gerrit Cole (202 in 2015). Keller now has 204 strikeouts this season, with at least one start remaining.

“It means a lot, a lot of hard work and perseverence. I’ve been up and down through my career, this year as well,” Keller said, sharing credit with the coaching staff and catchers Austin Hedges, Jason Delay and Endy Rodriguez. “Those guys have been awesome back there with pitch-calling and game-planning. There’s a lot more than just me throwing the ball that goes into it. … If you told me last year I’d be in this spot, I’d laugh. I’d never believe you.”

The Pirates stranded runners on second and third in the first inning, but didn’t let it faze them. The Cubs took a 1-0 lead when Seiya Suzuki singled to left to score Bellinger, but Suzuki was thrown out when Hayes cut off Bryan Reynolds’ throw home and picked him off at first base.

The Pirates started the fourth with six straight singles to knock Steele out of the game. Hayes singled to right and Joe beat the throw on a swinging bunt before Jack Suwinski drove in Hayes with a single to center to tie the game.

Triolo singled to right to load the bases for Henry Davis, who hit a low liner to right to score Joe and Suwinski for a 3-1 Pirates lead. Liover Peguero hit a liner to center to drive in Triolo. That’s when Cubs manager David Ross brought in right-hander Jose Cuas.

The hit streak ended when Jason Delay grounded into a forceout at third, but Palacios sent a 1-0 sinker 412 feet to center for his ninth home run, a three-run shot that gave the Pirates a 7-1 lead.

The last time the Pirates started an inning with six consecutive hits in a road game was on Aug. 1, 2012, when they had seven consecutive in the eighth inning of an 8-4 win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Triolo made it 8-1 when he crushed a 420-foot shot to center off Hayden Wesneski with two outs in the fifth, his second career homer.

The Cubs answered with a vengeance in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five runs on a pair of home runs. Morel started it with a 440-foot shot to right for his 24th homer to cut it to 8-2. Keller loaded the bases, hitting Nico Hoerner with a pitch after Miles Mastrobuoni reached on a forceout and Mike Tauchman on a single to right.

Happ crushed a 3-1 fastball over the middle, sending it 411 feet to right-center for his 19th home run to make it a two-run game. Still, Shelton left Keller in not only to finish the fifth but start the sixth.

“He had just given up five and he did not spin out of control,” Shelton said. “He stayed under control and was able to execute pitches. …The maturity of Mitch Keller was after he gave up the grand slam to be able to finish the inning was really important.

“I trust him. He’s warranted that trust with how he’s pitched this year.”

The Pirates padded their lead with three more runs in the sixth, when Delay drew a leaoff walk, advanced to third on a single by Palacios and scored when Reynolds hit into a forceout. Joe blasted a first-pitch fastball by Mark Leiter Jr. to left for a two-run homer and 11-6 lead.

“The mentality is to try to win every single inning,” Palacios said. “Even though they scored five, we were ahead. We get up there, get back to our approach, get back to what we do. We know we’re a good hitting team, and we just trusted that and it pulled through.”

Keller was pulled with two outs in the sixth after Mastrobuoni doubled to right. Lefty Ryan Borucki gave up an RBI single to pinch hitter Patrick Wisdom as the Cubs cut it to 11-7.

Triolo hit a bases-loaded single off Mastrobuoni’s glove with no outs in the ninth to score Hayes for a 12-7 lead. The Pirates added another when Peguero grounded into a forceout at second to score Joe. Daniel Palencia was pulled after hitting Delay with a pitch to load the bases, but Palacios grounded out to end the rally.

Rookie right-hander Hunter Stratton finished it off with a clean ninth.

“It’s huge,” Keller said of the bounce-back win. “When they put up a big number, it’s nice to put up a bigger one. It’s a great team win, overall. The bullpen came in and shut the door, which is awesome.”