Worley, bullpen prevail in high-leverage battles

Twice Wednesday night, the Pirates had to get Kris Bryant out with runners on base to hold leads. The young third baseman has played only six games in the majors, but he has displayed what his bat is capable of in the first two games of the series. He hit a crucial two-run double Monday night, went 2 for 4 with a double Tuesday and doubled again in his second at-bat Wednesday.

Vance Worley did the honors the first time through. Tony Watson took care of it later on. Their strikeouts of Bryant helped the Pirates preserve their lead and beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-3, on a cold night at PNC Park.

Worley (2-1) needed 106 pitches through 52⁄3 innings, but held the

Cubs to one unearned run. He had runners on base in every inning but one. Rob Scahill relieved him with two outs in the sixth and stranded the inherited runner.

“[Worley] did a real good job of moving the ball around,” manager Clint Hurdle said.

Leading off the fourth, Bryant doubled for the fourth time this season, dropping a ball near the warning track. He reached third on what was ruled an error on Gregory Polanco, who couldn’t corral the bounce, and scored on Starlin Castro’s grounder.

Chicago had another good shot in the fifth, but couldn’t capitalize. The Pirates got only one out on consecutive possible double-play balls, putting Chris Denorfia on first with two outs. Worley then walked Jorge Soler and Anthony Rizzo, loading the bases for Bryant. He started Bryant 3-0, then came after him.

“I had no choice, right?” Worley said.

Bryant swung through a fastball in the zone, looked at another one and flied out with a full count to end the inning.

“Three-oh, here it is, hit it,” Worley said. “Swung through it. OK, here we go. Do it again. Do it again. Got a fly ball, got out of the inning.

Jared Hughes allowed the Cubs to pull within a run with a two-run eighth. Watson relieved after Hughes put four men on base without recording an out, and with Mark Melancon unavailable, Watson pitched two innings to save his first game of the year.

“It turned into a plan B,” Hurdle said. “He had to go get six outs and he went and got them.

Watson allowed a twoout single to Rizzo in the ninth, bringing Bryant to the plate. When Bryant swung and missed at a 3-2 sinker for strike three, Francisco Cervelli leapt to his feet and pumped his fist.

In the second, Starling Marte’s grounder up the middle became an infield single, Pedro Alvarez hit a bloop-single, and Cervelli banged a double off the Clemente Wall in right field, scoring one run. Jung Ho Kang’s sacrifice fly scored another.

Andrew McCutchen reached on Castro’s error in the third. Neil Walker singled and Jason Hammel hit Marte on the right hand. Alvarez hit a sacrifice fly to right to score McCutchen. Marte stayed in the game to run and play defense, but was later pinch-hit for. X-rays showed no broken bones.

Polanco hit his first home run of the year to lead off the fifth.