Schwarber, Cubs beat Pirates, 10-0, in Wrigley opener
CHICAGO — First, Brad Brach escaped a tough situation. Then Brandon Kintzler, Randy Rosario and Pedro Strop finished the job.
Chicago’s beleaguered bullpen stepped up after Jon Lester departed with left hamstring tightness, leading the Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-0 in their home opener on Monday.
“That will build their confidence. They need that,” manager Joe Maddon said. “The group needs that. They were all really good.”
Chicago’s bullpen had an 8.37 ERA on an opening 2-7 trip, amplifying concerns about pitching depth with relievers Brandon Morrow, Xavier Cedeño and Tony Barnette sidelined by injuries. But the bullpen threw four scoreless innings Sunday at Milwaukee, and the form carried over into the matchup with the Pirates.
Brach (1-0) came in after Lester was removed with two on and no outs in the third. He got Starling Marté to bounce into a double play, then struck out Francisco Cervelli.
Brach worked the fourth, and Kintzler and Rosario each pitched two innings. Strop closed it out on a picturesque day at Wrigley Field.
“It’s just one of those things where kind of the good pitching can be contagious but at the same time the bad pitching can be contagious,” Brach said. “I think now we’re ready to get on a little bit of a roll and hopefully seven innings can go a long way to the next game.”
Lester got hurt when he scored from second on Ben Zobrist’s two-run single in Chicago’s six-run second. The veteran left-hander is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh had won four in a row, but the Pirates made four errors, including three by shortstop Kevin Newman in the second.