Pirates’ offense comes back to life, bullpen holds on for win over Cubs

PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on PGHBaseballNOW.

The Pirates were held scoreless in two of their last three games, but the bats broke out for three home runs and an 8-7 win to salvage the series with the Cubs on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.

Key Moments

Ryan O’Hearn’s grand slam provided the Pirates with enough wiggle room to successfully fend off a Cubs’ comeback attempt.

The Cubs brought the tying run to the plate three times in the eighth but Carmen Mlodzinski got Michael Conforto to fly out, struck out Carson Kelly and induced an inning-ending groundout against Pedro Ramírez.

Player of the Game

Ryan O’Hearn connected on his fourth-career grand slam, reached base safely three times and scored twice in the win.

Stat to Know

Ryan O’Hearn, who turned 33 on Sunday, became the fourth Pirate to hit a grand slam on his birthday. He joined R.J. Reynolds (April 19, 1996), Bill Mazeroski (Sep. 5, 1966) and Frank Thomas (June 11, 1958).

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