Although losing two veteran arms like Melancon and Liriano seemed like a confusing move for the Pirates, general manager Neal Huntington seemed to hint that the moves were made to save money for upcoming seasons. The heart of the lineup came in to set up the Montero walkoff, with singles from Kris Bryant (+0.331) and Anthony Rizzo (+0.281) and an intentional walk to Ben Zobrist loading the bases.
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Hendricks picked Josh Harrison off first base after walking him to start the fourth, and catcher Miguel Montero threw out Polanco on a steal attempt.
Washington’s Tanner Roark threw seven scoreless innings, steering the Nationals to a 4-0 win against Philadelphia. He only struck out three and issued three walks to go along with five hits. The Cubs with this win have now won the fifteen most games in a two year span in franchise history. One day after they finished a nine-game, 10-day West Coast trip punctuated by flight delays and a short night’s rest, the Cubs came back twice to knock off a Pirates team involved in a tight battle with St. Louis for the NL’s second wild-card spot. It was his first opposite-field home run of the season. In four of his five August starts, he failed to reach the sixth inning, logging a 6.08 ERA for the month and only 2.44 SO/BB.
Locke pitched three scoreless innings before running into trouble in the 13th. He scattered four hits while walking two on the afternoon, with the only damage coming from a Brett Wallace sac fly in the second inning and a Wil Myers RBI triple in the third.
Nick Hundley hit a two-run homer for the Rockies.
Jake Arrieta struggled in the game, giving up six runs in six and a third innings of work, but the bullpen stood tall and kept the Cubs in the game long enough to give Montero the opportunity to play the role of hero.
The Cubs ended up being the cardiac kids on Monday night, storming back from a 6-3 deficit to tie the game and force extra innings.
Boston’s Rick Porcello became the majors’ first 18-game victor and the first Red Sox pitcher in 70 years to open a season 13-0 at Fenway Park, going seven solid innings in a 9-4 victory over Tampa Bay.
Houston’s Joe Musgrove and three relievers combined to shut out Oakland in a 6-0 victory for the Astros. But his single in the 13th drove in Fowler with the tying run.
“It’s comforting to have confirmation that you’ll be OK”, Cole said.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates placed ace Gerrit Cole on the 15-day disabled list and recalled left-hander Steven Brault from Triple-A Indianapolis to start Monday’s road game against the Chicago Cubs.
