Kevin Newman’s bounce back game wasn’t enough.
The bullpen, which continued to show up big in the clutch, couldn’t carry the Pittsburgh Pirates to victory alone. Not that day.
What the Pirates (8-8) really needed to defeat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 on Sunday was a collective effort from Newman, six relief pitchers, to hit 18 outs (the last nine tied runs on the base), a good night’s sleep for starter JT Brubaker and Jake Marisnick’s rocket arm.
If one of those four elements hadn’t occurred in front of a crowd of 28,387 at Wrigley Field, the Pirates might not have won.
The Pirates were outplayed by the Cubs (7-9) 29-12 in four games, winning three, capturing a road series of that length for the first time since June 24-27, 2021 and the first such series at Wrigley in 15 years .
There were many smiles afterwards, but manager Derek Shelton knew the truth.
“We didn’t play great,” he told AT&T SportsNet after the game.
He was right. The Pirates have committed two errors, including the first of the season by third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. They also allowed a bloop to fall on a single in short right field, which could have been decisive in the seventh inning.
“I give credit to the bullpen,” he said. “Every time we didn’t play a game or something happened, they would get up and pick us up. I think that’s a sign of a good team.”
Brubaker was so ill on Saturday that he stayed behind at the hotel while his teammates were defeated 21-0 by the Cubs. He prevailed through three innings on Sunday to convert a 3-2 lead into the bullpen.
“If you’d seen him (Saturday) tomorrow, I didn’t think he was going to hit (Sunday),” Shelton said. “I told him just give us as many outs as you can. I’d bet if you ask him he can’t feel his legs (after the game). That’s why we saw the tick speed down. Brave attempt by him.”
Brubaker hit four and started a double play in the third thanks to Newman cutting the poor throw to second base.
“I wasn’t feeling my best,” Brubaker said. “Headache kicked my butt a bit where I was congested and couldn’t really open my eyes (Saturday). When I had just some liquid and some food in me, slept well, I woke up feeling a lot better.”
With the bullpen occurring in a more dramatic setting in the late innings, Newman’s contributions could have been ignored.
He left and doubled, the latter giving the Pirates a 3-2 lead in the third. He hit another double play an inning later. In the fifth, he went wide in the hole between shortstop and third to secure a groundball from Nick Madrigal and get an out.
This was a day after he committed two errors in one inning.
“Big day of rest,” said Shelton. “It just shows Kevin Newman’s growth as a player. (Saturday) was not a good day for us all round. We flushed it and left.”
Yet all of the Pirates’ best efforts might have been washed away were it not for bullpen and right fielder Jake Marisnick.
Winning pitcher Dillon Peters (3-0) went 2 2/3 innings scoreless and eliminated seven of eight batters. Jonathan Villar’s singles, who led fourth, was the first to score against Peters in five games this season. He has allowed just one hit and no runs while facing 33 batters.
Wil Crowe finished sixth and got out of a jam in seventh.
Alfonso Rivas took the lead with a brace. Then Crowe lost his 16-batter streak of not conceding a hit with runners on base when second baseman Michael Chavis allowed Patrick Wisdom’s blooper to drop into short right field for a single. With runners on the corners and nobody outside, Crowe knocked out the next three batters and maintained the Pirates’ 4-2 lead.
Mt. Lebanon graduate Ian Happ scored a home goal ahead of Heath Hembree in game eight, but Chris Stratton came on to keep the Cubs deficit on a run.
Eventually, David Bednar earned his second save in the ninth game, but without Marisnick’s contribution he might have been the losing pitcher.
With an out, Rafael Ortega doubled the checkers in right field. The ball rebounded toward the infield, where Marisnick ran it down and shot into the infield to keep Ortega in second place.
Next batter, Seiya Suzuki, blooped a double into an empty patch of grass in short right field. Marisnick, battling an illness that had plagued Brubaker the day before, took the baseball and pitched home, leaving Ortega in third place.
“This throw was an absolute laser. It was incredible that he could keep this guy in third place,” said Bednar.
Shelton added, “The game is changing.”
“I give him a lot of credit. He’s not feeling well and he’s been struggling through it. We definitely saved our butts there.
“Every time I asked him, he told me he was fine. I know he lied to me, but I appreciate the fact that he fought his way through.”
Shelton decided to accompany Happ on purpose to load the bases, and Bednar got back to work, defeating Willson Contreras and Frank Schwindel at 97.6 and 97.8 mph fastballs to end the game.
“People know he’s got[the fastball],” Shelton said, “and he went right after them and ran and executed well.”
Jerry DiPaola is a contributor to Tribune-Review. You can contact Jerry via email at [email protected] or via Twitter .