Pirates Drop Another In Chicago

CHICAGO — Pinch-hitter Matt Duffy had a go-ahead single in the seventh inning, reliever Keegan Thompson pitched three scoreless innings for his first major league victory and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Saturday for their fifth straight win. Willson Contreras and Eric Sogard each drove in a run for Chicago, which has won seven of nine to improve to 17-16. Thompson (1-0) allowed two hits and a walk following starter Trevor Williams, who gave up two runs and five hits in four innings. Andrew Chafin worked a scoreless eighth and Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his sixth save. Duffy pinch hit for Thompson and blooped a two-out single to right off reliever Clay Holmes to score Jason Heyward — who led off with a walk against Sam Howard (2-2) and stole second — with the winning run. Ka’ai Tom hit his first big league homer and Frazier had three hits for Pittsburgh, which has dropped eight of nine. The Pirates have totaled eight runs in their last six games. They are 2-17 in their last 19 games at Wrigley Field.