Pirates ace Gerrit Cole had little issue dominating baseball’s best team by record. The Cubs entered play Sunday at 27-8, four games better than the next best team in baseball -- the cross-town rival White Sox (24-13). Cole, on Sunday, held the Cubs scoreless over eight innings, yielding only three hits with no walks and seven strikeouts on 95 pitches.
The Pirates scored once in the seventh inning on an RBI double by Jung Ho Kang. Kang made it a 2-0 game in the top of the ninth with a solo home run off of Hector Rondon. Closer Mark Melancon yielded an RBI single to Anthony Rizzo in the bottom of the ninth, but was able to hang on for the 2-1 victory.
After the game, Cole didn’t seem terribly impressed by the Cubs. Via Tony Andracki of CSN Chicago, Cole said, “I don’t really think [the Cubs are] the best team in baseball.”
The second-place Pirates are now 19-17, eight games behind the Cubs. The two clubs meet again at Wrigley Field for a three-game set beginning on June 17.