Neil Walker's grand slam homer in the fifth inning (1) was all the Pittsburgh Pirates needed to erase a 2-0 deficit and move toward an eventual 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs at rainy Wrigley Field.Andrew McCutchen added a two run shot (1) in the seventh to finish the scoring.
Kevin Correia allowed three runs (two earned) over six plus innings to grab the win (1-0) in his first start as a Buc and Joel Hanrahan finished the Cubs off in the ninth for the save (1).
The series continues today at one with Paul Maholm for Pittsburgh against Carlos Zambrano for the Cubbies...
Pirate Hooks
1) Great day for Neil Walker with the grand slam and double (Walker was on base for the McCutchen homer).Walker is still a large work in progress defensively,but the bat will more than play at the position.
2) Kevin Correia looked solid enough in his opening bow.
I was surprised to see Correia keep the ball in the strike zone,considering the inconsistent zone called for the Cubs pitchers,who walked quite a few.
3) The Pittsburgh bullpen more than did its job on the day with three scoreless innings scattered among four pitchers.The four also allowed just four hits over that span...
4) Pedro Alvarez still looks like a first baseman in the making to me defensively.
His throwing error looked pretty bad,although a small pass can be given to the weather,but he was lucky to not be called for an error earlier that inning and despite a pop up that fell in that should have been Ronny Cedeno's ball to catch,Alvarez still had a chance to haul it in....
5) Ryan Doumit is much maligned for his defense,especially his arm and deservedly so,but he was great blocking the pitches in the dirt yesterday and he even threw out a runner,which was rare last season.
6) The win was the fifth opening win in a row for the Pirates.
Wish they could add a few more to the total.
Photo Credit:Gregory Shamus-Getty Images
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