Christopher Morel hit a walk-off single to score Cody Bellinger from second base in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Chicago Cubs beat the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Bellinger hit a ground-rule double with one out against David Bednar (2-3) and slid home safely ahead of the tag by catcher Joey Bart on Morel¡¯s single to center field. The call was confirmed after review.
Bellinger had two hits for Chicago, which had lost the first two games of the four-game series. Hector Neris (4-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.
The dramatic finish followed a dynamic pitchers¡¯ duel between the Cubs¡¯ Shota Imanaga and the Pirates¡¯ Bailey Falter.
The Cubs received another stellar outing from Imanaga, who struck out seven batters over seven sharp innings.
Imanaga¡¯s 0.84 ERA is the lowest in MLB history for a pitcher in his first nine career starts.
¡°We¡¯re fortunate to watch it,¡± Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. ¡°It¡¯s been so much fun to watch. Just his aptitude out there, his pitch-making ability, his stuff, his competitiveness, they¡¯ve all been just a joy to watch.¡±
Fernando Valenzuela is the only other pitcher to post an ERA under 1.00 through the first nine starts of a career since earned runs became an official stat in both the American League and National League in 1913. Valenzuela had a 0.91 ERA through his first nine outings in 1981.
Imanaga allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven.
¡°This guy¡¯s going to give hitting coaches nightmares because the fastball¡¯s not 94, 95 (151,153 kph) but it¡¯s effective,¡± Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. ¡°He moves the ball around. The split¡¯s real. It¡¯s strike to ball. The execution of it is really good.¡±
Falter needed just 60 pitches to get through the first six innings for the Pirates, and only two Cubs batters reached base during that stretch.
Morel drew a leadoff walk in the second but was promptly erased when Mike Tauchman grounded into a double play.
Falter allowed his first hit in the fourth, when second baseman Nick Gonzales lost Patrick Wisdom¡¯s popup in the sun. But Wisdom was thrown out attempting to reach second base on the play.
Falter was replaced by Colin Holderman with two outs in the seventh after the Cubs put two runners on. Michael Busch walked to load the bases before Holderman struck out Wisdom on three pitches.
Falter gave up three hits, with two walks and two strikeouts, on 83 pitches over 7 ? innings.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.