May 17--The Chicago Cubs captured their sixth straight victory Saturday as starter Jon Lester went seven innings in a 4-1 win over the Pirates at Wrigley Field.
Lester (4-2) allowed one run on nine hits. He walked one and struck out seven. Travis Wood got the save in the ninth.
The last time the Cubs won six in a row was July 31-Aug. 6, 2011, when they were on the way to seven straight wins.
The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo delivered one-out singles to put runners on the corners. Starlin Castro drove in Bryant with a deep sacrifice fly to center.
Sean Rodriguez hit a solo homer to lead off the third to tie the game 1-1. The Cubs regained the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the inning on an RBI ground out by Castro.
Lester recorded his 1,500th career strikeout in the fourth inning.
The Cubs scored two runs without a hit in the seventh inning to take a 4-1 lead. Reliever Aquimedes Caminero walked three batters, committed a balk and threw a wild pitch to allow a run to score. Rizzo delivered a sacrifice fly to left for the second run.
fmitchell@tribpub.com
