CHICAGO _ The Cubs pounded four more home runs Saturday afternoon in a 14-1 rout of the Pirates before 39,928 at Wrigley Field, setting the franchise's single-season home run record.
Ben Zobrist, Kris Bryant, Nico Hoerner and Victor Caratini all went yard, giving the Cubs nine home runs in two days and 237 for the season. The old record of 235 was set in 2004.
With the game well in hand, Pirates reliever Clay Holmes almost started a ruckus, hitting three Cubs with pitches in a five-batter stretch in the fifth and sixth innings. After he went up and in on Bryant in the fifth and plunked David Bote in the sixth _ the fourth hit batter by the Pirates _ Bote pointed at Holmes and yelled toward the mound as he went to first.
Players spilled out of both dugouts, but order quickly was restored and Bote took his base without further incident.
Pirates pitchers have hit 11 Cubs batters in 15 games this season. Reliever Dillon Maples, pitching with a 13-run lead and one out in the ninth, hit Elias Diaz and Erik Gonzalez back-to-back, leading to an ejection by home-plate umpire Alfonso Marquez.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (11-9) went six innings, allowing one run and seven hits while improving to 6-2 at home. The Cubs have won three straight after losing five of six games to blow their second wild-card lead.
Like Friday, the Cubs struck quickly, putting up four runs in the second on Nicholas Castellanos' three-run double and Bryant's RBI single off starter James Marvel. Zobrist hit his first home run of the season in the third, and Bryant added a two-run blast in the fourth, the 136th of his career, tying Ernie Banks for the most by a Cub in his first five seasons.
With the Cubs leading 10-1 in the sixth, Hoerner connected for a three-run shot, his second in his first two career games at Wrigley Field, which broke the franchise home run mark. Hoerner is hitting .417 with 11 RBIs in six games since being called up Monday.
Caratini finished the barrage with a solo home run in the seventh.
The Cubs have scored 31 runs in the first two games against the Pirates, after a 17-8 win on Friday.
The Cubs moved 1 { games ahead of the Brewers for the second NL wild-card spot, pending Milwaukee's the Brewers' game against the Cardinals on Saturday night in St. Louis, and two behind the Nationals for the first wild-card spot. The Nationals hosted the Braves on Saturday afternoon.
Jose Quintana (13-8, 4.15) starts Sunday as the Cubs go for the sweep.
