May 15--Jon Lester lost his no-hit bid with one out in the seventh when Starling Marte singled cleanly to right field. Two batters later, Jung Ho Kang doubled in Marte take away the shutout in the Pirates' 2-1 victory Sunday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Kang struck again in the ninth with a solo home run off Hector Rondon.
Anthony Rizzo's sacrifice fly in the ninth pulled the Cubs (27-9) within one.
At the plate
The Cubs managed just three hits -- doubles from Dexter Fowler and Ben Zobrist and a single from Addison Russell -- against Pirates starter Gerrit Cole, who allowed no runs and struck out seven in eight innings.
On the mound
Lester struck out nine and walked two in 6 2/3 innings but fell to 4-2.
In the field
Russell snagged a low line drive off the bat of Kang for the first out in the fifth inning.
Key number
108. Runs by which the Cubs have outscored opponents, better than the next two teams in run differential combined.
The quote
"There's a lot of responsibility with that. It's somewhat of a headache. ... It's a difficult choice on a daily basis. I kind of enjoy it." -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon on choosing the right T-shirt to wear each day.
Up next
At Brewers, 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, CSN. RH Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 3.03) vs. Chase Anderson (1-5, 6.11).
pskrbina@tribpub.com
