Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter VI Mobile College Basketball March Mayhem Picks College Basketball March Mayhem Picks VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com
Handicapper Bios Sports Picks Free Odds Contests Sportsbook
Sports Betting Home NFL NBANHLMLBNCAA FBNCAA BKGolfAutoHorsesBoxingVI More Sports
 
MLB Scores Matchups Teams Standings
 
 · Regular Season
Schedules Injuries News
 
 · Latest News
 · Player Updates
 · Transactions
Buy Picks Vegas Odds
 
 · Vegas Odds
 · Offshore Odds
 · Future Odds
 
Recap: Pirates , Cubs
 •  BT Movements
Game: 2
Venue: Wrigley Field
Date: August 31, 2010 8:05 PM EDT
  

CHICAGO (AP) -The Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled almost everywhere this season - except Wrigley Field.

Neil Walker and Garrett Jones each hit a long two-run homer, and Pittsburgh beat the Chicago Cubs 14-7 on Tuesday night for a rare road victory.

Walker went 4 for 5 with four RBIs and three runs scored for the Pirates, who won for only the fifth time in 43 road games and ended a 14-game losing streak away from PNC Park.

Advertisement

``It's been hard for us to win on the road recently, but when we can do something like this it's good going forward for confidence,' Walker said. ``The biggest thing in a series is trying to win that series and now we have an opportunity to do that tomorrow.'

Koyie Hill hit a two-run homer for the Cubs, who have lost 13 of 16 at home.

The Cubs are one of the few teams the Pirates have had success against lately. Pittsburgh is 10-4 against Chicago this season and has won 12 of 16 at Wrigley Field dating to a doubleheader sweep on Sept. 30 last year.

The only teams the Pirates have a winning road record against this season are the Cubs (5-3) and Rockies (2-1). Pittsburgh is 7-48 against the rest of its opponents away from home.

``They have our number for sure,' Cubs starter Ryan Dempster said. ``The easiest thing for us is to put tonight behind us as fast we can and come out tomorrow and win a game and win a series. We can't worry about games we played the beginning of the year or a month ago, let alone a day ago.'

Pirates starter Jeff Karstens (3-10) avoided matching the longest losing streak in the majors this season. He pitched six strong innings and allowed two runs on four hits after missing his previous turn with a fatigued arm.

The right-hander came into the game 0-8 with a 5.40 ERA in his last 10 starts - a stretch that began with a loss at Wrigley on June 29. Atlanta's Kenshin Kawakami and Baltimore's Brian Matusz are the only pitchers to drop nine consecutive decisions this season.

``I feel better, I don't know if I feel fresher. I didn't really have my legs underneath me until the second inning,' Karstens said. ``I don't know. Missing that start made my arm feel a lot better. Now it's just a matter of grinding it out and getting through the season.'

Jose Tabata was 3 for 5 with three runs and two RBIs for the Pirates, who lost 14-2 to the Cubs on Monday night.

``I think it would be easy to let yourself slip mentally and physically into the place where when things go bad you fall into a hole, but I think this group here and guys who have been around this game for a long time know we're going to fight to grind it out. It's part of our nature,' Walker said.

With a 14-2 lead in the eighth, Pirates reliever Sean Gallagher allowed five runs. He gave up a pinch-hit RBI double to Micah Hoffpauir and a pair of RBI singles to Starlin Castro and Xavier Nady before being lifted.

Chan Ho Park gave up an RBI single to Alfonso Soriano before getting the last out in the eighth. Castro was 2 for 4 and raised his average to .315.

Dempster (12-9) had his worst outing of the season. He allowed a season-high seven earned runs and seven hits in three innings, his shortest start this year. Dempster had won his previous four decisions.

The Cubs (56-77) fell to 21 games under .500.

``The job is still the same coming to work. You've got to do your job the best you can. It doesn't say in your contract I'll try as hard as I can as long as we're in it,' Dempster said. ``Obviously, we would like to be in a better position, but there are still plenty of ballgames left and we have a month left in the season, go out there and play hard every day and try to win as many ballgames as we can.'

The Pirates scored four times off Dempster in the first inning. Tabata walked and advanced to third on Walker's single. Jones hit a broken-bat comebacker to Dempster. Tabata scored as Dempster bobbled the ball and had to settle for getting Jones at first for the second out of the inning.

Pedro Alvarez followed with an RBI double. Then, after Dempster hit Ryan Doumit with a pitch, Ronny Cedeno hit a two-run double to center.

The troubles continued for Dempster in the second inning. With one out, he walked Andrew McCutchen, who stole second. Tabata hit a triple over the head of center fielder Marlon Byrd to make it 5-0.

In the third inning, McCutchen hit a two-run single to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead.

Cubs reliever Marcos Mateo didn't fare well, either. He gave up a single to Walker, then Jones homered to left for his 20th of the season.

Walker tagged Mateo with a two-run shot to give the Pirates an 11-2 lead in the sixth. Tabata added another RBI single and Walker had a two-run double off reliever James Russell in the seventh.

Notes: Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano pinch-hit for Dempster in the third and grounded out. ... Walker hit his eighth homer of the season.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2013
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 SERIES AT A GLANCE
GAME 1
Pirates at Cubs
Mon, Aug 30 Final 2 to 14
 Boxscores  •  Recaps
GAME 2
Pirates at Cubs
Tue, Aug 31 Final 14 to 7
 Boxscores  •  Recaps
GAME 3
Pirates at Cubs
Wed, Sep 1 Final 3 to 5
 Boxscores  •  Recaps

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   RUN   O/U 
 PIT         
 CHC         
BT MOVEMENTS

 
 
  
GOLD Membership
Over 150 Member Plays free each month. Signup Today!
 
 

NFL
NFL Sports Picks
NFL Vegas Odds
NFL Online Odds
NFL Matchups
NFL Scores

More Sports
Golf
Auto Racing
Horse Racing
Boxing
WNBA

MLB
MLB Sports Picks
MLB Vegas Odds
MLB Online Odds
MLB Matchups
MLB Scores

Features
Free Odds
Contests
Newsletters
VI Radio
Las Vegas Travel
Follow us on Twitter
Add us on Google+
Join us on Facebook

NBA
NBA Sports Picks
NBA Vegas Odds
NBA Online Odds
NBA Matchups
NBA Scores

Sports Betting Tools
Live Odds
Mobile Odds
Parlay Calculator
Gaming Terms
TV Listings
Handicapping Records
Sports Betting
About Sports Betting
Sportsbook Reviews

NHL
NHL Sports Picks
NHL Vegas Odds
NHL Online Odds
NHL Matchups
NHL Scores

VegasInsider Info
About Us
Help Center
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Refund Policy
Contact Us
User Feedback

College Football
NCAA FB Sports Picks
NCAA FB Vegas Odds
NCAA FB Online Odds
NCAA FB Matchups
NCAA FB Scores

Sportsbooks
CarbonSports · Review
SportBet · Review
Sportsbook · Review
TopBet.eu · Review

College Basketball
NCAA BK Sports Picks
NCAA BK Vegas Odds
NCAA BK Online Odds
NCAA BK Matchups
NCAA BK Scores

Rotation Schedules
Baseball: Mar 31 - June 02

Copyright © 1997-2013, VegasInsider.com Inc., The Global Leader In Sports Gaming Information. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-211-4759.