QUINTANA STRIKES OUT 11 IN 7 INNINGS, CUBS BEAT PIRATES 2-0

CHI. CUBS 2, PITTSBURGH 0

WHEN: 8:05 PM ET, Thursday, April 11, 2019
WHERE: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
TEMPERATURE: 50°
UMPIRES: Home - Mike Estabrook, 1B - Paul Emmel, 2B - Bruce Dreckman, 3B - Manny Gonzalez
ATTENDANCE: 31906

Jose Quintana struck out 11 batters in seven scoreless innings, and the Chicago Cubs held on for a 2-0 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.

Quintana (1-1) notched his 13th career start with double-digit strikeouts. He scattered four hits and walked one as Chicago earned its first series victory of the season.

Pittsburgh failed to cross the plate for the second time in three games. Adam Frazier led the Pirates with two hits.

Daniel Descalso and Victor Caratini each drove in one run apiece for the Cubs.

The game was delayed by rain for more than an hour in the top of the eighth inning. The Cubs knew that inclement weather was in the forecast and moved up the game's start time by 30 minutes to try to beat the storms.

Not long before the delay, the Cubs snapped a scoreless tie in the seventh. Jason Heyward reached second base on a pop-up to shallow left field. Third baseman Jung Ho Kang chased after the ball but dropped it after colliding with shortstop Erik Gonzalez near the left-field line.

Descalso singled to left-center field in the next at-bat, and Heyward came around from second base to score on a head-first slide. The sequence marked the end of the night for Pirates starter Joe Musgrove (1-1), who was replaced by left-hander Francisco Liriano after 87 pitches.

Liriano promptly surrendered an opposite-field double to Caratini that drove in Descalso and made it 2-0.

Cubs reliever Pedro Strop pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his first save of the season.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon was ejected in the bottom of the fifth for arguing a called strike called against Caratini. Home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook ejected Maddon, who lingered to argue before eventually leaving the field. The ejection was Maddon's first of the season and 50th of his managerial career.

Pirates right fielder Melky Cabrera provided a defensive highlight when he robbed Kris Bryant of an extra-base hit in the fourth. The 34-year-old held on to the ball as he tumbled to the ground near the right-field corner. Pittsburgh's trainer checked on Cabrera, who stayed in the game.

EARLY EXIT

Maddon was ejected in the bottom of the fifth by plate umpire Mike Estabrook for arguing balls and strikes.

With runners on first and second and one out, Caratini took a low breaking ball on a 3-1 pitch for a strike. After hearing complaints from the Cubs dugout, Estabrook took a few steps down the third base line and held up a hand, essentially saying that was enough.

Maddon walked out and slowly made his way to the home plate area. He was ejected almost immediately after speaking to Estabrook.

TRAINER'S ROOM

CUBS: If the hamate bone in Caratini's left hand is broken, the fear is surgery could be required and he'd be sidelined four to six weeks. Oddly, Caratini was injured on the first pitch of his at-bat in the seventh.

ROSTER MOVES

PIRATES: INF Kevin Kramer was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to take the roster spot of SS Kevin Newman, who was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lacerated finger on his right hand.

CUBS: RHP Jen-Ho Tseng was released. The 24-year-old from Taiwan had been designated for assignment Saturday.

UP NEXT

PIRATES: RHP Trevor Williams (1-0, 2.25 ERA) takes the mound Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Washington. LHP Patrick Corbin (0-0, 3.75) starts for the Nationals.

CUBS: LHP Cole Hamels (1-0, 5.73 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game home series against the Angles on Friday afternoon. LHP Tyler Skaggs (1-1, 2.45) goes for Los Angeles.

TOP GAME PERFORMANCES

STARTING PITCHERS

PITTSBURGH		CHI. CUBS
JOE MUSGROVE	PLAYER	JOSE QUINTANA
Loss	W/L	Win
6.1	IP	7.0
6	Strikeouts	11
4	Hits	4
0.00	ERA	0.00

HITTING

PITTSBURGH		CHI. CUBS
ADAM FRAZIER	PLAYER	VICTOR CARATINI
2	Hits	2
0	RBI	1
0	HR	0
2	TB	4
.500	Avg	.667

TEAM STATS SUMMARY

TEAM	HITS	HR	TB	AVG	LOB	K	RBI	BB	SB	ERRORS
Pittsburgh	5	0	6	.156	11	14	0	1	0	1
Chi. Cubs	5	0	7	.172	14	9	2	3	2	0

SCORING SUMMARY

INNING				PIT	CHC
CUBS		7th	Descalso singled to left center, Heyward scored, Descalso to second.	0	1
CUBS		7th	Caratini doubled to deep right center, Descalso scored.	0	2

FINAL SCORING SUMMARY

FINAL	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Pittsburgh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	0	5	1
Chi. Cubs	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	-	2	5	0

Pittsburgh

Hitters	Pos	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Avg
Adam Frazier	2B	4	0	2	0	0	2	0	.310
Starling Marte	CF	4	0	1	0	0	2	3	.227
Francisco Cervelli	C	4	0	0	0	0	2	3	.243
Josh Bell	1B	3	0	1	0	1	0	0	.300
Jung Ho Kang	3B	3	0	0	0	0	2	2	.121
Colin Moran	PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.235
Melky Cabrera	RF	4	0	1	0	0	1	1	.375
Pablo Reyes	LF	3	0	0	0	0	1	2	.067
Erik Gonzalez	SS	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	.188
Joe Musgrove	SP	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	.000
Francisco Liriano	RP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Jason Martin	PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	.385
Nick Burdi	RP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals		32	0	5	0	1	14	11
Batting
2B - Starling Marte (4)
TB - Adam Frazier 2, Starling Marte 2, Josh Bell, Melky Cabrera
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Francisco Cervelli 2 (9)
Team LOB - 6
Baserunning
CS - Josh Bell (1, 2nd by Quintana/Caratini)
PO - Josh Bell (1st by Quintana)
Fielding
E - Erik Gonzalez (3)

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA
Joe Musgrove (L 1-1)	6.1	4	2	0	2	6	0	0.00
Francisco Liriano	0.2	1	0	0	1	1	0	0.00
Nick Burdi	1.0	0	0	0	0	2	0	5.79
Pitches-Strikes - Joe Musgrove 87-55, Francisco Liriano 19-9, Nick Burdi 14-10
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Joe Musgrove 7-4, Francisco Liriano 0-0, Nick Burdi 0-1
Batters Faced - Joe Musgrove 25, Francisco Liriano 4, Nick Burdi 3
Inherited Runners-Scored - Francisco Liriano 1-1

Chi. Cubs

Hitters	Pos	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Avg
Ben Zobrist	RF	4	0	1	0	0	0	3	.333
Steve Cishek	RP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Pedro Strop	RP	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Kris Bryant	3B	3	0	0	0	1	1	2	.224
Anthony Rizzo	1B	4	0	0	0	0	2	2	.200
Javier Baez	SS	4	0	0	0	0	0	2	.250
Kyle Schwarber	LF	4	0	0	0	0	3	0	.205
Jason Heyward	CF-RF	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	.351
Daniel Descalso	2B	3	1	2	1	0	1	0	.333
Victor Caratini	C	3	0	2	1	0	1	2	.571
Willson Contreras	C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.276
Jose Quintana	SP	2	0	0	0	0	1	3	.000
David Bote	PH	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.316
Albert Almora Jr.	CF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.222
Totals		29	2	5	2	3	9	14
Batting
2B - Victor Caratini 2 (3)
TB - Ben Zobrist, Daniel Descalso 2, Victor Caratini 4
RBI - Daniel Descalso (5), Victor Caratini (5)
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - Ben Zobrist (4), Kris Bryant (11), Jose Quintana 2 (3)
Team LOB - 6
Baserunning
SB - Jason Heyward (3, 3rd off Musgrove/Cervelli), Daniel Descalso (1, 2nd off Musgrove/Cervelli)
Fielding
PO - Jose Quintana (Bell at 1st)

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	ERA
Jose Quintana (W 1-1)	7.0	4	0	0	1	11	0	5.14
Steve Cishek (H 1)	1.0	1	0	0	0	2	0	5.79
Pedro Strop (SV 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4.50
WP - Jose Quintana
Pitches-Strikes - Jose Quintana 99-64, Steve Cishek 20-12, Pedro Strop 15-8
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Jose Quintana 7-3, Steve Cishek 0-1, Pedro Strop 0-2
Batters Faced - Jose Quintana 26, Steve Cishek 4, Pedro Strop 3