The Pittsburgh Pirates avoided a series sweep by the Chicago Cubs following a 4-3 victory Sunday at Wrigley Field. Brandon Lowe hit a tie-breaking two-run single in the sixth inning. Bryan Reynolds and Jake Mangum had two hits each. Bubba Chandler pitched into the sixth inning and earned his eight win of the year. He is now 5-1 in 10 starts since the All-Star Break. Mason Montgomery earned his 13th save. The Pirates are back to .500 at 75-75 for the season.
The Bucs fell 4-3 on Saturday when Gregory Soto allowed the Cubs two runs in the eighth inning in relief of Paul Skenes. The Cubs had opened the series with a 12-2 win Friday.
The Pirates begin their final home-stand Tuesday after a day off today. The Bucs host the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals through Thursday, September 24th, then end their season with three games in Detroit.
The Pirates have lost rookie slugger Esmerlyn Valdez to a season-ending hamstring injury. After an early summer call-up from Triple-A Indianapolis, Valdez appeared in 72 games, batting .232 with 17 home runs and 47 Runs Batted In.
He was leading the Pirates with a .510 Slugging Percentage and an .855 O-Base Plus Slugging percentage.
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