Pittsburgh Pirates vs Chicago Cubs Box Score on Sep 03, 2021

Frank Schwindel hit a go-ahead home run in the sixth inning as the Chicago Cubs pushed through for a 6-5 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates to extend their winning streak to four games.

Michael Hermosillo also hit a home run for the Cubs (61-75), while both Schwindel and Hermosillo had three hits each out of the top two spots in the Chicago order and had a combined five RBIs.

The Cubs were playing not long after learning that manager David Ross and team president Jed Hoyer tested positive for COVID-19, but reportedly are asymptomatic. Andy Green served as Chicago's interim manager.

Anthony Alford hit a pair of home runs for the Pirates (48-87), who have dropped four consecutive games in Chicago after playing the White Sox earlier this week. Pittsburgh also has lost six of its last seven games.

Hermosillo got the Cubs' offense going in the second inning with a two-out single that scored both Alfonso Rivas and Sergio Alcantara for a 2-0 lead.

Schwindel made it 3-0 with a single through the infield to score Hermosillo. The Cubs added a run in the third on a single from Austin Romine to score Matt Duffy and a home run from Hermosillo in the fourth made it 5-0. It was Hermosillo's third of the season.

The Pirates came alive in the fifth inning with back-to-back home runs from Alford and Hoy Park to start the inning.

Pittsburgh then added a run to cut the deficit to 5-3 in the sixth when Colin Moran scored on a throwing error to first from Alcantara at shortstop. After Green was ejected for arguing with second-base umpire Tom Hallion, Alford hit a two-run home run to tie the score 5-all. It was Alford's fourth of the season.

Schwindel got lead back in the Cubs' half of the sixth inning by hitting a 3-0 pitch from Shelby Miller (0-1) into the seats in left field.

Cubs right-hander Trevor Megill (1-0) earned the victory with a scoreless 1 1/3 innings, while right-hander Rowan Wick pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his second save.

Cubs starter Alec Mills gave up five runs (two earned) on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings, while Pirates starter Steven Brault gave up five runs on seven hits over four innings.

--Field Level Media