Cubs sweep Pirates with 6-5 victory

CHICAGO (AP) On most days, Kris Bryant's three solid plays at third base would have covered the defensive highlights for the Chicago Cubs.

This time, Bryant had to settle for a perfect view of Addison Russell's sliding grab in the seventh inning.

''I had a front-row seat and that was one of the best catches I've seen,'' Bryant said.

Bryant hit his 36th homer and Russell drove in two runs to help the Cubs to a 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night, completing a series sweep. But it was the defense by the left side of Chicago's All-Star infield that stole the show.

Andrew McCutchen's bases-loaded walk trimmed Chicago's lead to 5-2 with two outs in the seventh before Gregory Polanco hit a flare down the third-base line that looked like trouble for the Cubs.

Russell sprinted over from shortstop and made a terrific catch near the home bullpen, drawing a huge ovation from the crowd of 38,137 at Wrigley Field and several swear words from his incredulous teammates.

''It was an awesome moment for us,'' Russell said.

And a downer for the Pirates (67-64), who closed out a 4-3 trip that began with a sweep in Milwaukee. They trails the Cardinals by 2 1/2 games for the second NL wild card.

''The play by Russell down the line was fantastic,'' Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. ''If that ball gets in the corner you get a couple more runs.''

Jason Hammel pitched six innings of one-run ball as Chicago equaled the best August in franchise history with a 22-6 record, also accomplished in 1932. It was the Cubs' first time with 22 wins in a month since it went 22-10 in September 1945.

Heading into the final stretch of the season, the Cubs (85-47) are rapidly closing in on their first division title since 2008. They begin September with the majors' best record at a season-high 38 games over .500 and a whopping 15-game lead over second-place St. Louis in the NL Central.

''You never even could imagine that you would have this kind of a lead at this particular point in the season,'' manager Joe Maddon said.

Hammel (14-7) allowed three hits and struck out six in his first start since he was pulled in the third inning of a 3-2 loss at the Dodgers on Saturday, prompting the frustrated right-hander to meet with Maddon to discuss what he felt was a quick hook by the manager.

Jordy Mercer had two hits and two RBIs for Pittsburgh, which dropped to 3-12 against Chicago this year. Josh Harrison had two hits and drove in a run.

Pitching for the third straight day, Aroldis Chapman worked a rocky ninth inning for his 32nd save in 35 chances. He threw three wild pitches and yielded Francisco Cervelli's two-out RBI single before striking out Mercer with two on with his 11th pitch of the at-bat.

''I wasn't going down without a fight, that's for sure,'' Mercer said. ''What do you got to lose, right? He throws the hardest ball ever, so just battle and hope for the best.''

Bryant went 2 for 4 and reached base three times while extending his hitting streak to 13 games. The second-year slugger is tied with Colorado's Nolan Arenado for the NL lead in homers and tops the majors with 111 runs scored.

A brisk wind blowing in from left field was no match for Bryant, who drove an 0-1 pitch from Ryan Vogelsong (3-4) into the bleachers in left in the first. It was Bryant's 10th homer in August.

Bryant made a diving grab to rob Sean Rodriguez of an RBI single in the second. He went behind the bag to take a hit away from Harrison in the third and reached into the stands to retire Josh Bell on a foul popup in the fourth.

''He just plays well wherever you put him on defense,'' Maddon said. ''He's just a good baseball player.''

WORTH NOTING

The Pirates traded LHP Kyle Lobstein to the Baltimore Orioles for LHP Zach Phillips. The 29-year-old Phillips was 9-3 with one save and a 4.45 ERA in 49 appearances for Triple-A Norfolk this season. He will be assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: RHP Joe Smith (left hamstring strain) and OF Chris Coghlan (right rib contusion) likely will be activated from the DL when major league rosters expand on Thursday.

UP NEXT

Pirates: Following a day off, the Pirates begin a 10-game homestand with a weekend series against the Brewers. RHP Jameson Taillon (3-3, 3.39 ERA) takes on Milwaukee RHP Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.93 ERA) in the opener on Friday night.

Cubs: LHP Mike Montgomery (1-1, 3.50 ERA) gets the ball when Chicago hosts San Francisco in the opener of a four-game set on Thursday night. RHP Jeff Samardzija (11-9, 4.50 ERA), who played for the Cubs for seven years, pitches for the Giants.

---

Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap