The Pirates got a combined four-hitter from Bruce Kison and Kent Tekulve in a 4-1 win over Chicago. The win kept them within half a game of the first-place Expos, who beat the Phillies.
Kison continued a strong, late-season run by going six and two-thirds, allowing four hits and a run. He now has a 1.99 ERA in his last five starts.
The Pirates started slowly against George Riley, a recent callup who was making his first start of the season. They got a run in the second when singles by Bill Madlock and Steve Nicosia put runners at the corners. Phil Garner bunted back to the mound and the Cubs didn’t get anybody, with Madlock scoring and Garner getting credit for a single.
That was the only run in the game until the top of the fifth. The Cubs threatened in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases with two out, but Kison got Barry Foote on a fly to right.
The Pirates extended their lead to 3-0 in the fifth when Tim Foli singled with two on, driving in Garner. That finished Riley. Reliever Dave Geisel got Dave Parker to hit into a force play, but Omar Moreno came around to score from second when second baseman Mick Kelleher threw away the relay to first.
The Cubs finally got to Kison when Bill Buckner led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run. Kison got the next two batters, then gave up a double to Kelleher. That brought on Teke, who got pinch hitter Ken Henderson on a ground out.
Teke shut the Cubs down from there on. The only runner in the eighth or ninth reached on an error by Foli. The Pirates got added insurance in the top of the ninth when Madlock bashed his 14th longball of the year off Dick Tidrow. Kison improved to 11-7 and Teke picked up his 29th save.
