The Pirates survived a couple of late-inning rallies to hang on against the Cubs for a 3-2 win. Ray Kremer gave them a strong start, although he needed help in the ninth inning. The game was the first of a 17-game road trip for the Pirates, but the only one in a short stop in Chicago.
The Cubs’ Guy Bush gave them a strong start, too. The Pirates had only one hit in the first three innings. In the fourth, Kiki Cuyler and Pie Traynor both singled, putting runners at the corner with two out. Glenn Wright singled to center to bring in Cuyler, while Traynor was thrown out trying to score on the play.
The Bucs made it 3-0 in the top of the seventh. Traynor and Wright singled to start the inning, with Wright taking second on the throw to third. George Grantham then doubled to drive in both.
Kremer meanwhile was shutting Chicago down completely. Apart from an error in the first inning, the only runners he allowed in the first seven innings came on leadoff walks in the fifth and seventh. Both of those runners were wiped out on double plays.
The Cubs broke through in the eighth when Art Jahn led off with their first hit of the game and Gabby Hartnett doubled to drive him in. Kremer stranded Hartnett, but with one out in the ninth Cliff Heathcote drilled a home run to right to cut the lead to 3-2. When the next batter singled, Bill McKechnie called for Johnny Morrison, who got a ground out and a line out to end the game.
Kremer got the win to move to 8-4. Traynor went 4-for-4. The Giants won so the Pirates remain two games in first. They’re off tomorrow and then start a five-game series in New York.
