Major League Baseball

Cubs sweep Pirates with 6-5 victory

Published Sep. 1, 2016 2:19 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

CHICAGO (AP) Kris Bryant hit his 36th homer and made three solid plays at third base, helping Jason Hammel and the Chicago Cubs top the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-5 on Wednesday night for a three-game series sweep.

Addison Russell had two RBIs and an outstanding sliding catch 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.

Pittsburgh (67-64) closed out a 4-3 trip that began with a sweep in Milwaukee. It trails the Cardinals by 2 1/2 games for the second NL wild card.

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball