Major League Baseball

Pirates beat Cubs 5-4 in Game 1 of doubleheader

Published Sep. 15, 2015 4:43 p.m. ET

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PITTSBURGH (AP) Pedro Florimon scored on Starling Marte's sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 5-4 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader on Tuesday.

Florimon entered as a pinch runner after Pedro Alvarez worked a leadoff walk against Justin Grimm (3-5). Florimon stole second and moved to third when the throw from catcher Jesus Montero rolled into center field.

Marte, playing for the first time since injuring his shoulder last Thursday, hit a sharp liner to left. Florimon easily beat Austin Jackson's throw as the Pirates momentarily pulled within two games of St. Louis for the NL Central lead and moved five games ahead of the Cubs for the top NL wild-card spot.

Tony Watson (4-1) pitched a scoreless eighth. Mark Melancon worked a perfect ninth for his major league-leading 46th save, tying the club record Mike Williams set in 2002.

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