Led by a monster offensive performance from first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the Chicago Cubs took down Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon in a wildly entertaining game, 13-9.
The 23-year-old Rizzo, who sat out one game earlier in the week after a scary collision tweaked his neck, came up big with his 13th and 14th home runs of the season in the victory. The highlight of his 3-for-5 performance, without question, came in the sixth inning, as the youngster smashed a 3-1 fastball from Pittsburgh reliever Jared Hughes into the bleachers for his first career grand slam.
Also getting in on the action was outfielder Alfonso Soriano with a 3-for-5 day from the plate. Soriano opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single to score Rizzo, and then padded the lead in the eighth with an RBI double that plated infielder Darwin Barney.
With an eye on taking three of four, the Cubs will send Travis Wood (6-11, 4.23 ERA) to the hill on Monday to wrap up the series against Pittsburgh right-hander Kevin Correia (10-9, 4.29 ERA).
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