The Cubs began a series against the Pirates Friday night at PNC Park after a rain delay of about one hour. It was definitely worth the wait for the visitors, as they exploded in the middle innings to win the game fairly easily.
Cody Bellinger got things going in the opening frame on a majestic solo home run against Pittsburgh hurler Jared Jones. Javier Assad was not particularly sharp early in the game, walking two batters after a throwing error by Christopher Morel to load the bases with one out for Nick Gonzales.