Justin K. Aller/Getty
PITTSBURGH – Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki again was ahead in the count against Pirates ace Paul Skenes.
Suzuki had walked in his previous at-bat. And now, in the fifth inning of a game the Cubs would go on to win 8-3 Wednesday, he’d again watched three straight balls.
“A great pitcher like that in that moment, he wants to throw a strike,” Suzuki said Thursday through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “And then if you let that go, they get the momentum and get the rhythm of the at-bat, so they can throw really good pitches afterwards.