|
 PITTSBURGH (AP) - Jason Bay's All-Star break got a lot better with only two swings of his bat. Bay, slumping for more than a month, hit a two-run home run off Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano while driving in four Pirates runs and left-hander Shane Youman held Chicago to two runs over six innings in Pittsburgh's 6-2 victory Sunday.
The Cubs were one of the majors' hottest teams with 11 wins in 13 games before dropping two of three to the Pirates, who go into the All-Star break off a modest surge of four consecutive series victories and five wins in six games against division rivals Chicago and Milwaukee.
The Pirates are 40-48 at the break, eight games below .500 but much improved from their 30-60 of a season ago. The Cubs are 44-43 despite not hitting a homer in their last nine games — their longest such streak since going 10 in a row in mid-July 1988.
|