Presley reached four times and scored twice as Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak. Josh Harrison doubled, singled and scored twice.

“It was a good team win,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We had some guys throw some things in from top to bottom today.”

Burres (1-0), who was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday, allowed one run and five hits over 5 1-3 innings. The left-hander started on short notice after Jeff Karstens was scratched with what the team is calling “fatigue.”

“(Burres) did a very professional job,” Hurdle said. “He’s pitched in the big leagues before so he wasn’t overwhelmed with anything. I thought he kept the ball down especially well today.”

It’s been a rough season for Burres, who went 4-5 with a 4.99 ERA in 20 games, 13 starts, for Pittsburgh last year. He had a 5-9 record and a 4.66 ERA with Indianapolis when he was promoted.

“I was anxious for Brian’s start,” Hurdle said. “To go down as he did, as professional as he did, start after start. Never a complaint. Hard work. Gets the opportunity and comes up here and pitches. To end up five-plus (innings) with one run on the day, that’s just good stuff.”

The 30-year-old Burres said it was nice to get a win in his return to the majors.

“I’ve been feeling good the last couple of weeks and it’s good to just carry that feeling into my start today,” he said.

“Most of the day I just tried to throw strikes and let my defense do the work.”

Four Pirates relievers combined for 3 2-3 perfect innings, with Joel Hanrahan picking up his 33rd save in 36 chances. Jason Grilli got the last two outs of the sixth, Chris Leroux pitched the seventh and Jose Veras worked the eighth before Hanrahan struck out two in the ninth.

Carlos Pena went deep for the Cubs, who have lost nine of 12. The first baseman now has at least 25 homers in five straight seasons and six times overall in his career.

“I said this before, just the fact that I’ve been able to hit one in the big leagues is a blessing to me and I’m very grateful for it, let alone hit so many,” Pena said.

Ryan Dempster (10-11) worked out of a couple of early jams and held Pittsburgh to three runs and seven hits over 6 1-3 innings. He struck out nine, two shy of his season best, and threw a season-high 121 pitches.

“I tried to survive those first couple innings, they fouled off a lot of pitches,” Dempster said. “I was able to get out there and get into the seventh.”

Pena connected in the second, hitting a drive to the deepest part of center field to give the Cubs the lead.

“That pitch I just left up a little bit and he did a good job of hitting hit hard,” Burres said.

Pittsburgh responded with two in the third. Presley led off with a triple off the right-field wall and Harrison followed with a single to right. Garrett Jones added a two-out RBI double.

“You just try to see pitches and get on base,” Presley said. “I was familiar with Dempster from the last time facing him so I tried to be a little more aggressive.”

Neither team mounted much offense after that. The Cubs stranded two runners in the third and fourth. The Pirates didn’t threaten again until Presley’s one-out triple in the seventh chased Dempster. Presley scored on Jose Tabata’s two-out single off Kerry Wood.

Presley became the first Pirate to record two triples in a game since Andrew McCutchen on June 8, 2009. He has five triples on the season.

“Presley ignited us at the top, stayed on base and made some things happen,” Hurdle said. “Harrison gave us some life.”

The only damper on the day for the Pirates came when McCutchen was hit in the left hand in the first inning. He remained in the game to run the bases, but was replaced by Tabata before the Cubs batted in the bottom half.

The team said McCutchen does not have a fracture and is listed as day to day.

NOTES: The Cubs promoted 1B Bryan LaHair from Triple-A Iowa. LaHair’s 38 home runs for Iowa were leading the minor leagues. . The Cubs announced that RHP Carlos Zambrano will not pitch for them again this season, even though his time on the disqualified list expires on Sept. 11. . Pirates 1B Derrek Lee (left wrist) took batting practice and the team hopes to activate him from the 15-day disabled list on Sunday if all goes well. . The Cubs will send RHP Casey Coleman to the hill on Saturday to face Pittsburgh RHP Ross Ohlendorf. Coleman has an 11.34 ERA in 19 2-3 innings at Wrigley Field this season.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Brian Burres pitched into the sixth in his first start of the season and Alex Presley had two triples, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1 on Friday. 

Presley reached four times and scored twice as Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak. Josh Harrison doubled, singled and scored twice.

Burres (1-0) allowed one run and five hits over 5 1-3 innings. The left-hander was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday. 

Four Pirates relievers combined for 3 2-3 perfect innings, with Joel Hanrahan picking up his 33rd save in 36 chances.

Jason Grilli got the last two outs of the sixth, Chris Leroux pitched the seventh and Jose Veras worked the eighth before Hanrahan struck out two in the ninth. 

Carlos Pena went deep for the Cubs, who have lost nine of 12. The first baseman now has at least 25 homers in five straight seasons and six times overall in his career. 

Ryan Dempster (10-11) worked out of a couple of early jams and held Pittsburgh to three runs and seven hits over 6 1-3 innings. He struck out nine, two shy of his season best, and threw a season-high 121 pitches. 

Pena connected in the second, hitting a drive to the deepest part of center field to give the Cubs the lead. 

Pittsburgh responded with two in the third. Presley led off with a triple off the right-field wall and Harrison followed with a single to right. Garrett Jones added a two-out RBI double. 

Neither team mounted much offense after that. The Cubs stranded two runners in the third and fourth. The Pirates didn’t threaten again until Presley’s one-out triple in the seventh chased Dempster. Presley scored on Jose Tabata’s two-out single off Kerry Wood. 

Presley became the first Pirate to record two triples in a game since Andrew McCutchen on June 8, 2009. He has five triples on the season. 

PITTSBURGH – Andrew McCutchen homered and drove in five runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 9-1 on Sunday to enter the All-Star break with their best record in 19 years.

McCutchen backed Paul Maholm with a three-run homer and two sacrifice flies. Neil Walker went 3 for 4, and Alex Presley had two hits and scored two runs for Pittsburgh.

The Pirates (47-43) have their best record and are closer to first place this late in the season than at any time since their most recent winning season in 1992. Surprising Pittsburgh entered Sunday a game behind Milwaukee and St. Louis in the NL Central standings.

Rookie Darwin Barney had two hits for the Cubs, who have lost seven of 10.

A day after he made the All-Star team for the first time, McCutchen already had a sacrifice fly when he came up with Presley and Walker aboard in the third. He sent an 0-1 pitch from Ramon Ortiz (0-2) into the Cubs’ bullpen in left-center for his 14th homer.

During both the first and third innings, Presley singled and Walker hit a one-out double before McCutchen came up.

Walker tripled leading off the fifth to chase Ortiz. He scored on McCutchen’s fly ball against Chris Carpenter.

Maholm (6-9) allowed one run and four hits in 7 2-3 innings, finishing with eight strikeouts and no walks. The left-hander improved to 9-2 in his career against the Cubs and has allowed only one run in 23 1-3 innings against them this season.

Reed Johnson scored on Aramis Ramirez’s fielder’s choice in the fourth for Chicago’s first run off Maholm in 19 innings this season. Johnson started the inning with a double and moved to third on Starlin Castro’s single.

The only other hits Maholm were by Barney, in the sixth and eighth.

Chris Resop got Johnson to fly out to end the eighth, and Jose Veras finished the four-hitter.

Since shutting out Chicago on May 28, Maholm is 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA in nine starts.

Via hit batters and Pittsburgh errors, Chicago had baserunners Sunday, but the Pirates turned a double play in each of the first four innings.

Making his second start since his contract was purchased from Triple-A Iowa, the 38-year-old Ortiz was charged with six runs and seven hits.

NOTES: Pittsburgh RHP Kevin Correia was added to the NL All-Star team as a replacement for Phillies LHP Cole Hamels. The selection gives the Pirates three All-stars for the first time since 1990. … The Pirates are expected to activate LHP Joe Beimel from the disabled list in time for their next game on Friday. … Walker has hit safely in all 18 of his career games against the Cubs and McCutchen has reached safely in each of his past 23 games against Chicago. … Chicago lost for the 15th time in its past 23 games, but all but one of the previous defeats in that stretch were by three runs or less.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Andrew McCutchen homered and drove in five runs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 9-1 on Sunday to enter the All-Star break with their best record in 19 years.

McCutchen backed Paul Maholm with a three-run homer and two sacrifice flies. Neil Walker went 3 for 4, and Alex Presley had two hits and scored two runs for Pittsburgh.

The Pirates (47-43) have their best record and are closer to first place this late in the season than at any time since their most recent winning season in 1992. Surprising Pittsburgh entered Sunday a game behind Milwaukee and St. Louis in the NL Central standings.

Rookie Darwin Barney had two hits for the Cubs, who have lost seven of 10.

A day after he made the All-Star team for the first time, McCutchen already had a sacrifice fly when he came up with Presley and Walker aboard in the third. He sent an 0-1 pitch from Ramon Ortiz (0-2) into the Cubs’ bullpen in left-center for his 14th homer.

During both the first and third innings, Presley singled and Walker hit a one-out double before McCutchen came up.

Walker tripled leading off the fifth to chase Ortiz. He scored on McCutchen’s fly ball against Chris Carpenter.

Maholm (6-9) allowed one run and four hits in 7 2-3 innings, finishing with eight strikeouts and no walks. The left-hander improved to 9-2 in his career against the Cubs and has allowed only one run in 23 1-3 innings against them this season.

Reed Johnson scored on Aramis Ramirez‘s fielder’s choice in the fourth for Chicago’s first run off Maholm in 19 innings this season. Johnson started the inning with a double and moved to third on Starlin Castro’s single.

The only other hits Maholm were by Barney, in the sixth and eighth.

Chris Resop got Johnson to fly out to end the eighth, and Jose Veras finished the four-hitter.

Since shutting out Chicago on May 28, Maholm is 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA in nine starts.

Via hit batters and Pittsburgh errors, Chicago had baserunners Sunday, but the Pirates turned a double play in each of the first four innings.

Making his second start since his contract was purchased from Triple-A Iowa, the 38-year-old Ortiz was charged with six runs and seven hits.

NOTES: Pittsburgh RHP Kevin Correia was added to the NL All-Star team as a replacement for Phillies LHP Cole Hamels. The selection gives the Pirates three All-stars for the first time since 1990. … The Pirates are expected to activate LHP Joe Beimel from the disabled list in time for their next game on Friday. … Walker has hit safely in all 18 of his career games against the Cubs and McCutchen has reached safely in each of his past 23 games against Chicago. … Chicago lost for the 15th time in its past 23 games, but all but one of the previous defeats in that stretch were by three runs or less.

Flushing, NY (Sports Network) – The Pittsburgh Pirates placed catcher Ryan
Doumit and infielder Steve Pearce on the 15-day disabled list Monday.

Doumit is suffering from a left ankle sprain, while Pearce has a right calf
strain.

Doumit left Sunday’s game against the Cubs after injuring his ankle in the
second inning.

Doumit was blocking the plate as Carlos Pena came running in from third trying
to score on Koyie Hill’s fly ball. The catcher was several feet up the third-
base line, and Pena slid into the lower half of his left leg as the throw from
right field came to the plate. Doumit’s ankle was caught underneath Pena
during the slide, and he limped around in pain after the runner was ruled
safe.

Pearce left Saturday’s contest against the Cubs after feeling soreness in his
right calf while advancing to second on a throw to home plate after hitting a
single.

Doumit is carrying a .269 batting average with four home runs and 15 RBI,
while Pearce is batting .291 with one homer and 10 RBI.

To fill the roster spots, the Pirates have selected the contracts of catcher
Dusty Brown and infielder Josh Harrison from Triple-A Indianapolis.

Brown appeared in seven games for the Boston Red Sox last season where he hit
.250 with two RBI. Harrison has yet to appear in a major league game but ranks
fifth in the International League with a .321 batting average this season.

Pittsburgh also transferred pitcher Ross Ohlendorf from the 15-day disabled
list to the 60-day DL because of a right shoulder posterior strain.

The Sports Network

Charlie Morton has been a pleasant surprise for the
Pittsburgh Pirates this season and will make his 10th start tonight against
the New York Mets in the opener of a four-game series at Citi Field.

Although Morton lost his most recent outing, he’s still an impressive 5-2 with
a 2.61 earned run average this season. Morton has never won six games in a
season and was the hard-luck loser in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Atlanta
last Tuesday at PNC Park, where he allowed both runs and seven hits in seven
innings. The right-hander was coming off a shutout at Cincinnati that pushed
his 2011 road record to 4-1 in five starts.

Morton has faced the Mets twice in his career, one of which was a start, and
he is 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA.

Pittsburgh didn’t give starter Jeff Karstens enough run support in Sunday’s
3-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs in the finale of a three-game series at Wrigley
Field. Karstens allowed three runs — two earned — and seven hits in five
innings to fall to 3-4 on the season. Lyle Overbay provided the offense for
the Pirates with a two-run double in the first inning.

The Pirates were aiming for a three-game sweep of the Cubs, but lost for the
fourth time in six contests.

“We’re not disappointed. We went out and played a ballgame and they played
better than us,” said Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle after the Cubs loss. “We
won the series. That was the objective coming in.”

Hurdle could be without catcher Ryan Doumit after he sprained his left ankle
in a play at the plate during the second inning. Doumit was in a walking boot
and had crutches at his locker following the loss, and is scheduled to fly
back to Pittsburgh for an MRI. X-rays taken during the game were negative.

New York is coming off a big win over rival Philadelphia and salvaged the
finale of a three-game set with a 9-5 triumph on Sunday afternoon.

Jose Reyes had four hits, including two triples, and drove in a run, while
Josh Thole went 3-for-4 with three RBI for New York, which won for the second
time in eight tries and improved to 1-2 on a 10-game homestand.

New York starter Jon Niese gave up one unearned run, five hits and four walks
while recording six strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings for the win.

“Our offense got timely hits and a lot of hits,” Niese said.

The Mets, who will also host Atlanta for three games, are slated to send
Dillon Gee to the mound on Monday and he’s 4-0 with a 3.83 earned run average
through nine games (6 starts) this season. Gee has won two straight outings
and squeezed by the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Wednesday’s 7-4 win, allowing
four runs in six innings of work.

Gee, a right-hander, was coming off 7 2/3 shutout innings in a 1-0 win versus
Washington and is 2-0 in five games (3 starts) at home this season. Gee threw
six shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Pittsburgh last Sept. 13, but did not
figure into the decision.

New York won six of seven meetings with the Pirates a year ago and has won
seven in a row at home in this series. Pittsburgh’s last road win in this
series was a 7-5 triumph on August 11, 2008.

Mets outfielder Jason Bay will face his former Pirates club for the first time
since he was traded to Boston in a three-team trade on July 31, 2008. Bay is
the only Rookie of the Year in Pittsburgh history.

©2011 Sports Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Ryan Dempster’s rough start to the season is becoming a distant memory.

The Canadian threw six solid innings, Aramis Ramirez ended a long home run drought and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in a rain-delayed game Sunday.

Dempster (4-4) recovered from a poor first inning to post his fifth quality start in his last six outings. After allowing two runs, a walk and Lyle Overbay’s two-run double in the first, Dempster settled down to shut out the Pirates on four hits over the next five innings.

“There is a lot of game left after (the first inning),” the native of Gibsons,B.C., said. “Just keep going out there and getting outs and making pitches.”

Dempster allowed four hits and two runs overall, striking out five and walking three. He beat the Pirates for first time in five starts dating to May 4, 2010.

After a rough April, Dempster is now 3-1 with a 3.08 ERA in his last six outings.

“A few pitches got away from him in that first inning,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said. “We’ve talked a little about him regrouping and getting himself back in tune with command of his pitches. After that first inning, he was able to do that. He’s had a great May.”

Elsewhere in the NL it was: New York 9 Philadelphia 5; Milwaukee 6 San Francisco 0; San Diego 5 Washington 4; Arizona 4 Houston 2; St. Louis 4 Colorado 3; Los Angeles 8 Florida 0; and Atlanta 2 Cincinnati 1.

At Chicago, Ramirez’s line drive solo shot in the second broke a streak of 155 at-bats without a home run, the second longest stretch of his career. Ramirez went 170 at-bats between homers from Aug. 2, 1998, until April 21, 2000.

“He put a great swing on that ball,” Quade said. “Those home runs are going to come for him.”

The Cubs got three scoreless innings from their bullpen, one each from Kerry Wood, Sean Marshall and closer Carlos Marmol, who earned his 10th save.

“That’s kind the way we left spring training drawing it up,” Quade said. “We’ll (like) a three-run lead in the ninth, but those are the kind of things you hope you’ll be able to do.”

The Cubs beat the Pirates for the second time in six games at Wrigley Field this season. Even after Sunday’s loss, the Pirates have beaten the Cubs in 16 of the last 23 meetings.

“It seems like they always give us a tough time,” Ramirez said. “They’ve got good pitching, good young players. But we should play better against them.”

Pirates starter Jeff Karstens (3-4) allowed three runs — two earned — and struck out four over five innings. Karstens, who recently took the rotation spot of injured Ross Ohelendorff, departed after throwing just 71 pitches.

“We take two out of three and I had to be the guy that ended up losing that game,” said Karstens. “We had a lot of road woes, but this year we’re doing a little bit better.”

The Cubs manufactured the go-ahead run in the third. Kosuke Fukudome led off with a double, went to third on Darwin Barney’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Starlin Castro’s sacrifice fly.

Overbay walked and drove in both Pittsburgh runs with his two-run double in the first.

The game was delayed by two hours 34 minutes at the start because of heavy rain. However, once the storm front cleared the Chicago area, it was a mild and pleasant afternoon.

The Cubs scored their first run in the second on the long-overdue homer from Ramirez, who has averaged 28 each of his seven full seasons with the Cubs. Carlos Pena, who followed with a single, has reached base in 21 of his last 23 games.

Speedy Cubs rookie Tony Campana then hit a grounder to shortstop Ronny Cedeno and beat the throw, which skipped away from Overbay. Pena advanced to third on the play and Cedeno was charged with an error, snapping his 35-game errorless streak.

Pena scored on Koyie Hill’s sacrifice fly to right. Pena beat the throw of Pirates right-fielder Garrett Jones, but he slid into catcher Ryan Doumit, who left the game with what the Pirates called an injured left ankle. He was replaced by backup Chris Snyder.

Doumit will undergo an MRI exam in Pittsburgh on Monday.

“(Pena) came in hard and I am sitting there bracing, waiting for the throw and obviously we’ve seen these things happen in the past,” Doumit said. “It’s the nature of the beast.”

Some familiar Cubs nemises got the Pirates out to an early 2-0 lead.

Andrew McCutchen and Neal Walker drew back-to-back walks against Dempster. Both scored on Overbay’s double into the right-field corner.

McCutchen has now reached base safely in his last 21 games against the Cubs. Walker, who singled in the sixth, has hit safely in all 15 games he’s played against Chicago in his career.

“We’re not disappointed,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We went out and played a ballgame and they played better than us. We won the series. That was the objective coming in. We’ll move on. We had a chance to sweep, but we didn’t sweep. We have to do things to win a game. We scored two in the first and we weren’t able to add anything after that.”

At New York, Jose Reyes tripled twice for the third time this season and a refreshed Josh Thole had three hits and three RBIs as the Mets enjoyed a rare offensive outburst in a victory over Philadelphia.

—

At Milwaukee, Yovani Gallardo allowed four hits in eight innings to win his fifth straight start, and the Brewers topped San Francisco to wrap up an 8-1 homestand.

—

At Washington, Ryan Ludwick had three hits and two RBIs, including a go-ahead infield single in the ninth inning, Brad Hawpe had two hits and two RBIs, and San Diego beat the Nationals.

—

At Houston, Xavier Nady hit a two-run double in the eighth inning, helping Arizona rally for a victory and a series sweep of the Astros.

—

At Denver, Kyle Lohse pitched six solid innings to match a major league high with his seventh win and Jon Jay hit a two-run homer, helping St. Louis hold off Colorado.

—

At Los Angeles, Clayton Kershaw pitched a two-hitter for his second shutout and complete game in the majors, Rafael Furcal hit his first home run of the season and drove in three runs, and the Dodgers routed Florida.

—

At Atlanta, Jair Jurrjens outpitched Johnny Cueto, Martin Prado hit a two-run homer and the Braves beat Cincinnati, putting an end to the Reds’ damaging road trip.

CHICAGO — The string of bad weather continued at Wrigley Field. Several other trends show signs of reversing.

Aramis Ramirez ended a long home run drought, Ryan Dempster threw six solid innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in a rain-delayed game today.

“I have a long way to go,” Ramirez said. “Hopefully, I keep driving the ball.”

Ramirez’s line drive solo shot in the second broke a streak of 155 at-bats without a home run, the second longest stretch of his career. Ramirez went 170 at-bats between homers from Aug. 2, 1998, until April 21, 2000.

“He put a great swing on that ball,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said. “Those home runs are going to come for him.”

Dempster (4-4) recovered from a poor start to post his fifth quality start in his last six outings. After allowing two runs, a walk and Lyle Overbay’s two-run double in the first inning, Dempster settled down to shut out the Pirates on four hits over the next five innings.

“The first inning started out great,” Dempster said. “There is a lot of game left after that. Just keep going out there and getting outs and making pitches.”

Dempster allowed four hits and two runs overall, striking out five and walking three. He beat the Pirates for first time in five starts dating to May 4, 2010.

After a rough April, Dempster is now 3-1 with a 3.08 ERA in his last six outings.

“A few pitches got away from him in that first inning,” Quade said. “We’ve talked a little about him regrouping and getting himself back in tune with command of his pitches. After that first inning, he was able to do that. He’s had a great May.”

The Cubs got three scoreless innings from their bullpen, one each from Kerry Wood, Sean Marshall and closer Carlos Marmol, who earned his 10th save.

“That’s kind the way we left spring training drawing it up,” Quade said. “We’ll (like) a three-run lead in the ninth, but those are the kind of things you hope you’ll be able to do.”

The Cubs beat the Pirates for the second time in six games at Wrigley Field this season. Even after Sunday’s loss, the Pirates have beaten the Cubs in 16 of the last 23 meetings.

“It seems like they always give us a tough time,” Ramirez said. “They’ve got good pitching, good young players. But we should play better against them.”

Pirates starter Jeff Karstens (3-4) allowed three runs — two earned — and struck out four over five innings. Karstens, who recently took the rotation spot of injured Ross Ohelendorff, departed after throwing just 71 pitches.

“We take two out of three and I had to be the guy that ended up losing that game,” said Karstens. “We had a lot of road woes, but this year we’re doing a little bit better.”

The Cubs manufactured the go-ahead run in the third. Kosuke Fukudome led off with a double, went to third on Darwin Barney’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Starlin Castro’s sacrifice fly.

Overbay walked and drove in both Pittsburgh runs with his two-run double in the first.

The game was delayed by 2 hours, 34 minutes at the start because of heavy rain. However, once the storm front cleared the Chicago area, it was a mild and pleasant afternoon.

The Cubs scored their first run in the second on the long-overdue homer from Ramirez, who has averaged 28 each of his seven full seasons with the Cubs. Carlos Pena, who followed with a single, has reached base in 21 of his last 23 games.

Speedy Cubs rookie Tony Campana then hit a grounder to shortstop Ronny Cedeno and beat the throw, which skipped away from Overbay. Pena advanced to third on the play and Cedeno was charged with an error, snapping his 35-game errorless streak.

Pena scored on Koyie Hill’s sacrifice fly to right. Pena beat the throw of Pirates right fielder Garrett Jones, but he slid into catcher Ryan Doumit, who left the game with what the Pirates called an injured left ankle. He was replaced by backup Chris Snyder.

Doumit will undergo an MRI exam in Pittsburgh on Monday.

“(Pena) came in hard and I am sitting there bracing, waiting for the throw and obviously we’ve seen these things happen in the past,” Doumit said. “It’s the nature of the beast.”

Some familiar Cubs nemises got the Pirates out to an early 2-0 lead.

Andrew McCutchen and Neal Walker drew back-to-back walks against Cubs starter Ryan Dempster. Both scored on Overbay’s double into the right-field corner.

McCutchen has now reached base safely in his last 21 games against the Cubs. Walker, who singled in the sixth, has hit safely in all 15 games he’s played against Chicago in his career.

“We’re not disappointed,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We went out and played a ballgame and they played better than us. We won the series. That was the objective coming in. We’ll move on. We had a chance to sweep, but we didn’t sweep. We have to do things to win a game. We scored two in the first and we weren’t able to add anything after that.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Aramis Ramirez ended a long home run drought, Ryan Dempster threw six solid innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in a rain-delayed game Sunday.

Ramirez’s line drive solo shot in the second broke a streak of 155 at-bats without a home run, the second longest stretch of his career. Ramirez went 170 at-bats between homers from Aug. 2, 1998, until April 21, 2000.

Dempster (4-4) recovered from a poor start to post his fifth quality start in his last six outings. After allowing two runs, a walk and Lyle Overbay’s two-run double in the first inning, Dempster settled down to shut out the Pirates on four hits over the next five innings.

Dempster allowed four hits and two runs overall, striking out five and walking three. He beat the Pirates for first time in five starts dating to May 4, 2010.

The Cubs got three scoreless innings from their bullpen, one each from Kerry Wood, Sean Marshall and closer Carlos Marmol.

Marmol, who earned his 10th save, has allowed just one earned run in his last 21 innings.

Pirates starter Jeff Karstens (3-4) allowed three runs — two earned — and struck out four over five innings. Karsten, who recently took the rotation spot of the injured Ross Ohelendorff, departed after throwing just 71 pitches.

The Cubs manufactured the go-ahead run in the third. Kosuke Fukudome led off with a double, went to third on Darwin Barney’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Starlin Castro’s sacrifice fly.

Fukudome, who had two hits, entered the game leading the majors with a .411 home average. 

Overbay walked and drove in both Pittsburgh runs with his two-run double in the first.

The game was delayed by 2 hours, 34 minutes at the start because of heavy rain. However, once the storm front cleared the Chicago area, it was a mild and pleasant afternoon.

The Cubs scored their first run in the second on the long-overdue homer run from Ramirez, who has averaged 28 each of his seven full seasons with the Cubs. Carlos Pena, who followed with a single, has reached base in 21 of his last 23 games.

Speedy Cubs rookie Tony Campana then hit a grounder to shortstop Ronny Cedeno and beat the throw, which skipped away from Overbay. Pena advanced to third on the play and Cedeno was charged with an error, snapping his 35-game errorless streak.

Pena scored on Koyie Hill’s sacrifice fly to right, his run unearned because of Cedeno’s miscue. Pena beat the throw of Pirates right fielder Garrett Jones, but he slid into catcher Ryan Doumit.

Doumit was hurt on the play, leaving the game with what the Pirates called an injured left ankle. He was replaced by backup Chris Snyder.

Some familiar Cubs nemises got the Pirates out to an early 2-0 lead.

Andrew McCutchen and Neal Walker drew back-to-back walks against Cubs starter Ryan Dempster. Both scored on Overbay’s double into the right-field corner.

McCutchen has now reached base safely in his last 21 games against the Cubs. Walker, who siongled in the sixth, has hit safely in all 15 games he’s played against Chicago in his career.

NOTES: Catcher Geovany Soto returned to the Cubs’ clubhouse after being activated off the DL. He hasn’t played since May 10 because of a left groin strain. To make room for Soto, the Cubs optioned backup catcher Welington Castillo to Triple-A Iowa. Soto is expected to start in Monday’s series opener against Houston. … The Cubs placed CF Reed Johnson on the DL because of lower back spasms and recalled OF Brad Snyder from Iowa. The Cubs also had to clear space for Snyder on the team’s 40-man roster, so they moved injured starter Andrew Cashner (right rotator cuff strain) to the 60-day disabled list.

CHICAGO (AP) – Aramis Ramirez ended a long home run drought, Ryan Dempster threw six solid innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in a rain-delayed game Sunday.

Ramirez’s line drive solo shot in the second broke a streak of 155 at-bats without a home run, the second longest stretch of his career. Ramirez went 170 at-bats between homers from Aug. 2, 1998, until April 21, 2000.

Dempster (4-4) recovered from a poor start to post his fifth quality start in his last six outings. After allowing two runs, a walk and Lyle Overbay’s two-run double in the first inning, Dempster settled down to shut out the Pirates on four hits over the next five innings.

Dempster allowed four hits and two runs overall, striking out five and walking three. He beat the Pirates for first time in five starts dating to May 4, 2010.

The Cubs got three scoreless innings from their bullpen, one each from Kerry Wood, Sean Marshall and closer Carlos Marmol.

Marmol, who earned his 10th save, has allowed just one earned run in his last 21 innings.

Pirates starter Jeff Karstens (3-4) allowed three runs – two earned – and struck out four over five innings. Karsten, who recently took the rotation spot of the injured Ross Ohelendorff, departed after throwing just 71 pitches.

The Cubs manufactured the go-ahead run in the third. Kosuke Fukudome led off with a double, went to third on Darwin Barney’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Starlin Castro’s sacrifice fly.

Fukudome, who had two hits, entered the game leading the majors with a .411 home average.

Overbay walked and drove in both Pittsburgh runs with his two-run double in the first.

The game was delayed by 2 hours, 34 minutes at the start because of heavy rain. However, once the storm front cleared the Chicago area, it was a mild and pleasant afternoon.

The Cubs scored their first run in the second on the long-overdue homer run from Ramirez, who has averaged 28 each of his seven full seasons with the Cubs. Carlos Pena, who followed with a single, has reached base in 21 of his last 23 games.

Speedy Cubs rookie Tony Campana then hit a grounder to shortstop Ronny Cedeno and beat the throw, which skipped away from Overbay. Pena advanced to third on the play and Cedeno was charged with an error, snapping his 35-game errorless streak.

Pena scored on Koyie Hill’s sacrifice fly to right, his run unearned because of Cedeno’s miscue. Pena beat the throw of Pirates right fielder Garrett Jones, but he slid into catcher Ryan Doumit.

Doumit was hurt on the play, leaving the game with what the Pirates called an injured left ankle. He was replaced by backup Chris Snyder.

Some familiar Cubs nemises got the Pirates out to an early 2-0 lead.

Andrew McCutchen and Neal Walker drew back-to-back walks against Cubs starter Ryan Dempster. Both scored on Overbay’s double into the right-field corner.

McCutchen has now reached base safely in his last 21 games against the Cubs. Walker, who siongled in the sixth, has hit safely in all 15 games he’s played against Chicago in his career.

NOTES: Catcher Geovany Soto returned to the Cubs’ clubhouse after being activated off the DL. He hasn’t played since May 10 because of a left groin strain. To make room for Soto, the Cubs optioned backup catcher Welington Castillo to Triple-A Iowa. Soto is expected to start in Monday’s series opener against Houston. … The Cubs placed CF Reed Johnson on the DL because of lower back spasms and recalled OF Brad Snyder from Iowa. The Cubs also had to clear space for Snyder on the team’s 40-man roster, so they moved injured starter Andrew Cashner (right rotator cuff strain) to the 60-day disabled list.

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CHICAGO — The Pittsburgh Pirates scored 13 runs total in Paul Maholm’s first 10 starts this season. On Saturday they hit four homers and crossed the plate 10 times, giving the left-hander a comfortable cushion he’s seldom enjoyed.

The way Maholm was pitching, though, he didn’t need that much help. He mowed down the Chicago Cubs with a three-hit shutout, retiring the side in order in seven of the nine innings of Pittsburgh’s 10-0 victory. It was his first win since April 25.

“You go out there and you do everything you can to make sure the team has a chance. And I think I’ve done that,” Maholm said. “And today the guys broke out and scored a bunch of runs and made it easier on me. And going out there, every pitch wasn’t a nail-biter.”

Ronny Cedeno, Lyle Overbay, Chris Snyder and Andrew McCutchen each homered for the Pirates.

Maholm (2-7) got his third career shutout in a place he’s always pitched well. He’s 8-2 in 15 career starts against the Cubs, including 6-2 in 11 starts at Wrigley Field.

He only needed 91 pitches to finish off the Cubs in a game that took 2 hours, 28 minutes.

“The main thing is that no matter where you pitch, if you execute your pitches and mix speeds it makes it a lot easier,” he said.

“That last inning my goal was to try to get it under 90 pitches, but I’ll take the 92 or whatever it is. It was just something to say you’ve done. With the run support, it was mainly just go out there, attack hitters and let the guys do their job on defense.”

Maholm retired the first 13 batters he faced before Alfonso Soriano doubled in the fifth, driving a ball to the center-field wall that McCutchen leaped for but couldn’t catch. Lou Montanez then reached on an infield single.

Darwin Barney reached on a two-out infield single in the ninth for the only other Chicago hit. Maholm walked none and struck out four.

Pittsburgh had been struggling offensively with only six runs in its previous four games, but broke out on an overcast 61-degree day with their most homers in a game this season.

“I’m sure it’s been frustrating, but he really hasn’t let it show,” Snyder said of Maholm. “He goes about his business. He’s a professional. And like I said, what he did today was nothing different than what he’s been doing all year except for the run support.”

Cedeno’s three-run shot capped a five-run fourth that finally gave Maholm a big early lead.

In just his second start of the season and first since April 4, Chicago’s Randy Wells (1-1) lasted four innings after being activated off the disabled list (right forearm strain).

Wells gave up five hits, including Cedeno’s second homer, and five runs with three walks and seven strikeouts in a 92-pitch outing.

Overbay hit his fifth homer, leading off the sixth against reliever James Russell. And one out later, Snyder sent his second homer of the season over the wall in left to make it 7-0. McCutchen connected off reliever Scott Maine in the seventh, his ninth of the season.

McCutchen led off the fourth with a single and made third on Neil Walker’s fly ball double to left that Soriano couldn’t catch. One out later, Steve Pearce hit a two-run single and, after Snyder walked, ex-Cub Cedeno drove a ball over the wall in right-center.

“I got behind a lot of hitters and ran the pitch count up,” Wells said, adding he wasn’t as rusty as he was anxious. “I gave up the double to left there that I thought off the bat was a fly ball out. … You try to control the inning. … I felt confident I could go after Cedeno with the pitcher on deck, just made a bad pitch and left it up.”

Maholm had pitched 6 2/3 innings of scoreless ball at Wrigley Field on April 2, leaving with a 3-0 lead, before the Cubs got five runs in the eighth and he ended up with a no-decision.

His last shutout before Saturday came on July 18, 2010, against the Astros.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was impressed with how Maholm has handled his first 11 starts, through the good run support of Saturday and the leaner times during most of the season.

“All he can control is his job off the mound, and he’s really embraced that,” Hurdle said. “He can’t control run support. He can’t control a lot of other things. But he can control how he pitches. And that’s what he’s locked down on.”

Notes: The Pirates are 16-6 in their past 22 games against the Cubs. … Pearce left the game after the top of the fourth with soreness in his right calf. He was replaced at third base by Brandon Wood. … Walker has hit safely in all 14 of his career games against the Cubs. … Rodrigo Lopez, acquired from Atlanta in a minor-league trade Thursday, will make his first start for the Cubs on Monday against Houston. … Matt Garza, on the DL with a sore elbow, could throw on the side today. … CF Marlon Byrd, recovering from facial fractures after being hit near the eye by Boston’s Alfredo Aceves last weekend, is consulting specialists this week. … Jeff Baker (groin) and Reed Johnson (back) were held out of the lineup Saturday. Baker pinch-hit in the ninth. … Cubs cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez has one homer all season and that came April 6. … The Pirates put LHP Joe Beimel on the DL with left elbow inflammation and planned to send him back to Pittsburgh to be examined.

“You go out there and you do everything you can to make sure the team has a chance. And I think I’ve done that,” Maholm said. “And today the guys broke out and scored a bunch of runs and made it easier on me. And going out there, every pitch wasn’t a nail-biter.”

Ronny Cedeno, Lyle Overbay, Chris Snyder and Andrew McCutchen each homered for the Pirates.

Maholm (2-7) got his third career shutout in a place he has always pitched well. He’s 8-2 in 15 career starts against the Cubs, including 6-2 in 11 starts at Wrigley Field.

He needed 91 pitches to finish off the Cubs in a game that took 2 hours, 28 minutes.

Maholm retired the first 13 batters he faced before Alfonso Soriano doubled in the fifth, driving a ball to the center-field wall that McCutchen leaped for but couldn’t catch. Lou Montanez then reached on an infield single.

Darwin Barney reached on a two-out infield single in the ninth for the only other Chicago hit. Maholm walked none and struck out four.

Pittsburgh had been struggling offensively with only six runs in its previous four games, but broke out on an overcast 61-degree day with their most homers in a game this season.

“I’m sure it’s been frustrating, but he really hasn’t let it show,” Snyder said of Maholm. “He goes about his business. He’s a professional.”

In just his second start of the season and first since April 4, Chicago’s Randy Wells (1-1) lasted four innings after being activated off the disabled list (right forearm strain).

Wells gave up five hits, including Cedeno’s second homer, and five runs with three walks and seven strikeouts in a 92-pitch outing.

Maholm had pitched 62/3 innings of scoreless ball at Wrigley Field on April 2, leaving with a 3-0 lead, before the Cubs got five runs in the eighth and he ended up with a no-decision.

His last shutout before Saturday came on July 18, 2010, against the Astros.

Pirates 10, Cubs 0

Pittsburgh 000 502 201 – 10 10 0

Chicago 000 000 000 – 0 3 0

Pittsburgh AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

 Tabata lf 4   2   1   0   1   1   .252   

G.Jones rf 4   0   1   1   1   0   .242   

A.McCutchen cf 5   2   2   2   0   1   .255   

Walker 2b 5   1   2   0   0   0   .265   

Overbay 1b 3   1   1   1   2   1   .235   

Pearce 3b 2   1   1   2   0   1   .291   

Br.Wood 3b 2   0   0   0   0   0   .192   

CHICAGO (AP) — Kevin Correia pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning before the Pittsburgh Pirates held on to beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2 on Friday.

Correia (7-4) limited Chicago to four singles and a pair of walks in 7 1-3 innings. He moved into a tie with Boston’s Jon Lester for the major league lead in wins, and has six of the Pirates’ 14 victories away from PNC Park this season.

Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen remained a thorn in the Cubs’ side with two singles, a walk, an RBI and two stolen bases. He’s reached base in 19 straight games against the Cubs.

Doug Davis (0-3) walked six batters and hit another during 4 2-3 innings. The Cubs committed a pair of errors in the second that led to two unearned runs, and Davis allowed four in all.

Alfonso Soriano hit his 12th homer of the season, two-run shot off reliever Joe Beimel in the ninth, but Pittsburgh closer Joel Hanrahan came on to strike out three straight batters to remain perfect in 14 save chances this season.

The Cubs got two singles and a walk from Carlos Pena, but not much else. Pena has reached base in 20 of his last 21 games.

Chicago loaded the bases in the eighth. After Correia allowed a single to Koyie Hill and walked Kosuke Fukudome, he was replaced by reliever Jose Veras. He got Darwin Barney on a shallow fly to center, but walked Starlin Castro to load the bases.

Veras got cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez on a pop fly to second to end the inning.

The Pirates improved to 14-12 on the road this season. Last season, they went 17-64 away from home, eight games worse than any other team in baseball.

Davis’s wildness didn’t help the Cubs, nor did their continuing defensive problems, which led to two unearned runs for the Pirates in the second.

After the first two batters reached, Ronny Cedeno’s sacrifice bunt was mishandled by Davis, loading the bases. Ramirez then bobbled Correia’s grounder to third, scoring Chris Snyder with the game’s first run. The second scored on Steve Pearce’s sacrifice fly.

It was the second straight game the Cubs have committed two errors in an inning, and the sixth time this season. They also dropped into last in the NL in fielding percentage.

The Pirates added two more runs against Davis in the fourth on three walks, a hit batter and an infield single. McCutchen drew a bases loaded walk to score Cedeno, and Neil Walker’s infield hit brought home Jose Tabata.

Davis was finally pulled after walking Correia with two outs in the fifth. He had burned through 111 pitches by that point.

Correia also beat the Cubs at Wrigley on April 1, the opening game for both teams. The Pirates have won three of their four games in Chicago this season, and have beaten the Cubs in 15 of their last 21 meetings.

The Pittsburgh Pirates scored 13 runs total in Paul Maholm’s first 10 starts this season. On Saturday they hit four homers and crossed the plate 10 times, giving the left-hander a comfortable cushion he’s seldom enjoyed.

The way Maholm was pitching, through, he didn’t need that much help. He mowed down the Chicago Cubs with a three-hit shutout, retiring the side in order in seven of the nine innings of Pittsburgh’s 10-0 victory. It was his first win since April 25.

“You go out there and you do everything you can to make sure the team has a chance. And I think I’ve done that,” Maholm said. “And today the guys broke out and scored a bunch of runs and made it easier on me. And going out there, every pitch wasn’t a nail-biter.”

Ronny Cedeno, Lyle Overbay, Chris Snyder and Andrew McCutchen each homered for the Pirates.

Maholm (2-7) got his third career shutout in a place he’s always pitched well. He’s 8-2 in 15 career starts against the Cubs, including 6-2 in 11 starts at Wrigley Field.

He only needed 91 pitches to finish off the Cubs in a game that took 2 hours, 28 minutes.

“The main thing is that no matter where you pitch, if you execute your pitches and mix speeds it makes it a lot easier,” he said.

“That last inning my goal was to try to get it under 90 pitches, but I’ll take the 92 or whatever it is. It was just something to say you’ve done. With the run support, it was mainly just go out there, attack hitters and let the guys do their job on defense.”

Maholm retired the first 13 batters he faced before Alfonso Soriano doubled in the fifth, driving a ball to the center-field wall that McCutchen leaped for but couldn’t catch. Lou Montanez then reached on an infield single.

Darwin Barney reached on a two-out infield single in the ninth for the only other Chicago hit. Maholm walked none and struck out four.

Pittsburgh had been struggling offensively with only six runs in its previous four games, but broke out on an overcast 61-degree day with their most homers in a game this season.

“I’m sure it’s been frustrating, but he really hasn’t let it show,” Snyder said of Maholm. “He goes about his business. He’s a professional. And like I said, what he did today was nothing different than what he’s been doing all year except for the run support.”

Cedeno’s three-run shot capped a five-run fourth that finally gave Maholm a big early lead.

In just his second start of the season and first since April 4, Chicago’s Randy Wells (1-1) lasted four innings after being activated off the disabled list (right forearm strain).

Wells gave up five hits, including Cedeno’s second homer, and five runs with three walks and seven strikeouts in a 92-pitch outing.

Overbay hit his fifth homer, leading off the sixth against reliever James Russell. And one out later, Snyder sent his second homer of the season over the wall in left to make it 7-0. McCutchen connected off reliever Scott Maine in the seventh, his ninth of the season.

McCutchen led off the fourth with a single and made third on Neil Walker’s fly ball double to left that Soriano couldn’t catch. One out later, Steve Pearce hit a two-run single and after Snyder walked, ex-Cub Cedeno drove a ball over the wall in right center.

“I got behind a lot of hitters and ran the pitch count up,” Wells said, adding he wasn’t as rusty as he was anxious. “I gave up the double to left there that I thought off the bat was a fly ball out. … You try to control the inning. … I felt confident I could go after Cedeno with the pitcher on deck, just made a bad pitch and left it up.”

Maholm had pitched 6 2-3 innings of scoreless ball at Wrigley Field on April 2, leaving with a 3-0 lead, before the Cubs got five runs in the eighth and he ended up with a no-decision.

His last shutout before Saturday came on July 18, 2010, against the Astros.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was impressed with how Maholm has handled his first 11 starts, through the good run support of Saturday and the leaner times during most of the season.

“All he can control is his job off the mound, and he’s really embraced that,” Hurdle said. “He can’t control run support. He can’t control a lot of other things. But he can control how he pitches. And that’s what he’s locked down on.”