Community Picks: Pittsburgh Pirates 0% vs Chicago Cubs 0%

CHICAGO — Kris Bryant hit two homers and drove in four runs, Anthony Rizzo went deep and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 on Friday. Rizzo chased Trevor Williams with a two-run drive in the fourth that made it 3-0. Bryant hit a solo shot against Jhan Marinez in the sixth that cleared the left-field bleachers and added a two-run drive in the eighth off Antonio Bastardo. He also had an RBI triple and finished with four hits, helping Chicago start the weekend series on a winning note after dropping six of nine. Both teams committed three errors and wasted some big scoring opportunities in the early going. Chicago was 2 of 13 with runners in scoring position, while Pirates were 1 Continue to Article

July 07, 2017 6:41:pm EST

This was supposed to be Year 2 of the Cubs’ dynasty. There’s still plenty of baseball left to be played, but entering their final series before the All-Star break, the Cubs are one game under .500 and a season-worst four and a half games out of first place in the National League Central standings. “What’s the deal with the Cubs?” has been a season-long question to this point and one that remains appropriate, even after the Fourth of July has passed. While the first three-plus months of the 2017 campaign have featured nothing but the North Side baseball club hovering around .500, the Cubs themselves are saying with great confidence that the second half is going to be very different. “We’ve done Continue to Article

July 07, 2017 2:13:pm EST

THE FACTS: The story from South African satire site News@Last says a group of rhinos in the country's Kruger National Park are seen on surveillance video surrounding the would-be poachers and trampling them. A spokesman for South African National Parks says "there is no truth" to the story. THE FACTS: Police dismissed widely shared stories about women's bodies found in oil drums on Bill and Hillary Clinton's Chappaqua, New York, property, saying they received no such reports and haven't investigated anything of the sort. Continue to Article

July 07, 2017 1:26:pm EST

This was supposed to be Year 2 of the Cubs’ dynasty. There’s still plenty of baseball left to be played, but entering their final series before the All-Star break, the Cubs are one game under .500 and a season-worst four and a half games out of first place in the National League Central standings. “What’s the deal with the Cubs?” has been a season-long question to this point and one that remains appropriate, even after the Fourth of July has passed. While the first three-plus months of the 2017 campaign have featured nothing but the North Side baseball club hovering around .500, the Cubs themselves are saying with great confidence that the second half is going to be very different. “We’ve done Continue to Article

July 07, 2017 1:18:pm EST

On today's episode, David Kaplan is joined by Nick Friedell (ESPN Chicago), David Haugh (Chicago Tribune), and Jason Goch (SB Nation). First the guys question whether the Brewers are the real deal in the NL Central.  If the Cubs can't turn it around after the break could they really miss the playoffs? Plus, reactions to Kyle Schwarber's underwhelming first game back in the big leagues. Later, the guys give their thoughts on where Nikola Mirotic will eventually land. Finally, Kap tells Cubs fans to "grow up" after a crazy scene at Wrigley where fans clamored to snatch up bobbleheads. Continue to Article

July 06, 2017 9:36:pm EST