Cubs 3, Pirates 2
Aramis Ramirez homered and Ryan Dempster turned in six strong innings as the Chicago Cubs avoided a sweep with a 3-2 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Koyie Hill and Starlin Castro each added sacrifice flies for the Cubs, who had dropped the first two of the three-game set.
The Pirates jumped on top early, pushing two runs across on Lyle Overbay’s double in the top of the first. But Chicago battled back, tying it with two runs in the second on Ramirez’s solo homer and Hill’s sacrifice fly off Jeff Karstens (3-4).
The Cubs took the lead in the following frame, manufacturing another run when Castro’s sacrifice fly plated Kosuke Fukudome.
Dempster (4-4) made it stand up, striking out five while allowing four hits and walking three to improve to 3-0 over his last four starts. The veteran righthander has surrendered two runs or fewer in five of his last six outings to put his early-season struggles behind him.
Two relievers bridged the gap to Carlos Marmol, who worked the ninth for his 10th save.