Cubs News: Alexander Canario’s first HR was certainly grand

The Chicago Cubs needed a win as badly as any team in the National League. After losing five in a row, they were 2-8 in their last ten games which put their hold on a playoff spot on edge.

The three most recent losses were to the Arizona Diamondbacks who are fighting with the Cubs for a Wild Card spot. It made winning their next handful of games very important.

A new week started for the Cubs on Tuesday as the Pittsburgh Pirates came to town for three at Wrigley Field. Thanks to some rain in the area, there was a 1:25 delay. Eventually, the game was played in full with no issues.

To say that the Cubs got the best of the Pirates would be an understatement. They dominated them at home in every possible way. The game ended in a 14-1 victory as the Cubs did everything that they needed to do.

The Chicago Cubs did what they needed with Alexander Canario leading the way.

The Pirates are not having a great second half but they are still a halfway decent team overall. For the Cubs to do this to them is very impressive. They had a 5-1 lead after the first three innings which was very important for them.

The Cubs tacked on one run in the sixth but then they remarkably scored eight in the 8th. Not that the Pirates would have come back down 6-1 anyway but adding those extra eight really put it away.

Part of the big eight-run inning was the first career home run for Alexander Canario. It was also a grand slam which makes it even more special for him. It also came in a win which is always extra fun as well.

Canario also had his first career hit earlier in the same game. He had a total of five RBIs which are the first five of his career as well. To say that he is off to a great start would be an understatement.

Dansby Swanson, Seiya Suzuki, and Cody Bellinger also went deep for the Cubs in this route of the Pirates. They need this power to keep on coming, especially from these guys.

Javier Assad got the start and the win in this one. He allowed one run on five hits with a walk in 5.0 IP. He struck out eight in the win which is great. The bullpen backed him up by not giving up a single run in 4.0 IP.

Now, Canario and the Cubs will try to keep their success against the Pirates going. They have another huge tilt on Wednesday night. Their ace, Justin Steele, is on the mound. His opposing starting pitcher is still TBD.

They likely don’t need 14 runs again, especially with Justin Steele on the mound. However, it would be good to see it all clicking again as it did on Tuesday night.