PITTSBURGH (AP) — Seiya Suzuki homered twice, Drew Smyly pitched five scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs beat Pittsburgh 2-1 on Tuesday, spoiling the Pirates’ home opener.
Suzuki connected for leadoff shots in the fifth and seventh. One of the top players in Japan, Suzuki signed an $85 million, five-year contract with the Cubs last month.
“I’m just trying to stay aggressive and trying to make the pitcher throw more pitches,” Suzuki said through a translator. “Obviously I’m getting lucky, and I just want to continue to contribute like this.”
Smyly (1-0) permitted three hits and walked none in his Cubs debut. The left-hander agreed to a one-year contract last month.
Smyly also signed a $10 million, two-year contract with the Cubs in December 2017, but he never pitched for Chicago. Working his way back from Tommy John surgery, he ran out of time to get into a big league game in 2018 and was traded to Texas that November.
Smyly chuckled when asked about finally making his Cubs debut.
“Everything works out for a reason, everyone has a different path,” Smyly said. “I’ve been very lucky in my career, and I feel very fortunate to be back here and pitching for the Cubs. It felt good to go out there, pitch well and help the team win a game.”
The Pirates got their only run on Bryan Reynolds’ homer against Mychal Givens in the eighth.
David Robertson worked a perfect ninth for his second save.
José Quintana (0-1) made his first appearance for Pittsburgh, pitching five effective innings against one of his former teams. The veteran lefty joined the Pirates as a free agent in November after posting a 6.43 ERA in an injury-plagued 2021 season with the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco.
“All day long, I thought he threw the…
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