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Cole hopes to continue mastery of Cubs

Sep 12, 2014 - 2:40 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Gerrit Cole tries to remain unbeaten over his brief career against Chicago as the Pittsburgh Pirates begin a three-game series with the visiting Cubs on Friday night.

Cole has won all four of his starts against the Cubs, posting a 3.24 earned run average. He extended that unbeaten streak with a 10-4 win over the hosting Cubs on Sunday, completing a three-game sweep and snapping his own three-start winless streak.

Cole yielded four runs -- three earned -- on nine hits over six-plus innings, adding eight strikeouts to zero walks. The righty was staked to a 7-0 lead after two innings and added his first major league homer, a two-run shot in the seventh.

"The offense exploding early allowed me to try some things out there," Cole told Pittsburgh's website. "I didn't really have a whole lot working, but with a lead like that, you can take some risks. I was fighting myself as well as the Cubs."

The 24-year-old moved to 8-5 on the year with a 3.89 ERA.

Tsuyoshi Wada faced the Pirates in the opener of that set last Friday and will face Pittsburgh for the second time in his career despite exiting that outing after 3 1/3 innings due to cramping in his left leg.

The 33-year-old lefty gave up three runs -- two earned -- on three hits and a walk, taking a no-decision. He is 4-2 this season with a 2.95 ERA over 10 starts.

The Pirates followed up their recent three-game sweep of the Cubs by taking three of four from the Philadelphia Phillies. Thursday's 4-1 win kept Pittsburgh 1 1/2 games ahead of Milwaukee for the National League's second wild card spot and also pulled the club within 2 1/2 games of the NL Central- leading St. Louis Cardinals.

Francisco Liriano struck out a season-high 12 batters over eight scoreless innings in Thursday's win and has not given up a run in three of his past four outings.

"He's been throwing the ball well," Pittsburgh catcher Russell Martin said about Liriano. "The wins and losses aren't indicative of how well he's pitched this year."

Pittsburgh could be without outfielder Starling Marte tonight after he was hit on the left elbow by a pitch versus the Phillies.

The Cubs, meanwhile, were swept in three games by the Toronto Blue Jays to push their losing streak to a season high-tying six straight games. They were outscored 28-3 by the Blue Jays, including an 11-1 setback on Wednesday.

Chicago has allowed 43 runs over hits past five games and has scored just seven.

Kyle Hendricks was tagged with Wednesday's loss, charged with four runs over 5 2/3 innings to snap his string of five straight winning decisions.

"Sometimes you just go through slumps, and you have to have somebody that can stop that," Hendricks said. "It starts on the mound with the starters, setting the tone."

Pittsburgh has won five in a row over Chicago and 12 of the 16 meetings overall this season.