Mike Montgomery got hit hard over four-plus innings and the Cubs

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Cubs lost again Dennis Eckersley Jersey , and this one was particularly painful.Slugger Kris Bryant exited with a bruised left wrist,stumbled to a 6-0 defeat against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.For the second time in as many nights, the Cubs missed a chance to clinch a franchise-record fourth straight trip to the postseason. And their lead in the NL Central over Milwaukee shrunk to a half-game, with the Brewers beating St. Louis 12-4.Chicago needed a win plus a loss by Colorado to Philadelphia to secure a playoff spot and extend a run that includes a drought-ending World Series championship in 2016. But the Cubs lost for the fourth time in sixth games while the Rockies won 10-3 to move a half-game ahead of St. Louis for the second wild-card.Bryant got struck by a pitch from Chris Archer (3-3) in the fourth inning and was replaced at third base in the sixth by Ian Happ, who had pinch hit in the fifth. Manager Joe Maddon expects the 2016 National League MVP to miss at least one game, though X-rays showed no fractures.“It was sore. I knew it was going to bother him. He was hit pretty good,” Maddon said.The last thing the Cubs need is to be without Bryant even if it’s only a game or two. He’s still trying to round into form after being on the disabled list from July 26 to Sept. 1 with left shoulder inflammation. He missed time earlier in the season with the same issue, and if the Cubs are going to advance in the playoffs, they obviously need him.Montgomery (5-6) gave up five runs and seven hits, and the Cubs got shut out for the 11th time this season.“Every game matters from this point on,” he said. “Eventually Santiago Casilla Jersey , our goal is the playoffs. I think our guys are equipped for that. Mentally, this kind of gives us a chance to really come together as a group.”Archer struck out nine and walked two while pitching four-hit ball over six innings . He has won his past two starts and has a 2.70 ERA in five outings in September.“Everything started to shift when I stopped shaking (catcher Francisco Cervelli),” he said. “It’s him knowing the hitters, knowing the league, and it allows me not to think too much, go with what he puts down. I’ve been pitching much more like myself.”Rookie Pablo Reyes homered for the second straight game, a three-run drive in the second. Cervelli drove in two runs, and Pittsburgh won for the eighth time in 10 games.The Cubs managed just five hits and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position while stranding seven runners.Chicago got shut down this time after managing just one run — all on homers — in each of their previous five meetings with the Pirates. That was a first for Major League Baseball, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.“I think that what this club has done a really good job of is to kind of wash … off a poor performance, which is unfortunately what we’ve had these past two nights,” said Daniel Murphy Mark McGwire Jersey , acquired from Washington on Aug. 21.TRAINER’S ROOMPirates: CF Starling Marte (left calf) was back in the lineup after sitting out Monday’s game.Cubs: Maddon said RHP Pedro Strop (strained left hamstring) is “trending in the right direction,” though he wasn’t sure what the next step would be after the reliever played catch on Monday. “He keeps telling me how great he feels,” Maddon said. Strop has been sidelined since Sept. 13, when he was hurt running to first on a double-play grounder at Washington.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Ivan Nova (9-9, 4.01 ERA) has allowed two runs in 16 1/3 innings over his past three startsCubs: LHP José Quintana (13-11, 4.11) tries to shake off a loss to the Chicago White Sox. He got tagged for five runs in five innings by his former team after giving up two runs or less in six straight starts. Young is out, Sucre is in, Wright is starting and Yacabonis feels good!"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Commentary & AnalysisOrioles ProspectsOrioles Game RecapsOrioles News and RumorsCamdencastBird DroppingsSaturday’s Bird Droppings: Where it’s the final weekend of Orioles spring gamesNew,81commentsYoung is out, Sucre is in, Wright is starting and Yacabonis feels good!EDTShareTweetShareShareSaturday’s Bird Droppings: Where it’s the final weekend of Orioles spring gamesDouglas DeFelice-USA TODAY SportsGood morning http://www.athleticsfanproshop.com/authentic-khris-davis-jersey , Birdland!The Orioles roster is starting to come together and hoo boy, it is gonna be a rough season. We knew that, but seeing some of these names written down together, and then looking at the sort of lineups that the rival Red Sox and Yankees can trot out is downright depressing. I saw a blog somewhere the other day that said something along the lines of “Mark Trumbo is the most feared hitter in this lineup...” That line alone made me light-headed.LinksO’s release Young; Sucre to be backup catcher - MLB.comThis was the big news on Friday. Eric Young Jr. may return to the organization as a minor leaguer, but he prefers to try and earn a big league job first. Behind the plate, Jesus Sucre will backup Chance Sisco while Austin Wynns works his way back from injury. That means that someone on the 40-man roster will have to go to make room for Sucre. Cardinals To Select Matt Wieters - MLBTradeRumorsIt’s nice to keep track of notable former Birds. Matt Wieters (32) will serve as Yadier Molina’s (36) backup, making for what has to be the oldest pair of catchers in the league.Wright goes four innings, O’s bats muted (O’s lose 4-0, updated) - School of RochPrepare yourself for “Mike Wright: the starter” once again. He’s still getting the ball this late in the spring, and it’s not like Brandon Hyde and company haven’t had ample time to see him play. That likely means he’s going to be in the rotation. Who knows how long that will last, but it’s better for all of us to just accept it.Save for one wild inning http://www.metsfanproshop.com/authentic-tim-tebow-jersey , Jimmy Yacabonis has had a solid spring - Steve MelewskiI’m an unabashed Jimmy Yacabonis fan. The guy has some serious tools on the mound. He just turned 27 years old, so it’s about time he either puts it all together and becomes a productive hurler or he just is the guy he has been up to this point in his big league career, which isn’t great. I’m a glass half full kind of guy.Orioles birthdays and historyIs it your birthday? Happy birthday!It’s a trio of birthdays for former Orioles. Lee May (b. 1943, d. 2017) spent six seasons with the Birds from 1975 through 1980, putting together a .254/.299/.423 slash line with 123 home runs and a few down-ballot MVP votes. Salsbury’s own Bruce Howard was a right-handed pitcher that played just 10 games for the O’s in 1968 and turns 76 today. And it is a posthumous celebration for Sam Bowen (b. 1938, d. 2003), an outfielder in Baltimore for parts of five seasons between 1963and 1967.Baseball Reference did not have any Orioles nuggets among it’s list of events on this day in baseball history, so here are some other things that have happened around the sport:2000 - The St. Louis Cardinalsacquire Jim Edmonds from the Anaheim Angles in exchange for Adam Kennedy and Kent Bottenfield2006 - Alfonso Soriano agrees to move from second base to left field for the Washington Nationals following a two-day standoff with manager Frank Robinson.2009 - Japan wins its second World Baseball Classic. Daisuke Matsuzaka is named MVP. Yu Darvish earns the win in the final over South Korea and Ichiro Suzuki goes 4-for-6 with the winning hit in that same game.