Baseball: Chicago Cubs 2 Pittsburgh 0

Jeff Samardzija allowed only one hit over eight efficient innings Monday and the Chicago Cubs edged Pittsburgh 2-0. Samardzija (7-8) yielded only a fourth-inning single to Andrew McCutchen. He threw 71 of his 99 pitches for strikes. The right-hander allowed only one walk and struck out five while Carlos Marmol earned his 12th save for the Cubs, who snapped a three-game slide in taking the opener of a three-game set. Alfonso Soriano drove in both Chicago runs with RBI doubles in the fourth and ninth innings. Erik Bedard (5-11) was tagged with the loss despite striking out 11 over seven innings for the Pirates. He allowed only two hits while walking two. The second-place Bucs entered the contest one-half game behind Cincinnati in the National League Central.