CHICAGO -- Already assured a playoff spot, the Pittsburgh Pirates are pushing for even more. Gerrit Cole threw six strong innings and the Pirates took over the NL wild-card lead, beating the Chicago Cubs 8-2 Tuesday night. The Pirates moved one game ahead of Cincinnati, which lost to the Mets 4-2. Pittsburgh remained two games behind NL Central-leading St. Louis. One night after clinching their first post-season spot in 21 years, Cole and the Pirates showed no signs of losing momentum. Cole hit a two-run single against Chris Rusin (2-6), Pedro Alvarez drove in three runs and Jordy Mercer homered. "I had every confidence that wed go out and play a good ballgame," manager Clint Hurdle said. "The men are focused, theyre having fun and the opportunity to gain this kind of experience, weve been getting in all year long, this has added to it." Pittsburgh is trying to add to whats already been a breakout season, and Cole did his part. Cole (10-7) won his fourth straight start, giving up two runs and seven hits. He struck out six and walked one and became the first Pittsburgh rookie since Josh Fogg in 2002 to win at least 10 games. "It just kind of felt like I had different stuff every inning. It was weird," Cole said. "The pace of the game was slow. Im not going to complain about scoring a lot of runs, thats for sure, but it was definitely a new challenge with the cold weather and the long innings. I had to do some different things in there. "It was great to be able to learn from that and take that into some really meaningful games," he said. Chicago started the bottom of the second inning with three consecutive hits from Dioner Navarro, Nate Schierholtz and Donnie Murphy, but a baserunning error and double play helped Cole hold the Cubs off the scoreboard. Schierholtz was tagged between first and second on his single when Navarro stopped at second, and Brian Bogusevic grounded into an inning-ending double play to keep the Cubs scoreless. The Cubs tried to rally in the sixth, scoring when Mercer mishandled Anthony Rizzos bases-loaded grounder to shortstop and cutting Pittsburghs lead to 6-1. But Cole struck out Navarro and pinch-hitter Luis Valbuena before Donnie Murphy flied out deep on Coles 34th pitch of the inning and his last one of the night. "Those are the experiences for growth you can only get by getting the opportunity to compete, and to get the last fly ball out. He spilled the tank out there and it again it shows that theres fight in that young man," Hurdle said. "He doesnt have to show up with every weapon sharp to go out and pitch competitively and pitch good enough to win," he said, The Cubs, meanwhile, havent been good enough to win for most of this season. They lost for the 11th time in 14 games, and their 50th defeat at home set a team record. Chicago plays its Wrigley Field finale Wednesday. "To lose that many games at home, its something you got to stay away from. For whatever reason, we got to score more runs at home and do something at home," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "This year has just been tough, just seem to do more things on the road than we have at home." Rusin lost his third straight decision. Alvarez opened the scoring when his second-inning double to right got stuck in the ivy, driving in Marlon Byrd. With two outs, Cole singled home Gaby Sanchez and Alvarez. Mercer hit a solo shot in the third, connecting for his seventh homer and first since Aug. 22. "Were still trying to win our division. Thats what were shooting for, so were trying to win out here and just keep going for the next four games," star outfielder Andrew McCutchen said. NOTES: Hurdle said struggling All-Star Jeff Locke wont pitch Sunday against Cincinnati, and said Cole could "potentially" start that day while RHP Charlie Morton would be on his regular rest Saturday. But Hurdle didnt formally announce his starters after A.J. Burnett on Friday. Locke is 1-3 with a 6.00 ERA in four September starts. ... Logan Watkins started at second base, and Sveum said Darwin Barney was just getting a day off and would be back in the lineup Wednesday. Barney is hitting .156 in 20 September games. ... McCutchen didnt seem to enjoy too much of the champagne from Monday night. "After a while, its a little too cold for me, but Ill take it," he said. "I think next time, we should just leave it hot." ... The pitching matchup Wednesday is Pittsburgh LHP Francisco Liriano (16-7, 2.88) against Chicago RHP Jake Arrieta (3-2, 3.94). Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . 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NFL Jerseys China . -- Stacy Lewis shot 7-under 65 to lead the LPGA Tour team to the championship of the 3Tour Challenge on Tuesday.Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Bulls have been plenty busy this offseason, and on Sunday they reportedly made two additions to their ever- evolving roster. Days after Pau Gasol said he would join the Bulls next season, the team, per the Chicago Tribune, has reached agreements with both guard Kirk Hinrich and Nikola Mirotic, the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 draft who has played in Real Madrid the past three seasons. Hinriich will reportedly sign for just above the veteran minimum with the Bulls, with whom hes spent nine of his 11 seasons.dddddddddddd The 33-year-old owns career averages of 11.8 points and 5.2 assists per game. Mirotic, the Spanish League MVP in 2013, averaged 24.0 points and connected on 46 percent of his 3-point attempts last season for Real Madrid. According to the paper, the 6-foot-10 forward will ink a three-year, $17 million deal. ' ' '