CHICAGO -- Neil Walker homered for the fourth time in five games in going 3 for 5, but the Pirates' pitching made for a poor match in falling to the Chicago Cubs, 5-3, this afternoon at Wrigley Field.

James McDonald, the promising but often laborious starter, allowed three runs on eight hits over five innings. He needed 98 pitches to get that far, walked two, threw two wild pitches and fell behind an eyepopping 18 of his 25 batters.

Another pitcher was struck by a line drive, only this one was formerly of the Pirates: Chicago starter Tom Gorzelanny was hit in his left -- and pitching -- hand by a Jose Tabata laser in the third inning and forced to exit immediately. X-rays did not show a fracture, but he will have his pinky finger tested further tomorrow.

Walker, the next batter, homered into the left-field bleachers, his ninth of the season, for a 1-1 tie. He also had a double and single in the game.

But McDonald, who had given up an RBI double in the second to Chicago's No. 8 batter, Koyie Hill, gave up two more RBI doubles in the third to Kosuke Fukudome and Tyler Colvin, and the Cubs were ahead, 3-1.

The Pirates pulled within one in the fifth on Andrew McCutchen's RBI double, but there otherwise was little punch despite Chicago having gone to its bullpen so early.

Runners were stranded in scoring position in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings, for an overall 0 for 9 output in those situations. All four of those innings ended on strikeouts, Garrett Jones twice taking ugly swings outside the zone. Twelve runners were left on base.

The middle relief then did the usual in allowing the Cubs to pull away: Daniel McCutchen hit the opening batter of the seventh, Wil Ledezma gave up a double and single to the next two, and Chan Ho Park gave up a single to his first man, too, adding up to a 5-2 deficit. McCutchen is the only one of the middle relievers who has been dependable of late.

In the eighth, Andrew McCutchen worked an eight-pitch bases-loaded walk off Carlos Marmol to make it 5-3, but Tabata went down on three consecutive swings.

The Pirates ended the road trip 1-5 and are 44-89 overall.

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