The Pittsburgh Pirates (28-18) moved 10 games above 500 behind a third straight strong outing from Francisco Liriano (3-0, 1.00 ERA), defeating the Chicago Cubs 1-0 on Wednesday night. Liriano went 7 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk and striking out 9 for an impressive outing. Liriano’s fastball has been excellent in three starts, sitting around 96. “What was it, one walk, nine punchouts and two hits?” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “Man, that’s clean stuff.” Liriano is now 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA and has posted high strikeout numbers with 25 strikeouts in three starts, posting 7 strikeouts or more in all three starts.