Cubs Beat Fading Pirates 4-3

September 9, 2012 12:00 AM " PITTSBURGH (AP) - On Saturday afternoon, Chicago Cubs manager Dale Sveum said he was planning on relaxing any pitch count restrictions he had for Jeff Samardzija in that night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“When it’s your No. 1 guy,” Sveum said, “sometimes you basically just tell him, `It’s your game.’”

Saturday’s game was all Samardzija’s.

The right-hander pitched the Cubs’ first complete game of the season in his final start of the year and Chicago beat the fading Pirates 4-3.

“It was a special night - for him and for the team to win two in a row after what just happened in Washington,” Sveum said. “It was big for him to be that so-called No. 1 guy to step up and give us back-to-back wins for the first time on the road in I don’t know how long.”

The Cubs arrived in Pittsburgh after a four-game sweep at the hands of the Nationals and having lost 17 of their previous 18 road games. The only other time Chicago won consecutive road games since June was July 23-24 in Pittsburgh "

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