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Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Relief pitcher Brad Wieck only pitched for one inning, but he had enough time to make Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager look foolish after taking a nasty curveball for a strike during a Chicago Cubs win. Wieck delivered the offering in the top of the ninth inning of the 5-1 victory Monday at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Cubs entered the inning with a 5-1 advantage before Wieck came in to replace pitcher Duane Underwood.
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Seager stepped up to the plate to leadoff the inning. The Mariners star took a curveball for a called strike on the first offering of the exchange. He then took a fastball for a ball before Wieck earned a called second strike on a 93.3-mph fastball. Wieck tossed in a 77-mph curveball for his fourth offering, but missed the strike zone to push the count even at 2-2.
He then tossed another curveball. The left-handed reliever released the pitch and it appeared to be going toward Seager's head. Seager ducked before the ball rapidly dropped down and fell into the zone for a called third strike, sending the Mariners infielder back to the dugout.
Wieck forced Tom Murphy to pop out in the next at-bat. He struck out Ryan Court for the final out of the game.
"B-Wieck, that's really nice stuff," Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters. "Command of a curveball and command of a fastball. Very confident demeanor out there. That's really interesting stuff."
Dee Gordon gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead with a fifth-inning RBI double before the Cubs responded with five runs in the seventh inning. First baseman Anthony Rizzo was 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored in the win. Cubs shortstop Addison Russel was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Left fielder Kyle Schwarber was 1-for-3 with three RBIs and a run scored.
Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks allowed three hits and one run in six innings. Mariners starter Justice Sheffield allowed five hits in five scoreless innings.
The Cubs host the Mariners in the final game of the series at 8:05 p.m. EDT Tuesday in Chicago.
