PITTSBURGH — This article originally appeared on PGHBaseballNOW.com.
The Pittsburgh Pirates played poor defense behind Paul Skenes, and Ian Happ put the game out of reach with another home run for a 7-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on Thursday night.
Scoring Plays
Top 4th, 1-0 CHC: The Cubs (31-26) took the first lead of the game when Seiya Suzuki blooped an RBI single into shallow left field off Paul Skenes (6-5).
Top 6th, 3-0 CHC: Michael Busch scored from third on an Ian Happ infield single plus a Jared Triolo throwing error at short. After Skenes left the game for Mason Montgomery, the Cubs tacked on another when Suzuki beat out a double-play ball to bring home Alex Bregman from third.
Bottom 6th, 3-2 CHC: Bryan Reynolds hit his first home run since May 1, a solo shot to right field off Cubs starter Colin Rea (5-3). Later in the inning, Tyler Callihan ripped an RBI double to right-center off lefty reliever Hoby Milner to bring the Pirates (29-28) within a run.
Top 8th, 6-2 CHC: Happ homered for the second straight game, this one a two-run shot off Brandan Bidois to give the Cubs some wiggle room. Later in the inning, Suzuki scored on a passed ball charged to Henry Davis.
Top 9th, 7-2 CHC: Bregman hit a grounder to first baseman Spencer Horwitz, who fired home attempting to get Pete Crow-Armstrong at the plate. The throw was on time, and Crow-Armstrong was originally ruled out, but a Cuba challenge reveled he avoided the tag on the slide. Yohan Ramírez was on the mound.
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