The Pirates entered this four-game set against the Cubs with a massive opportunity sitting right in front of them. Chicago came into Pittsburgh riding an eight-game losing streak after spending much of the early season leading the division, while the Pirates were desperately trying to climb their way out of the NL Central basement and get themselves back into the mix. After getting swept by the Cardinals earlier this year and spending much of May fighting inconsistency, this whole series had a big-game feel to it at PNC Park. By the end of it, the Pirates were left with a split that somehow felt far worse than it probably should have.
Game 1 felt like old-school baseball in the best way possible: a tight pitcher’s duel, a packed Memorial Day crowd, and one huge swing late deciding the outcome.
Carmen Mlodzinski got the ball in what we now know was his final start before Jared Jones returned to the rotation to take his place. Carmen certainly did his part to make that decision tougher. He tossed five innings of one-run ball, with the only damage coming on a Michael Busch solo homer with two outs in the fifth inning. Outside of that, Mlodzinski battled through some traffic and gave the Pirates exactly what they needed. He finished with a line of 5.0 innings pitched, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 2 strikeouts, and 3 walks.
The offense did not do much early on, but Brandon Lowe continued to prove why he has been one of the biggest offseason additions in baseball this season. After a one-out walk from Spencer Horwitz in the third inning, Lowe ripped a ball to dead center field that banged off the wall just over the glove of Pete Crow-Armstrong for an RBI double to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
The bullpen then took over, and Wilber Dotel absolutely shoved. Fresh off being called back up, Dotel looked electric. He tossed a scoreless sixth inning, followed that with a clean seventh, and then got the ball again in the eighth with the Pirates deciding to ride the hot hand. He looked completely fearless. After retiring Busch on a flyout, he struck out both Alex Bregman and Michael Conforto swinging. Dotel finished with three scoreless innings and four strikeouts while looking like a man on a mission.
It does make you wonder if Don Kelly would have let Dotel go that long had he not already been ejected earlier in the game.
Kelly got tossed after Konnor Griffin was nearly drilled in the head by a pitch that appeared to clip the brim of his helmet. Griffin immediately reacted as if he had been hit and headed toward first base, but after review the umpires ruled the call stood. Kelly was furious and let the crew hear about it before getting the boot for the second time in just three days.
The biggest moment of the night came in the seventh inning. Henry Davis stepped to the plate hitless on the night, carrying a batting average below .140 and coming off another frustrating offensive stretch. He had already popped up on a bunt attempt earlier in the game and the pressure was mounting. Instead of folding, Davis delivered the biggest swing of his season. He launched a homer into the left field bleachers, flipped the bat, and gave the Pirates a massive 2-1 lead late in the game.
Gregory Soto handled the ninth inning quickly and efficiently, locking down the 2-1 win and sending the Memorial Day crowd home happy.
If Game 1 was about pitching and timely hitting, Game 2 was an all-out beatdown.
The Pirates followed up their emotional opening victory by absolutely hammering the Cubs 12-1 in Game 2, handing Chicago its tenth straight loss and pulling themselves even with the Cubs at 29-26.
Braxton Ashcraft continued to establish himself as one of the biggest bright spots on this team. Once again, the Big Texan delivered a quality outing, going 6.1 innings while allowing just one run. His final line sat at 6.1 innings pitched, 7 hits, 1 earned run, 5 strikeouts, and 1 walk as his ERA dropped to 2.75.
The bullpen did its part behind him as well. Brandan Bidois looked sharp in relief with 1.2 scoreless innings and three strikeouts. Dennis Santana had a slightly shaky ninth inning after allowing a hit and a walk, but escaped without damage to finish off the blowout.
The offense wasted absolutely no time getting going in this one. Konnor Griffin walked to begin the first inning, Lowe followed with a single, and Bryan Reynolds immediately doubled both runners home to make it 2-0 before many fans had even settled into their seats. Oneil Cruz added an RBI single later in the inning, but the star of the frame was Esmerlyn Valdez.
In his first at bat at PNC Park, with family in attendance, Valdez crushed a two-run homer into the bullpen to make it 5-0. The crowd absolutely erupted. The Magician could not have scripted a better introduction to Pittsburgh.
Chicago got on the board in the second inning after back-to-back doubles from Bregman and Ian Happ, but Valdez immediately answered defensively by throwing Happ out trying to tag up to third base. Not only does the power look real, but the arm certainly does too.
The Pirates went back to work in the fifth inning. Lowe singled again, Reynolds doubled again, and Nick Gonzales blooped an RBI single into right field. Cruz was then hit by a pitch before Valdez picked up another RBI via a bases-loaded walk. Horwitz later added a sacrifice fly to make it 8-1.
Konnor Griffin continued to flash elite speed in the sixth inning when a sloppy Cubs defensive play allowed him to score all the way from second base.
Horwitz later blasted a homer in the seventh to push the Pirates into double digits before Jake Mangum and Marcell Ozuna each drove in runs during the eighth inning to cap off the 12-1 rout.
After taking the first two against the Cubs, fans could start to envision a sweep of their rival at PNC Park. With a Paul Skenes Day waiting in Game 4, the Pirates just needed to steal one more game to feel pretty confident that the brooms could come out. To do so, they needed Bubba Chandler to build off a better start in his last outing with a solid start here. However, that was not really the result.
Bubba was back to his old ways early on. After a long ten-pitch at bat against Crow-Armstrong to open the game ended in a walk, Nico Hoerner would pick up a hit and Busch would follow with a walk as well to load the bases with nobody out. Chandler was able to strike out Bregman, but gave up a two-run single to Happ. Just like that, it was 2-0 Cubs.
Chicago picked up another in the second on a two-out RBI single from Hoerner to make it 3-0.
The Pirates, who were 3-15 this season when the other team scored first heading into this game, needed a response in a big way. They got exactly that in the third from their leader, Brandon Lowe. After an Endy Rodriguez walk and an opposite field single from Horwitz, Lowe blasted a line drive homer over the Clemente Wall to instantly tie the game at 3 with one swing. This dude is phenomenal.
Chandler allowed a run immediately following that rally, but the Bucs had another answer courtesy of the big fly. Konnor Griffin drilled his fourth homer as a Pirate, crushing one the opposite way to tie the game back up at 4.
With the way the game was going, it felt like it would be back and forth all night. However, the Griffin homer in the fourth would be the last tally the Pirates would put on the board.
Things only got worse from there on out.
Still in a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning, Yohan Ramirez imploded. He hit Busch to start the inning, gave up a double to Bregman, and capped it off by allowing a three-run moon shot from known Pirate-Killer Ian Happ. Seiya Suzuki followed that up with a hard-hit single and Ramirez was pulled from the game. Justin Lawrence, who seems to be someone whose days are numbered, made sure to leave his mark on the game immediately, and not in a good way. The first pitch he threw was absolutely smashed by Conforto into the right-center field seats to make it 9-4 and end all hope of a sweep. The Cubs would go on to add another in the inning and take Game 3 by a 10-4 score.
Plain and simple, Lawrence and Ramirez have to go. Have to. This bullpen is a mess all over the place, but it starts with those two in particular.
That loss set up a massive Game 4 at PNC Park, with the Pirates still holding a chance to win the series behind their ace.
Aside from Paul Skenes bouncing back and striking out 10 batters over the course of 5.1 innings, Game 4 had bad vibes before the first pitch was even thrown. Rumors were swirling around Pittsburgh that Konnor Griffin sustained an injury, and as you can imagine how social media works, the rumors were getting more and more drastic by the minute. What started as a rumor that he may miss the game turned into people claiming his leg fell off or that he’d be lost for the season. As each minute passed without an official lineup being posted, the fears amongst Pirate fans grew.
Fortunately, for the most part, the rumors were not as bad as they sounded. Griffin was in fact dealing with an injury, but he was available for the game if needed and was listed as day-to-day with forearm tightness. Exhale.
However, that situation seemed to cast a negative omen over the series-defining finale that was about to start. The vibes just never really felt right.
As mentioned, Skenes did his part. He fanned 10 Cubs while retiring 7 of the first 8 batters via the strikeout as well. He looked as dominant as he typically always has and he got the Pirates through five innings with only one run of damage. He finished with a line of 5.1 innings pitched, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 10 strikeouts, and 3 walks.
Unfortunately, with Griffin out of the lineup and Gonzales exiting with an injury of his own, the offense had a real 2025 vibe to it. Skenes knows what that means all too well. The Pirates could not muster up any production to back up their ace and found themselves in a 1-0 deficit heading into the sixth.
The sixth inning was a complete disaster defensively. Busch walked with one out and Bregman reached safely on a throwing error by Tyler Callihan, who entered the game for Gonzales to make his Pirates debut. Not exactly the ideal “welcome to the club” moment.
That still was not the worst play of the inning. The very next batter, Ian Happ, grounded into what looked like could have been an inning-ending double play, but the result somehow ended up being no outs for the Pirates and a run for the Cubs. Jared Triolo missed the tag on the runner advancing to second and then spiked a throw in the dirt past Horwitz. It was every bit as ugly as it sounds.
Skenes was pulled after that mess and you just had to feel for the guy in that spot.
Mason Montgomery entered and immediately induced another double play ball, but the Pirates could not turn it quickly enough. Suzuki beat it out at first and another run scored to make it 3-0 Chicago.
The Pirates showed a little life in the bottom half. Bryan Reynolds crushed a solo homer to right field to finally get the Bucs on the board. Reynolds has been scorching hot lately and added a double, homer, and a walk in this one.
Later in the inning, with The Password on first and two outs, Callihan delivered a huge at bat against lefty Hoby Milner and ripped a double to deep right-center field to cut the deficit to 3-2. Not many left-handed hitters have had success against Milner this season, so that was an impressive moment for a player who got called up just moments before first pitch.
The Pirates had another opportunity in the seventh inning to tie or even take the lead, but once again they failed to cash in.
To make matters worse, Ian Happ struck again in the eighth. The Ultimate Pirate Killer delivered one final blow before leaving Pittsburgh, crushing a no-doubt two-run homer off Bidois to put the game away. The Cubs added two more runs for good measure and took the finale by a score of 7-2.
Final Thoughts:
- Heading into the series, a split with the Cubs did not feel like the worst thing in the world. However, after taking the first two games, this is probably the lowest you could feel after splitting a series. The Pirates had a golden opportunity to make a move in the standings and finally pick up some momentum, but they squandered that chance. The unfortunate theme of this season so far has simply been the inability to sustain momentum for any extended stretch of time.
- Thank goodness for Brandon Lowe, Bryan Reynolds, and Spencer Horwitz. They are carrying this club right now and, outside of one or two bullpen arms, are the only healthy bright spots that are not starting pitchers.
- Speaking of starting pitchers, Jared Jones is back for the next game against the Minnesota Twins. The Pirates will rely on him to help get things back on track.
It’ll be a City Connect night at PNC Park. First pitch is set for 6:45 PM and it’ll be Jared Jones vs Taj Bradley.
