Chicago CubsvsPittsburgh Pirates
CHC 7/PIT 2
Things to say
Cubs beat the Pirates 7-2 at PNC Park on Thursday.
01
opener
Cubs took it to the Pirates in Pittsburgh, 7-2. Bats woke up early and it was pretty much over by the middle innings. PNC crowd was quiet by the seventh.
02
key player
Cubs lineup just kept stacking quality at-bats — heart of the order did the damage and Pittsburgh never got into his stuff on the mound.
03
hot take
Pirates are sliding back to .500 for a reason — that bullpen can't keep bailing out short starts forever.
04
deep cut
Chicago's now a few games over .500 and PIT dropped to 29-28 — feels like the NL Central window is closing on Pittsburgh fast.
05
exit
Anyway, getaway day tomorrow — curious if the Cubs ride this into the weekend series.
The recap
Cubs rolled into PNC Park and put up a touchdown on the Pirates, 7-2, with the bats doing the heavy lifting all night. Chicago's lineup kept stringing at-bats together while Pittsburgh never really got the heart of the order going against them.
The turning point felt early, once the Cubs grabbed the lead the Pirates' bullpen couldn't slam the door and it snowballed from there. Tidy road win that nudges Chicago to 31-26 and drops the Buccos back under .500 at 29-28.