Game Recap: Cubs offense gets to Paul Skenes in series win over Pirates

Charles LeClaire - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 16 hours ago

PITTSBURGH - It may have taken five starts, but you knew at some point the Chicago Cubs (19-13) would figure out how to get to Paul Skenes. The undoubted Ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates (12-20) staff, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, has not only been one of the best pitchers in the National League but also in all of baseball.

The Cubs learned firsthand how good he could be as he started in each of the four series against them last season and failed to drop any of those decisions. The Pirates were 3-1 in those starts, which ironically were the only three games they won against the Cubs, as he has had the Cubs' number since the start.

Looking to pick up a series win at PNC Park, the Cubs were again tasked with trying to get to Skenes, as this is becoming the norm when these teams play. Unlike last season when he dominated the Cubs hitters, Skenes hasn't been as dominant at the start of the season, and now is the time to get after the right-hander. Not only did the Cubs do that, but they made him work, drawing four walks and striking out two in his five innings while a trio of homers put the Cubs in front and helped set the tone for an 8-3 win.

While most of the talk all week was about whether or not the Cubs would win this game, it's time to talk about Colin Rea and the job he has done since taking over for Justin Steele in the Cubs rotation. Rea has been arguably the MVP of the Cubs staff as he has gone deeper with each passing start. Today saw him go the deepest he's gone all season, going six innings and allowing two runs as Rea improves to 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA.

If he continues to pitch like this, the Cubs are going to be in great shape, as he has already given the Cubs way more than anyone expected him to give. As good as Rea was, it didn't start great, as he served up a solo shot to Bryan Reynolds in the first, which put the Pirates in front 1-0. Typically, that wouldn't be a concern, but facing off against a guy who has carved you up in his career, you never want to play from behind.

One of the bigger concerns for the Cubs throughout this series was the consistent slow starts by their offense. Looking at the entire series, the Cubs' offense struggled to get anything going throughout the first three innings as it took their offense some time to settle in. However, the Cubs seemed to rattle Skenes a bit at the top of the third. Ian Happ began a trend of three consecutive one-out walks that loaded the bases for Chicago and one-out.

That gave Skenese four walks in the game, which is a career high for him, as the Cubs had a chance to do some damage. Unfortunately, they let him off the hook as Michael Busch grounded into an inning-ending double play. Those are the chances you can't afford to waste, and some were wondering if that would come back to haunt the Cubs in the end.

Considering the O'Neil Cruz double extended the Pirates' lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the third, it looked as if that wasted opportunity would cost the Cubs as their offense continued searching for answers. In the fifth inning, those answers started coming and came from the bottom of the order as Dansby Swanson led off the bottom with a homer to pull the Cubs within 2-1.

It was the long ball that played a massive role for the Cubs, as they connected for four homers, three of which came in the fifth inning as Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki went back to back later in the frame to put the Cubs in front for good, 3-2. The three homers in one inning were also the first time Skenes has done something like that, as it was a day of firsts for the Cubs.

With three homers for the afternoon, Suzuki made it four as he connected for his second homer in as many at-bats in the seventh and pushed the Cubs' lead to 5-2 with a two-run shot. That homer would go down as the game-winning hit as the Cubs' pen took over in the seventh, looking to preserve another strong Rea start.

Julian Merryweather did his job in the seventh in relatively easy fashion, but it was in the eighth that Porter Hodge had some issues and was forced to work much harder than he anticipated. It all started with a leadoff single from Henry Davis, but it was a costly error from Swanson that allowed Cruz to reach and Davis to take second.

The struggles continued with Hodge uncorking a wild pitch shortly after, which led to Reynolds picking up another RBI with a groundout to make this a 5-3 game. Hodge would walk a hitter later in the inning, but that was it as he buckled down when he had to get out of the inning. That was as close as the Pirates would come as the Cubs went on to add three runs off of Hunter Stratton in the ninth, with Happ delivering an RBI double before coming home on the two-run single from Busch to give the Cubs an 8-3 win.

If there were ever a team for Happ to play the rest of his career, Pittsburgh would be it, as he has reached base in 44 consecutive games against his hometown team. Happ led the Cubs with three hits, while three other Cubs had multi-hit efforts. Suzuki, Swanson, and Busch were those players as the Cubs took their first divisional series of the season. Next up for Chicago is a trip to Milwaukee, as they will face the Milwaukee Brewers for the first time. Ben Brown will take the ball on Friday.