Game Recap: Cubs blank Pirates

Charles LeClaire - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 8 hours ago

PITTSBURGH - The Chicago Cubs' (86-64) 2025 season has been filled with plenty of ups and downs, but none of what they have done up to this point matters. What matters is how this team finishes out its final 13 games, as it continues to lead the NL Wild Card by four games in its quest to host a first-round playoff series.

If there was ever a time to get hot and bank some wins, now would be the time as the Cubs opened up a three-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates (65-86) on Monday Night at PNC Park. Behind a very strong outing from Jameson Taillon and just enough offense, it was the Cubs taking care of business as they blanked the Pirates 4-0 to kick off their series.

For the amount of flak Taillon has received this season, you would think that this guy has had a horrible season on the mound. Sure, he has been injured a ton this season, but when he's been healthy, he has been a steady force on the mound as he pushed his record to 10-6 on the season, lowering his ERA to 3.93.

Tonight was a classic Taillon start, as the right-hander pitched to contact and did what he had to do to get guys out, giving the Cubs six shutout innings. He walked two, struck out three, and scattered two hits as he looked strong on the mound. Facing off against fellow right-hander Braxton Ashcraft, who came into the game with an ERA hovering around 2.50, the Cubs needed Taillon to be at his best, as Ashcraft didn't have his best stuff, allowing three runs in four innings, striking out four to take the loss.

Neither team was able to get much of anything going in the early innings, but it was in the fourth when the Cubs broke through as Michael Busch connected for his 28th homer of the season to put the Cubs on top for good, 1-0. His homer was followed by a pair of singles from Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ as a wild pitch led to the game's second run and a 2-0 Cubs lead.

Chicago continued to build on their lead in the fourth on consecutive doubles from Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dansby Swanson as the lead grew to 3-0. Take away the Pirates' early single from Nick Gonzalez, and Taillon would've been near perfect as he held Pittsburgh without a hit for the next four innings. That alone made things much easier for the offense as they continued to do their part in the sixth with Crow-Armstrong taking former Cubs farmhand Cam Sanders deep for his 29th homer of the season to push the Cubs' lead to 4-0.

It wasn't until the sixth when the Pirates put together their first real threat of the game and oddly enough it came with two outs as the Spencer Horwitz double set the Pirates offense up only to have Bryan Reynolds work a walk as the Pirates had two runners on with two outs. Taillon managed to keep them off the board as he finished off the sixth inning in style and put the ball back in the hands of what has been a dominant bullpen.

Unlike the weeks prior, where the pen has come in and simply dominated the opposition, things were a bit dicey in this one, and that all started with Michael Soroka in the seventh as he returned from the IL to pitch a pair of innings. You could see the rust during his first inning of work as Soroka pitched himself into a jam by walking two hitters, but also pitched his way out of a jam by not allowing a run.

His second inning was much better as Soroka was seen averaging close to 95 MPH with his fastball and even touched 96. He is an intriguing piece to the Cubs' postseason puzzle as his ability to throw multiple innings out of the pen could come in handy. Down by four and with only three outs to go, Pittsburgh had its work cut out for it, but with Porter Hodge set to take over, things were far from over.

After retiring the first hitter he faced, Hodge proceeded to allow a Nick Gonzalez single and a pair of walks as the Pirates loaded the bases with two outs. Knowing that the winning run was now coming to bat, Craig Counsell went with his most trusted option as Brad Keller was thrown into a tough spot. Tough spot or not, Keller showed the Cubs why he is the MVP of their bullpen as he struck out Jared Triolo to end the game, propelling the Cubs to the 4-0 win.