Game Recap: Cubs lose heartbreaker to Pirates

David Banks - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 13 hours ago

CHICAGO - Wake me up when this nightmare ends, as the Chicago Cubs (68-53) are stuck in the middle of a nightmare. It doesn't seem to matter who this team plays anymore, as they can't execute under pressure and continue to lose ground in the standings.

Friday was an excruciating loss for the Cubs as they opened up a massive eight-game homestand with the Pittsburgh Pirates (52-71), who were coming off a sweep at the hands of the Brewers earlier in the week. This was one of those games where it was more of the same for the Cubs, as great starting pitching mixed with horrible offensive execution had this game closer than it should've been.

Even with Pete Crow-Armstrong reaching base four times and seeming to be maybe coming out of his funk, it was the Pirates who had the last laugh as the Hometown kid Jack Suwinski took Daniel Palencia deep in the ninth to push home the winning run in the Cubs' 3-2 loss. That makes 18 consecutive losses for the Cubs when they have trailed at any point, and that is a massive concern.

As has been the case for a while now, the Cubs received another great starting pitching performance from Colin Rea as he continues to do everything the Cubs have asked of him and more. Sure, he wasn't as efficient as he would've liked, needing 87 pitches to get through five innings, but with one run allowed on three hits, he did his part as his ERA is back under four at 3.99.

With no Mitch Keller or Paul Skenes in this series, this was one of those series where two out of three was a bare minimum, with the goal of a sweep seemingly within reach. Nothing is guaranteed anymore with this offense, as Braxton Ashcraft came out and looked like a Cy Young pitcher against the Cubs, striking out four across five dominant innings, as this team continues to struggle offensively across the board.

Even with the wind blowing out towards the left, runs were challenging to come by as both pitchers were on top of their game early on, as a Pete Crow-Armstrong double and the Jared Triolo single were the only baserunners through three innings, as this was still a 0-0 game. With two outs in the fourth, Rea came close to tossing another zero only to have Nick Gonzalez work a walk to keep the inning going for Andrew McCutchen.

As he has done for a majority of his career, McCutchen came through in the clutch as his RBI double brought home the game's first run and put the Cubs in an all too familiar spot. Not about to let that get to him, Seiya Suzuki set the Cubs up with a leadoff double to begin the bottom of the fourth, but with two outs in the inning, he was still standing on second as the Cubs were in danger of letting another scoring chance get away.

That was until Crow-Armstrong came through with his second hit in as many at-bats, as his RBI single made this a 1-1 game. Crow-Armstrong was thrown out trying to stretch his single into a double, which was an all too familiar theme as the game went on. The Pirates continued to keep the pressure on Rea in the fifth with Henry Davis leading the inning off with a single before a two-out walk to Ronny Simon put a pair of runners on.

Rea would keep it that way as he got through the fifth and put the ball in the hands of the Cubs pen, which hasn't been as sharp as they would like it to be lately. One of the biggest reasons for that is the massive decline of Ryan Brasier, as he went from one of their most trusted arms to a liability every time he pitches.

What started with a one-out single to Triolo turned into another scoring opportunity as he used his legs to swipe second to reach scoring position. Brasier was one out away from stranding another runner only to have Isiah Kiner-Falefa come through with a clutch double to put the Pirates back on top 2-1.

In what was nearly a carbon copy of earlier in the game when the Pirates scored first, it was the Cubs' offense battling back, and once again, it was Crow-Armstrong playing a part in that as a pitch hit him to lead things off. PCA managed to reach second on a Nico Hoerner single, only to have Dansby Swanson lay down a perfect bunt single to load the bases with no outs.

This was by far the best scoring opportunity for either side, but knowing the history of this team, there was no guarantee that a run would score. At the very least, Matt Shaw did his job as his sacrifice fly tied things up 2-2, but with Carson Kelly and Justin Turner popping out shortly after, it was another wasted opportunity for the Cubs and one that would come back to haunt them in the end.

Anytime you have an offense struggling as much as the Cubs have been, you need to manufacture runs in other ways, and with Ian Happ working a two-out walk in the eighth, he tried to steal second to move into scoring position, only to be gunned down by Davis. That not only killed the momentum for the Cubs but also gave the Pirates all the momentum they needed as the Cubs called on Daniel Palencia to handle the ninth.

As good as Palencia has been this season, he has been prone to the long ball this season, and with the Chicago Area Native Suwinski squaring up a Palencia heater, it was the Pirates back in front 3-2 as the pressure was back on the Cubs and their offense. Coming into the game riding a 3-42 slump in August, Crow-Armstrong doubled his hit total for the month on Friday as he led the bottom of the ninth off with a single to give the Cubs the base runner they needed.

Knowing he needed to get into scoring position, Crow-Armstrong took off for second a few pitches later and, despite beating the throw by a mile, he wound up over sliding the base, leading to the first out of the inning. That sums up the current struggles for this team as they can't catch a break, falling to the Pirates 3-2.

Crow-Armstrong was responsible for three of the team's six hits in the loss and drove in a run, as this could be the game to get him out of his slump.