PITTSBURGH — Dansby Swanson, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki all took Pirates ace Paul Skenes deep in the fifth inning as the Cubs pulled away for an 8-3 victory on Thursday.
Suzuki later added a two-run shot off reliever Kyle Nicolas as Chicago took two of three from the last-place Pirates.
Skenes (3-3), fresh off a masterful performance in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers last Friday, laboured through his shortest start of the season.
The 22-year-old reigning National League Rookie of the Year lasted just five innings. His four walks matched his total on the season coming in and the aggressive Cubs pounced in the fifth to turn a two-run deficit into a 3-2 lead.
Swanson led off the fifth with his sixth homer. Tucker added his eighth two batters later and Suzuki put Chicago in front to stay with a shot to the left-field bleachers. Ian Happ, a Pittsburgh native, had three hits. Swanson, Suzuki and Michael Busch had two hits apiece for the Cubs.
Colin Rea (2-0) allowed two runs in a season-high six innings for Chicago.
Bryan Reynolds hit his ninth home run for Pittsburgh. The Pirates have dropped four of five.
A crowd of 13,633 turned out for the matinee, including some in the same front-row seats in right field above the 21-foot high Clemente Wall where a fan fell from on Wednesday night. The unidentified male was in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital on Thursday after what Pittsburgh Police described as an accident.
The public address announcer read a statement from Pirates owner Bob Nutting before the first pitch in which Nutting called the incident “one of the most difficult moments many of us have ever experienced.”
Skenes walked the bases loaded in the fourth, but escaped major damage by inducing a double play to get out of it.
1 — the number of home runs Skenes had allowed in his first six starts.
Cubs: visit NL Central rival Milwaukee this weekend. Ben Brown (2-2, 6.04 ERA) starts against the Brewers’ Quinn Priester (1-0, 3.79).
Pirates: welcome San Diego for a three-game series beginning Friday. Mitch Keller (1-2, 3.97) gets the ball for Pittsburgh in the opener.
