Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/17/25): Cubs 4, Pirates 3 – Swanson Leads Way to Series Win

The Cubs and Pirates met in the deciding game of their three-game set at a cloudy and humid Wrigley Field on Sunday afternoon. Chicago had to grind in this one, but they pulled out a one-run victory to take the series.

The North Siders went in front against Carmen Mlodzinski on an RBI single by Ian Happ in the bottom of the 2nd. Pittsburgh responded in the top of the 3rd with a run-scoring double by Spencer Horwitz off of Javier Assad to even things up.

Dansby Swanson gave the Cubs the lead again when he doubled against reliever Colin Holderman in the 5th. Pirates catcher Joey Bart ripped a two-bagger down the third base line off Ben Brown to plate a pair and give the road team a 3-2 advantage in the 6th.

Carson Kelly hit an RBI bloop single in the bottom of the frame, which tied the score at 3-3. Swanson provided the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly against Isaac Mattson in the bottom of the 8th to make it 4-3 Chicago.

Daniel Palencia was still under the weather, so Andrew Kittredge came on and got the save in the top of the 9th to secure the win for the North Siders. (Box score)

Key Moment

Caleb Thielbar struck out Ronny Simon with runners on first and third and two outs in the top of the 8th to keep the score tied 3-3.

Why the Cubs Won

They squeezed out just enough offense to hang on against an inferior opponent and the bullpen survived a couple of sticky situations.

Stats That Matter

• Assad has been pretty shaky in his first two starts, but he survived Sunday: 4 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 3 K, 1 BB.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong had a couple of hits and is starting to snap out of his slump.
• Swanson had a big day for his bobblehead giveaway with two hits and two RBI.

Bottom Line

That was far from pretty, but the Cubs won the series and avoided disaster against a bad team. That being said, they are going to have to significantly step up their level and play if they want to do anything with the smoking-hot Brewers. A performance like this against Milwaukee would have a very ugly outcome.

On Deck

The five-game set with the Brewers begins Monday with the front half of a split doubleheader starting at 1:20pm CT. Cade Horton faces Freddy Peralta in a matchup available on MLB Network and Marquee with the radio feed on 670 The Score.