Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/28/26): Cubs 7, Pirates 2 – Cubs Beat Skenes to Split Series
The Cubs kept the momentum going from their victory on Wednesday night with a second consecutive win over the Pirates Thursday. It was more impressive because it came against the reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes.
Neither team got on the scoreboard in the first three innings as Colin Rea matched Skenes. Chicago finally broke through with an RBI single off the bat of Seiya Suzuki to give them a 1-0 lead in the top of the 4th.
Pittsburgh’s defense opened the door to two more runs for the North Siders in the 6th. A throwing error on infield single by Ian Happ and an RBI groundout by Suzuki increased the advantage to 3-0 and ended the night for Skenes.
Rea ran out of steam in the bottom of the frame, giving up a solo home run to Bryan Reynolds. Hoby Milner relieved him later in the inning and surrendered an RBI double to Tylor Callihan to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Cubs added critical insurance against Brandan Bidois in the top of the 8th when Happ hit a two-run homer, then another came home on a wild pitch to bring the margin to 6-2. The road team added one more on an RBI fielder’s choice by Alex Bregman to split the series with a 7-2 victory. (Box score)
Key Moment
Chicago made things much less stressful when they scored three runs in the 8th and spared the bullpen from additional high-leverage innings.
Why the Cubs Won
The offense did damage late for a second consecutive game, and the starting pitching was good enough to match their opponent’s ace.
Stats That Matter
- Very good effort by Rea to give his team a chance to win: 5.1 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 5 K, and 3 BB.
- Happ has home runs in consecutive games and hopefully is going to heat up.
- Suzuki had a pair of hits.
Bottom Line
On paper, this was a game where the Cubs were heavy underdogs against one of the best pitchers in baseball. But that is why they play the games, and Chicago came away with the victory to split the series. They have to feel much better about their position than they did two days ago, so now it’s a matter of continuing this brand of baseball.
On Deck
The Cubs travel to St. Louis to face the Cardinals for the first time in 2026, starting Friday at 7:15pm CT. Shōta Imanaga goes up against Kyle Leahy in a contest available on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
