Pirates Whiff on Late Chance, Drop Close One vs. Cubs

Danny Demilio   |  

Jun 12, 2025

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The Pittsburgh Pirates had a golden opportunity to take a late lead but left the bases loaded in the seventh inning and were defeated 3-2 by the Chicago Cubs at Wigley Field on Thursday night.

How We Got There

Pete Crow-Armstrong broke a scoreless tie with a two-run home run off Andrew Heaney in the fourth inning. Heaney (3-5) had been perfect through the first three innings. Crow-Armstrong turned on a high fastball well out of the zone.

Two innings later, Seiya Suzuki put the Cubs (42-27)  ahead 3-0 with a solo home run over the left field fence.

The Pirates (28-42) didn’t score off Cubs starter Jameson Taillon (7-3) until the seventh inning when Adam Frazier followed Spencer Horwitz’s double with an RBI single to left. Later in the inning, Jared Triolo drew a four-pitch walk against reliever Brad Keller with the bases loaded to bring the Pirates within a run.

Key Moment

After Jared Triolo walked to bring Pittsburgh within a run, Oneil Cruz worked the count full against Brad Keller with two outs. Keller hung a slider over the middle of the plate, but Cruz came up empty on his swing for strike three.

Star of the Game

Jameson Taillon has now gotten the win in five-straight starts. He held the Pirates to two runs on four hits in 6.1 innings and matched a season-high with seven strikeouts.

Stat to Know

The Pirates fell to 9-23 on the road. Only the Rockies (6-28) and White Sox (7-27) have worse records in away games this season.

Notable Performances

• Andrew Heaney: 6.0 innings, four hits, three runs, no walks, seven strikeouts, 76 pitches/54 strikes
• Isaac Mattson: 1.2 innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, one strikeout, 20 pitches/14 strikes

Noteworthy

• Over his last 30 games dating back to May 4, Oneil Cruz has struck out 53 times in 127 plate appearances (41.7% strikeout rate). He’s struck out multiple times in 12 of his last 16 games.
• Andrew Heaney hasn’t walked a batter over his last three starts.

Up Next

RHP Paul Skenes (4-6, 1.88 ERA) will start for the Pirates on Friday afternoon. Rookie RHP Cade Horton (3-1, 4.11 ERA) gets the ball for the Cubs. First pitch: 2:20 p.m. ET.