Game Recap: Cubs blank Pirates |
Dustin Riese
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- 7 hours ago
PITTSBURGH - It's hard to believe that 30 games into the 2025 MLB season, and the Chicago Cubs (18-12) had yet to play a single division game. Going even further than that, when you look at the records of the teams the Cubs have faced thus far, none of them are under .500 at this point, yet this team still came into Tuesday sitting in first place.
It may have taken 30 games, but the Cubs finally had a chance to play someone in their division as they faced off against the Pittsburgh Pirates (11-19) at PNC Park. The Cubs owned the Pirates at PNC last season, going 5-1 against the Pirates, including a three-game sweep in September. Looking to keep the good vibes going, the Cubs turned to left-hander Shota Imanaga, who had yet to give up an earned run in his career against this team. That trend continued on Tuesday as the Cubs used a pair of early homers to chase Andrew Haney before connecting for four homers as part of another dominating 9-0 win. When it comes to Imanaga, the left-hander continued to shove against the Pirates as he has now gone 19 scoreless innings in three starts to begin his career. That included five more shutout innings tonight, although he left the game with an injury in the sixth that wound up being cramps. Entering his start, Haney was arguably one of the best pitchers in baseball and was another one of the so-called starters the Cubs were looking to add this offseason, only to whiff on him. Through three innings, Haney was unhittable as he managed to get through the Cubs order without allowing a base runner. That was until a two-out double from Seiya Suzuki in the fourth ended his string of 11 straight men retired and gave the Cubs their first baserunner of the game. A few pitches later it was Carson Kelly continuing his scorching start to the season as he connected for his seventh homer of the season to put the Cubs in front 2-0 and they would never look back. Carson Kelly - Chicago Cubs (7) Chicago would add to their lead in the fifth as Nico Hoerner got things started with a leadoff double and then came around to score on a long Pete Crow-Armstrong homer to double the Cubs lead 4-0. SWING IT, PETE. pic.twitter.com/I0HUOzZ2YZ The Cubs would continue to keep the pressure on throughout the inning as Haney walked the bases loaded before being removed. Not only that, but Haney didn't strike out a single hitter, which was the trend all night as the Cubs hitters went the entire game without striking out for the first time since 2013. Although Imanaga had four shutout innings under his belt, he still had issues putting away hitters and wasn't as sharp as the Cubs need him to be. Then came the fifth when Imanaga saw trouble for the first and only time in this game as a pair of two-out singles from Jared Triolo and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had the Pirates in business. An O'Neil Cruz followed those singles walk to load the bases, but Imanaga came through with a massive strikeout to Bryan Reynolds to end the inning. Pittsburgh was hoping that inning was the opening they would need to solve Imanaga, and with Andrew McCutchen leading off the sixth with another double, the Pirates were threatening again as the entire city of Chicago held their breath. Following that double, Imanaga was being looked at by the trainer for what looked to be a knee or hamstring injury. He wound up leaving the game and it was revealed that he left the game due to cramping, the entire organization let out a huge exhale. Either way, it would be up to the bullpen to hold the lead as Daniel Palencia came in to finish the sixth and kept the Pirates off the board. While the Cubs' bullpen has been an issue this season, the same can't be said for the Pirates, as their bullpen has been a strength. They were going to need that to continue to give their offense a chance, but it was the Cubs who had other ideas in the seventh as they made Hunter Stratton's season debut a nightmare. All it took was a one-out double from Ian Happ to see the momentum swing as he reached base in 42 straight games at PNC. Happ would come into score on a Kyle Tucker single a few pitches later, only to have Suzuki unload for the Cubs third homer of the night to break things open 7-0. who knew 777 was Seiya's favorite angel number 😏 pic.twitter.com/Crh24YLyqQ The Cubs would tack on additional runs in each of the final two frames, with Dansby Swanson going deep in the eighth and Kelly adding an RBI single in the ninth to open up a commanding 9-0 lead. Swanson solo shot. pic.twitter.com/ciGLHr7RHr That is all the offense would need, as Caleb Thielbar and Tom Cosgrove closed things out from there in a 9-0 victory. After making several key lineup changes before the game, things worked out in Craig Counsell's favor as both Suzuki and Kelly came away with three hits and combined for five RBIs. Kelly led the Cubs with three RBIs, and the Cubs had 13 total hits in the victory. The Cubs batters didn't strikeout at all in today's game, marking the first time since July 3, 2013. pic.twitter.com/xJ8XEDi0UH
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