Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/13/26): Pirates 4, Cubs 3 – Sweep Attempt Falls Short
The Cubs came up short in their attempt to sweep the Pirates on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Unlike Saturday, they could not erase a one-run deficit in the late innings to grab a win.
Pittsburgh went ahead on Matthew Boyd in the top of the 1st on an RBI single by Bryan Reynolds. Chicago took a short-lived lead when Miguel Amaya hit a two-run homer off of Bubba Chandler in the bottom of the 5th to make it 2-1.
Boyd had to battle his entire outing and ran out of steam in the top of the 6th inning, giving up a game-tying ground-rule double to Nick Gonzales. Aaron Civale came on in relief and surrendered a go-ahead two-run single to Brandon Lowe that put the Bucs on top 4-2.
The North Siders had a chance in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases with one out and forcing Chandler to leave the game. Carmen Mlodzinski took over and allowed just an RBI groundout by Nico Hoerner that cut the deficit to 4-3.
The Pirates completely shut down the Cubs after that, allowing only a single base runner in the final three innings and winning by the same 4-3 margin. (Box score)
Key Moment
Chicago just could not come up with the big hit with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 6th. As it turned out, that would be their last chance to score.
Why the Cubs Lost
They weren’t able to respond as Pittsburgh put together enough in one big inning to prevail.
Stats That Matter
- Boyd had to work hard and it got to him at the end: 5.1 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 3 K, and 2 BB.
- Amaya got a pair of hits on Sunday.
- Michael Busch stayed hot with a couple of singles.
Bottom Line
A sweep would have been very nice, but the Cubs managed to win the series. If they do that in the final four series of the season, they’re in very good shape to get the top Wild Card spot.
On Deck
The Braves come to Chicago for three games starting Monday at 6:40pm CT. David Peterson goes up against Reynaldo Lopez in a game broadcast on MLB Network and Marquee with a radio feed on the score.
