Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/3/24): Pirates 5, Cubs 0 – Playoff Chances Dim After Shutout Loss

The Cubs slim playoff hopes continued to dim Tuesday night at Wrigley Field as the Pirates shut them out and won the series. Chicago had three excellent scoring chances early in the game against Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes, but they failed to come through and the offense dried up after that in a 5-0 defeat.

Both starting pitchers, Skenes and Kyle Hendricks, had tons of traffic on the bases early but were able to escape and keep the game scoreless into the 3rd. The Bucs broke through on Hendricks in that frame on an Andrew McCutchen sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Rowdy Tellez to go ahead 2-0.

The North Siders’ offense did almost nothing after that, with just a single baserunner in the final six innings despite getting into the Pirates’ shaky bullpen in the 6th. Jared Triolo eliminated all remaining doubt about the outcome when he hit a three-run homer off Tyson Miller in the 7th, providing the road team with the winning 5-0 margin. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs had eight men on base against Skenes in the first three frames and came up empty. After that, all they could produce was an Ian Happ single in the 7th.

Why the Cubs Lost

After laying waste to the Pirates’ bullpen at PNC Park last week, they haven’t scored a run on them in these two games at Wrigley.

Stats That Matter

• Hendricks gave his squad a chance to win and they didn’t take advantage: 5 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 5 K, and 1 BB.
• Cody Bellinger was the only Cub to reach base twice Tuesday.
• Miller has allowed six earned runs in his last three outings after allowing five total over his previous 37 appearances for Chicago.

Bottom Line

This has been a pretty devastating two days for the Cubs’ playoff chances. They are back to 4.5 games out of the Wild Card and failed to take advantage of one of the worst teams remaining on their schedule. The mountain they had to climb appears to be getting steeper and they may not have enough to come all the way back from their mid-season slump. It was a nice little run to temporarily get back to the fringes of the race but now it’s time to focus on 2025.

On Deck

The Cubs try to avoid the sweep Wednesday at 6:40pm CT. Shōta Imanaga faces off against Bailey Falter in a game available on Marquee and 670 The Score.