Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/28/24): Cubs 14, Pirates 10 – Christian Bethancourt Game Secures Sweep

The Cubs entered the 7th inning of their game against the Pirates Wednesday afternoon trailing 10-3 and the prospects for a comeback did not look very good. Then Pittsburgh’s bullpen, which has been a major liability for them all season, had a total meltdown and Chicago scored 11 times to pull off a shocking victory and complete a sweep.

Cody Bellinger began the scoring against ace Paul Skenes with a run-scoring single in the top of the 1st. Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks was very flat in this one and gave up a game-tying solo home run to Bryan Reynolds in the bottom of the frame. Pete Crow-Armstrong had an RBI single in the 2nd, advanced to third on the throw to the plate, then scored on a groundout by Christian Bethancourt.

The Pirates immediately erased that 3-1 lead with a five-spot in the bottom of the inning. Hendricks was giving up hard contact on almost every pitch and was pulled before recording his sixth out. The home team scored two more runs in the 4th, including one on a solo home run by Connor Joe. The man who becomes a superhero against the Cubs then singled to knock in two more the following inning and Pittsburgh was up 10-3.

Bethancourt cut the margin to 10-5 when he blasted a two-run homer against Kyle Nicolas in the 7th. Chicago’s catcher continued his monster game by bringing home two more with a double off of Aroldis Chapman in the 8th and Ian Happ plated him with a single to make it just 10-8.

A 431-ft. bomb for Christian Bethancourt! pic.twitter.com/PkDJgNIWqn

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) August 28, 2024

Pittsburgh closer David Bednar came on for the save in the 9th but instantly got into a jam with a pair of singles and a walk loading the bases with one out. Dansby Swanson hit into a force out to cut the deficit to 10-9 ,then stole second to precipitate an intentional walk to Crow-Armstrong — who had collected four hits — that reloaded the bases with two outs.

Loading the bases for Bethancourt was an extremely dumb move, at least on Wednesday, as the slugging backstop lined a go-ahead two-run single past third base to give the North Siders an 11-10 advantage. They didn’t stop there, with Happ, Mike Tauchman, and Seiya Suzuki each singling home runs off of Jalen Beeks to make it a 14-10 advantage.

Porter Hodge pitched a second inning of work in the bottom of the frame to earn the win and complete a very improbable Cubs victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Pirates had the bases loaded twice in the late innings and were not able to add any insurance. That gave the Cubs enough room to come back on a very shaky Pittsburgh bullpen.

Why the Cubs Won

They absolutely feasted on a really terrible Bucs pitching staff, which helped them to overcome a poor effort from their own starting pitcher.

Stats That Matter

• Hendricks did not have it at all Wednesday and his spot in the rotation might be in jeopardy with Jordan Wicks nearing a comeback: 1.2 IP, 6 R, 8 H, 2 K, and 3 BB.
• Just an incredible game for Bethancourt, who was a triple shy of the cycle with seven RBI.
• PCA was perfect on the afternoon with four hits, a walk, and four runs scored.
• Happ also got on base five times Wednesday as he continues to dominate in Pittsburgh.

Bottom Line

That was quite a comeback for the Cubs, who desperately needed it to stay in the race. They scored a whopping 41 runs over the three games of this sweep. Some of that was due to a truly awful Pirates relief unit, but maybe it’s something they can build on going forward. Sometimes dramatic wins like this one can spark a run, and this definitely provides a flicker of hope. Things might get very interesting if they can keep rolling against Washington.

On Deck

The Cubs head to our nation’s capital to begin a series with the Nationals Friday night at 5:45pm CT. Shōta Imanaga gets the start against Jake Irvin in a game airing on Marquee and 670 The Score.