Happ’s Five RBIs Fuel Cubs’ Offensive Explosion in Pittsburgh

Sometimes a baseball game tells you everything you need to know about two franchises heading in opposite directions. Wednesday night at PNC Park was one of those nights. The Chicago Cubs, looking like a team that knows how to close out ballgames, methodically built a lead against a Pittsburgh Pirates team that looked fundamentally broken at the worst possible moment. Final score: Cubs 10, Pirates 4. And honestly, it could have been worse for the home team.

Give the Pirates credit for fighting back early. Brandon Lowe‘s three-run bomb in the third inning, followed by Konnor Griffin‘s solo shot in the fourth, kept this game within striking distance heading into the middle innings. For a brief moment, you thought maybe Pittsburgh might actually be competitive here. Bryan Reynolds went 3-for-4 and was the only Pirate who looked even remotely dangerous at the plate. But one decent performance doesn’t win ballgames, especially not when your starting pitcher implodes.

Yohan Ramírez lasted all of 0.1 innings, surrendering four runs on three hits without recording a single out. That’s not a line you bounce back from. That’s a line that gets you a one-way ticket to the minors for some serious soul-searching. The Cubs came out swinging from the first pitch, with Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner setting the tone early. Ian Happ‘s two-run single in the first inning was just the appetizer.

But the real damage came in the seventh inning, when the Cubs put together what can only be described as a clinic in run production. Happ crushed a three-run homer to take the lead. Michael Conforto, likely coming off the bench, delivered a pinch-hit two-run shot that put this game completely out of reach. Michael Busch capped off the inning with an RBI single. Six runs. That’s not luck. That’s a baseball team firing on all cylinders, punishing a weak Pirates pitching staff that had no answers.

Ian Happ finished the night 2-for-6 with five RBIs and a homer. In a game where the Cubs scored 10 runs, one man was responsible for half of them. That’s the kind of performance that wins playoff games, that changes series, that gets written about in the history books. Meanwhile, the Pirates’ offense managed just four runs, with Lowe accounting for three of them. That’s the definition of a lopsided effort.

Pitching Collapse Sets Pirates Back Further

The Pirates bullpen was bad, but Ramírez’s abbreviated outing set the stage for complete disaster. Jacob Webb came in for the Cubs and didn’t allow a hit in his inning of work, striking out three. That’s exactly what you want from your relief pitcher. Pittsburgh couldn’t find anyone capable of stopping the bleeding once the Cubs’ offense got rolling.

Bottom Line

This wasn’t a competitive game after the seventh inning. The Cubs, under Craig Counsell’s steady leadership, proved they’re capable of putting teams away when they have the opportunity. The Pirates, meanwhile, continue their descent into mediocrity. With performances like this, it’s hard to imagine Pittsburgh contending for anything meaningful this season. The Cubs showed why they belong in the conversation among baseball’s elite. The Pirates showed why they don’t.

Next time these teams meet, the Pirates better bring more than one decent hitter and a pitching staff that can’t find the strike zone. Wednesday night’s result was a masterclass in how not to lose a baseball game, courtesy of the Cubs, and a reminder that the Pirates still have a very, very long way to go.