Late homer gives Pirates 2-1 win, gives Cubs 9th straight loss

Henry Davis hit a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates sent the Chicago Cubs to their ninth straight loss with a 2-1 victory on Monday.

Gregory Soto worked a perfect ninth for his sixth save as the Pirates beat the Cubs for the third time in four tries so far this season.

Michael Busch hit his sixth homer of the season for Chicago, but it wasn’t enough to halt a funk that is nearing three weeks. Chicago’s nine-game skid is the franchise’s longest since a 10-game slide in 2022. The Cubs have dropped 13 of 15 overall to fall into the middle of the pack in the hyper-competitive NL Central, where all five teams started Memorial Day above .500.

Cubs starter Ben Brown allowed one run and four hits over six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts, whittling his ERA to 2.01.

The series continues on Tuesday. Braxton Ashcraft (3-2, 2.89 ERA) starts for the Pirates.


(AP Photo David Dermer)