The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago Cubs 12-1 on Tuesday night at PNC Park, extending Chicago's losing streak to 10 games.
Rookie Esmerlyn Valdez hit a key two-run home run during a five-run first inning.
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Historic Streak
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Cubs became only the second team in major league history to record two 10-game winning streaks and one 10-game losing streak in a single season.
The 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers were the only other team to achieve this.
The defeat marks the longest losing streak for Chicago since 2022, as reported by ESPN.
Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft earned the win after allowing one run and seven hits over 6⅓ innings while striking out five.
He improved his May record to 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA over five starts.
Jordan Wicks took the loss for the Cubs after being recalled from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, surrendering eight runs in 4⅓ innings.
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Pittsburgh built an early lead through a two-run double by Bryan Reynolds.
Esmerlyn Valdez capped the first-inning surge with his home run, becoming the seventh player in Pirates history to hit two home runs within the first four games of his major league career, according to team records.
Spencer Horwitz also homered for Pittsburgh, while Oneil Cruz collected three hits.
Brandon Lowe, Reynolds, Nick Gonzales, and Horwitz contributed two hits each to help secure the Pirates' third consecutive victory.
Konnor Griffin, a 20-year-old rookie shortstop, became the youngest leadoff hitter for Pittsburgh since 1952, finishing the game 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored.
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Alex Bregman and Carson Kelly recorded two hits each for Chicago, but the team finished 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners stranded on base.
