Hendricks shuts down reeling Pirates as Cubs complete 3-game sweep with 8-3 victory

Kyle Hendricks pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Nico Hoerner homered, tripled and drove in three runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.

Hendricks (3-2) won his third consecutive start for the Cubs, who have won eight of nine to give them some serious momentum heading into a weekend series against rival St. Louis in London, England, starting on Saturday.

Hendricks allowed three runs — one earned — and two hits in 6 1/3 innings with three walks and two strikeouts.

Hoerner hit a two-run triple off Rich Hill (6-7) in the third and added a solo home run in the seventh. Ian Happ doubled twice and drove in two runs. Happ, a Pittsburgh native, has reached base safely in each of his past 37 games against the Pirates, a stretch in which he is hitting .352 (49 of 139) with 15 doubles and 28 RBIs.

Happ broke the game open when he laced a double to left field with two outs in the sixth, a rally that started with a rare error by Pittsburgh third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Hill hit Trey Mancini with an 0-2 curveball and Happ followed with a shot to the corner that made it 5-1.

Josh Palacios had an RBI double in the second to end a 25-inning scoreless drought for the Pirates. Pittsburgh scored two runs in the seventh on a throwing error by Cubs first baseman Trey Mancini to get within 6-3 but could draw no closer.

The Pirates have dropped nine straight, their longest losing streak since a nine-game slide from June 6-16, 2021. The franchise was in full-on rebuilding mode then. Pittsburgh believes it is drawing closer to becoming a contender but the good vibes that came with a promising 19-9 start have faded over the past two weeks. The Pirates are 15-30 over their past 45 games.

While Hill wasn’t particularly sharp — giving up four runs, three earned with two walks and four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings — Pittsburgh’s most pressing issue is an offense that has essentially vanished.

The Pirates were shut out on Monday and Tuesday and have scored just 20 runs since the skid started with a loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field on June 13.

Chicago, by contrast, scored 20 runs in less than 48 hours at PNC Park.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: Held SS Dansby Swanson (wrist) out of the lineup as a precaution, though Swanson is expected to be available in London. Swanson was hit by a pitch in Tuesday night’s win but remained in the game.

Pirates: DH Andrew McCutchen (elbow inflammation) and OF Bryan Reynolds (lower back soreness) were held out of the lineup for a second straight day. … 1B/DH Ji-Man Choi (strained Achilles) will head out for a minor-league rehab assignment as early as Friday.

UP NEXT

Cubs: Will play a regular-season game in England for the first time in franchise history when they face off against the Cardinals at London Stadium on Saturday and Sunday.

Pirates: Being a four-game set against the Marlins in Miami on Thursday. Mitch Keller (8-3, 3.60 ERA) gets the start in the opener against Braxton Garrett (3-2, 3.88).