Kyle Hendricks pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Nico Hoerner homered, tripled and drove in three runs and the surging Cubs beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-3 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep.
Chicago has won eight of nine overall, giving the Cubs 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. His only real hiccup came in the seventh when a single, a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases with one out. The Pirates scored two runs on an error by first baseman Trey Mancini but otherwise did nothing.
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 to continue his master of his hometown team.
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 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, but Pittsburgh couldn't answer when Hoerner's two-run triple to the wall in right sparked a three-run rally in the third.
The Pirates have dropped nine straight, their longest losing strea k 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.
The 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.
