Bregman Homers as Cubs Pound Pirates

Alex Bregman hit his 25th home run and doubled among three hits as the Chicago Cubs pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Friday at Wrigley Field to end a four-game losing streak. Shota Imanaga threw six effective innings, Seiya Suzuki piled up three hits including a triple, and Chicago finished with 16 hits against three Pittsburgh pitchers.

The win snapped Pittsburgh's four-game winning streak and kept the Cubs in the wild-card mix even while they trail NL Central-leading Milwaukee. Every Chicago starter had at least one hit, and five finished with two or more.

Bregman's night, Imanaga's win

Bregman went deep in the fourth, a two-run shot off Khristian Curtis that made it 9-1. He also doubled and finished with three hits in a clean cleanup-type night for fantasy managers who needed the power surge. Michael Busch doubled and drove in three. Carson Kelly's two-run double helped Chicago take a 3-1 lead in the second after Michael Conforto's sac fly tied it.

Imanaga (10-10) allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in a second straight solid start. Suzuki scored three times and drove in one. Bryan Reynolds answered with a solo homer for Pittsburgh, and rookie Konnor Griffin tripled among two hits, but the Pirates never climbed out of the early hole.

Valdez exits, series continues

Pirates rookie right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez left in the sixth with left hamstring discomfort after running to first on a groundout. Pittsburgh came in having won 9 of 11 to climb back above .500. One afternoon at Wrigley flipped that vibe.

Up next, Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.83) faces Clay Holmes (6-7, 2.83) on Saturday. Cubs fans will take the 12-2 reset and a Bregman bomb that finally stopped the skid. Pittsburgh has to regroup without Valdez and with a lineup that just got pushed around for 16 hits.

Wrigley showed up too. Attendance hit 39,190 on a 2:39 game that never felt close after the second-inning burst. Chicago stays well behind Milwaukee in the Central but keeps the wild-card door open with a lineup that finally looked like the one that carried stretches of the summer.

Bregman's 25th homer was the loudest swing on a day the Cubs needed volume more than drama. Sixteen hits and a skid snapped will travel better than another quiet loss. Pirates fans who rode the recent surge now watch Skenes try to reset the series Saturday while Valdez's hamstring becomes the next roster question.