Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes endured a rare rocky start in an 8-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Skenes gave up three home runs in the fifth inning, two more than he allowed across his first six starts of the season.

It was the last of three homers that the Cubs hit off Skenes in the fifth inning, following Dansby Swanson and Kyle Tuckers’ solo shots. Those three runs gave the Cubs their first lead of the game. And for good measure, Suzuki added a two-run homer in the seventh inning off reliever Kyle Nicolas.

Pregame analysis and predictions of the Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates MLB game to be played on April 30, 2025 on ESPN.