Fresh off a horrendous series in Philadelphia, the Cubs looked to turn things around against the lowly Pirates in Pittsburgh. With the possibility of an ugly 2-8 road trip looming, tension was high as the series began. That stress level only rose when Chicago’s beleaguered bullpen blew a second consecutive game to open the series.
As it turned out, the saving grace would come in the form of the starting rotation. All three Cubs hurlers had quality starts against the Pirates and the batters scraped out just enough offense on Saturday to snap their four-game losing streak.