The wind was blowing in at Wrigley Field yet again Thursday evening, as it has seemingly for pretty much every home game this year.

That didn’t matter to Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki, who both launched baseballs into the bleachers. Suzuki’s homer wound up the difference in a 3-2 Cubs win over the Pirates to open a 10-game homestand.

The game was all pitching for the first three innings. Andrew Heaney retired the first 10 Cubs in order. Jameson Taillon allowed a first-inning single to Andrew McCutchen and a two-out walk to Oneil Cruz in the third.

Carson Kelly’s good throw and Nico Hoerner’s nice tag took care of Cruz trying to steal to end the inning [VIDEO].

The Cubs finally broke through against Heaney in the fourth. Kyle Tucker singled with one out, breaking up any no-hit thoughts for Heaney [VIDEO].

One out later, PCA hit this high, arcing drive for a two-run homer, his 18th [VIDEO].

Look where that pitch was (pitch 5) — that had to be almost a foot above the strike zone!

Pete Crow-Armstrong now has this homer on a pitch 3.90 ft above the ground AND a homer earlier this year on a 0.86-ft pitch

PCA is the 1st player with homers on pitches both 3.90+ ft & less than 0.90 ft off the ground in a season under Statcast (2015)

h/t the wizard… https://t.co/fmRpEPaP22

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 13, 2025

Taillon retired the Pirates 1-2-3 in the fourth and fifth, and issued a one-out walk in the sixth, but the Cubs maintained their 2-0 lead.

That lead became 3-0 with two out in the sixth when Suzuki homered, his 17th [VIDEO].

About that home run:

Cubs have 2 HR tonight.

They had 2 HR during the last homestand (6 games).

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) June 13, 2025

Taillon finally ran out of gas in the seventh. He allowed a one-out bloop into center that Spencer Horwitz turned into a double. Two sharp singles made the score 3-1 and put Pirates runners on first and third.

That was it for Taillon, who threw 92 pitches (57 strikes) and had his sixth straight really good outing. He struck out seven [VIDEO].

Here’s more on Taillon’s outing [VIDEO].

And more, from BCB’s JohnW53:

Jameson Taillon pitched at least six innings and gave up no more than four hits for a sixth consecutive game. That ties for the most by a Cubs starter since 1901. Carlos Zambrano had both earlier streaks, in 2006 and 2010.

Kerry Wood had five in a row in 2002. Jake Arrieta matched that in 2014.

Nine others had four straight. The first three were in the first decade of the Modern Era Jack Taylor (1902), Jake Weimer (1904) and King Cole (1910). There wasn’t another until Ryan Dempster in 2008.

The five after that: Carlos Villanueva (2013), Arreita (2015), John Lackey (2016), and Justin Steele and Marcus Stroman (both 2023).

So in Shōta Imanaga’s absence, Taillon has stepped up and given ace-like performance. Over those six starts Taillon has a 2.31 ERA and 0.769 WHIP.

Brad Keller relieved Taillon and struck out Tommy Pham, but then got uncharacteristically wild. He hit Brett Sullivan to load the bases, and then walked Jared Triolo to force in a run, making it 3-2. About that walk, from BCB’s JohnW53:

The bases-loaded walk by Keller in the seventh inning was just the third issued by the Cubs this season. The first two both were against the Padres: April 6, at home, by Ben Brown, and April 16, at San Diego, by Luke Little. The Cubs had walked 116 batters since then in 48 games before the one tonight.

The Cubs were among eight teams with just two before tonight. The Cardinals and Rays had one. Six teams had three, including the Pirates.

Keller recovered and struck out Cruz on a slider to end the inning [VIDEO].

The Cubs did not score in the seventh and then Daniel Palencia entered to throw the eighth. Interesting — was Palencia going to be asked to record a two-inning save?

Palencia retired the Pirates 1-2-3 in the eighth and the Cubs did the same in the bottom of the inning.

And then Ryan Pressly came out of the bullpen for his first save opportunity since April. Friends, this did not fill me with confidence and I am certain you felt the same.

Pressly rose to the occasion, retiring the Pirates in order on three straight infield ground balls. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

Here’s PCA on his home run [VIDEO].

Craig Counsell’s postgame comments include an explanation of why Palencia was used in the eighth [VIDEO].

And the game ran just two hours, seven minutes, the shortest Cubs game by time so far this year.

The Cubs increased their division lead to 5½ games because the Brewers beat the Cardinals Thursday night. St. Louis dropped to second place, six games back. The best result of the Cardinals/Brewers series would be a split while the Cubs take care of business against the Pirates.

One last note: I heard some fans at Wrigley boo McCutchen when he came to bat. Andrew McCutchen is one of the most likeable players in the game and one of my favorite non-Cubs. My feeling is: You don’t have to cheer for him, but booing him? Bad form.

The Cubs will have a taller task in Friday’s game, as Paul Skenes gets the start for the Pirates. Skenes is not unbeatable, though:

Pirates are 6-8 in the 14 games started by Paul Skenes

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) June 13, 2025

Cade Horton will start for the Cubs. Game time is 1:20 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (and MLB Network outside the Cubs and Pirates market territories).