Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs: Final Score & Recap
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PIT | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| CHC | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | - | 14 | 12 | 0 |
The Story
The Chicago Cubs routed the Pittsburgh Pirates 14-1 at Wrigley Field on September 19, 2023, a game that was effectively decided by the early innings and completely out of reach by the eighth. The DiamondIQ model opened with a 60 percent pre-game home win probability for Chicago, and that figure climbed steadily before reaching 100 percent by the final out. Pittsburgh starter Quinn Priester absorbed the brunt of the damage, surrendering key blows in the second and third innings that shifted the complexion of the contest quickly and decisively.
The turning point cluster came in the bottom of the second, where Patrick Wisdom delivered a double off Priester that added 6.5 percentage points of win probability, the single largest swing of the game. Dansby Swanson followed with a groundout that nonetheless pushed the Cubs' win probability up an additional 6.1 points, a reflection of how loaded the situation was and how thoroughly Pittsburgh's pitching was unraveling. Seiya Suzuki then supplied the most visually emphatic moment of the early action with a home run off Priester in the bottom of the third, worth 6.4 percentage points. Ke'Bryan Hayes answered for Pittsburgh in the top of that same inning with a solo shot off Javier Assad worth 6.2 points, which stood as the Pirates' lone response in an otherwise one-sided affair. The Cubs piled on eight more runs in the eighth inning to finalize the 14-1 margin.
On the individual ledger, Dansby Swanson led all position players with a 9.4 percent WPA contribution and a RE24 of plus-1.2, while Suzuki posted a 7.1 percent WPA and a RE24 of plus-1.7, the highest run-expectancy figure among hitters. Patrick Wisdom added 5.6 percent WPA. On the mound, Javier Assad was dominant, leading all pitchers with a 9.2 percent WPA, with Drew Smyly and Jose Cuas contributing 3.3 and 1.4 percent respectively in relief. Chicago's pitching staff combined to hold Pittsburgh to five hits and committed no errors, giving the Cubs a thorough victory in every phase of the game.