PITTSBURGH — Ben Brown struck out seven in six innings, allowed one run, and left with a no-decision. His ERA dropped to 2.01. He did everything he was asked to do and more.
The Cubs lost anyway.
Henry Davis — batting .144, starting his Memorial Day behind the plate at PNC Park — hit a 413-foot solo shot off Trey Thornton with two outs in the seventh inning to make it 2-1 Pittsburgh. Wilber Dotel threw three shutout innings. Gregory Soto retired the side in the ninth. The Cubs lost their ninth consecutive game, matching their longest skid since they dropped nine in a row in July 2022.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| PIT | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 8 | 0 |
Brown Deserved Better
There's not much else you can ask from a starting pitcher. Brown allowed a hit in the first, a single and a walk in the second, and a walk and a Lowe RBI double in the third — but he never let Pittsburgh add to the damage. Six innings, four hits, one run, seven strikeouts. He threw 83 pitches and kept Chicago in a game with an offense that's been slipping for three weeks.
He also made a throwing error that put Oneil Cruz on second base at one point. Cruz didn't score. Brown is starting out of necessity right now — the Cubs have lost Cade Horton (Tommy John, done for the year), Justin Steele (elbow, 60-day IL), Matthew Boyd (knee surgery, out six weeks), and Edward Cabrera (finger blister, 15-day IL), and that's just the rotation. The bullpen has its own casualty list. Brown has handled the assignment better than anyone had a right to expect. A 2.01 ERA. A game score of 65 today. And a loss.
That's baseball. It's also the Cubs in May 2026.
Busch Breaks a Hex — Then It Doesn't Matter
Michael Busch entered this game 0-for-11 in his career against Carmen Mlodzinski. He ended that with a solo shot to center field — 409 feet, two outs in the fifth — for his sixth home run of the season, tying the game at one.
Mlodzinski went five innings and allowed just that one run. He walked three. His line — 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER — kept the game exactly tight enough for a Pirates bullpen that turned out to be the difference.
The rest of the Cubs lineup went 5-for-28 against Mlodzinski and Dotel combined. Alex Bregman went 2-for-4 and drove in nobody. Dansby Swanson is hitting .186. The team finished 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position.
The Seventh Inning
Brown was done. Thornton came in. Davis led off and got all of one.
Davis is a catcher with a below-.150 average and four home runs on the season. His value is defensive — he had the lowest catcher's ERA in the major leagues last year by a Pirates catcher since 1974. He is not the guy you expect to beat you. He hit a 413-foot shot to left for the go-ahead run.
Dotel held the Cubs scoreless across the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. The 23-year-old from Santo Domingo debuted April 19, pitched his way to a 2.35 ERA across his first four outings, and now has his first career win. He allowed one single across 28 pitches and struck out four.
The Ninth Inning
Soto. Three pinch hitters. Three outs.
Nico Hoerner grounded to first. Seiya Suzuki struck out looking. Both had the day off and came in to pinch hit — neither could do anything with it. Carson Kelly grounded to second. Fourteen pitches. Sixth save.
That was it.
Pitching Lines
Pitcher Stats
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown | 6.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Thornton (L, 2-1) | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Webb | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mlodzinski | 5.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Dotel (W, 1-0) | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Soto (S, 6) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
What's Next
The Cubs and Pirates play again Tuesday afternoon at PNC Park. Jordan Wicks gets the start for Chicago — recalled from Triple-A Iowa this weekend to replace Edward Cabrera, who was placed on the 15-day IL with a blister on his right middle finger. Wicks made his major league debut at this exact ballpark in August 2023, retiring 15 straight Pirates and striking out nine. Pittsburgh counters with Braxton Ashcraft (3-2, 2.89 ERA). First pitch is 12:35 p.m. Central.