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.

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.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes experienced a career first on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs ( GameTracker ), and not of the positive manner he's grown accustomed to over the last year. Rather, Thursday's game represented the first time he has surrendered three home runs during an appearance at the big-league level.