The game was decided by a mistake. Pittsburgh defeated Chicago 4-3 in 11 innings when Caleb Thielbar's throwing error on Brandon Lowe's infield single allowed Nick Gonzales to score the winning run.
Braxton Ashcraft dominated through five innings for Pittsburgh, striking out nine while allowing just four hits and one run. The right-hander worked efficiently, throwing 77 pitches while keeping the Cubs off balance. Ashcraft's nine strikeouts matched his season high as he lowered his ERA to 2.12.
Pittsburgh built an early 3-0 lead through the first three innings. Horwitz grounded into a double play in the second that scored Ozuna, then Reynolds singled home Cruz in the third before O'Hearn added a sacrifice fly. Chicago answered with single runs in the fifth and seventh on groundouts by Hoerner and Swanson. The Cubs tied it in the ninth when Bregman singled to center, scoring Swanson to force extra innings.
Edward Cabrera matched Ashcraft's effort for Chicago, allowing eight hits and three runs over five innings with four strikeouts. Thielbar took the loss after his throwing error in the 11th, falling to 1-2 despite striking out three in the inning.
The Pirates improved to 8-5 and snapped a losing streak, while Chicago fell to 6-7. Oneil Cruz led Pittsburgh's 12-hit attack with four hits, while Ozuna sits four home runs away from 300 career homers. Bregman is six doubles from 300 career doubles, and Reynolds is four doubles from 200.