Cubs hit 2 grand slams, come back 3 times to finish sweep of Pirates

Just when it appeared the Pittsburgh Pirates were slamming their Windy City losing streak, Chicago slammed right back.

Twice.

The Chicago Cubs used two grand slams Sunday to answer an early one hit by Bryan Reynolds. They completed a four-game sweep 11-8.

Counting defeats to the White Sox on the South Side of the city Tuesday and Wednesday, the Pirates went 0-6 in an all-Chicago road trip. The North Side losses were especially painful: The first three were by one run, the latter two involved multiple blown leads.

“We had opportunities to win all four games, and we didn’t finish it,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We didn’t make plays. We didn’t make pitches, so it’s extremely frustrating.”

The Pirates three times held a lead Sunday — via Yoshi Tsutsugo’s homer in the first, Reynolds’ grand slam making it 5-2 in the third and Jacob Stallings’ second RBI of the game on a single that made it 8-7 in the sixth.

But two of the Cubs’ four home runs came with the bases loaded — Matt Duffy in the third and Frank Schwindel in the seventh that provided the game’s final four runs.

The three grand slams tied a major-league record for a game (previously done four times).

Schwindel, a 29-year-old rookie, was involved in the winning run during all four games of the series.

Reynolds went 4 for 5 with three runs for the Pirates (48-89), who are on a losing streak of at least five games for the eighth time this season. The Pirates traveled home after the game for a Labor Day afternoon game against the Detroit Tigers that kicks off a nine-game homestand.

Both teams batted around in the third, peppering starting pitchers Will Crowe (seven runs on seven hits in three innings) and the Cubs’ Zach Davis (six runs on eight hits in four innings). Crowe remained winless since July 30.

“It looked like everything was flat and in the middle of the plate,” Shelton said of Crowe. “You know, you go flat in the middle of the plate in this ballpark on a day when the wind is blowing out, it’s not a good combination.”

Duffy homered in consecutive innings off Crowe — a solo shot as the front end of a back-to-back with Jason Heyward in the second preceded his grand slam in the third.

Reynolds’ grand slam to center came in the third, which began with consecutive doubles by Crowe and Ke’Bryan Hayes followed by a Tsutsugo walk.

GRAND SLAM BRYAN REYNOLDS! pic.twitter.com/BbYQIfxH5B

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 5, 2021

It was Reynolds’ 22nd home run of the season and 45th of his career — but first with the bases loaded.

“Pretty cool experience,” Reynolds said. “Checking that one off the list.”

Tsutsugo opened the scoring with his seventh home run in 46 plate appearances since being signed by the Pirates off the minor-league roster of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

It was the second time over 19 games with the Pirates that Tsutsugo homered in consecutive games. The 417-foot home run to center improved Tsutsugo’s slugging percentage to .905 since his Aug. 16 debut. Per MLB, that led all major league players with at least 40 plate appearances in that time.

After Duffy’s slam put the Cubs ahead, the Pirates clawed back with two in the fifth off a wild pitch a Stallings sacrifice fly and another in the six when a Stallings single drove in Reynolds.

But a long bottom of the seventh that featured three Pirates relievers went for naught when Schwindel hit a Nick Mears 2-2 curveball 386 feet to center.

BEN GAMEL JUST MADE THE CATCH OF THE YEAR!!! pic.twitter.com/Sag10v9ip8

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 5, 2021

A highlight lost among another defeat? A full-extension diving catch by Ben Gamel on the left-field warning track in the seventh. The spectacular play saved two runs — but it was only temporary because Schwindel’s homer came two batters later.

“Obviously, we lost four close games here,” Gamel said. “(But) we play hard every day. That’s one thing that we are going to do and we are going to continue to do through the end of the year: play hard.”

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