Cubs Clinch 1st Playoff Berth Since 2020 With Win Against Pirates

 Ian Happ homered and drove in three runs, and the Chicago Cubs clinched their first postseason berth since 2020 with an 8-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.

Chicago has won four in a row and seven of eight overall. It leads the NL wild-card standings with an 88-64 record.

Nico Hoerner had two hits and scored three times for the Cubs. Justin Turner hit a pair of RBI singles after entering in the sixth.

The Cubs grabbed control with three runs in the sixth, helped by errors on Pirates reliever Yohan Ramirez (1-3) and catcher Joey Bart. Michael Busch drove in Dansby Swanson with a tiebreaking sacrifice fly, and Happ and Turner added run-scoring singles.

Aaron Civale (4-9) pitched three scoreless innings for the win.

Chicago scored four runs in the first before Pittsburgh recorded an out. Busch walked and scored on a balk before Happ hit his 23rd homer, a two-run drive on a curveball from Johan Oviedo that prompted an early mound visit. Moises Ballesteros drove the next pitch over the wall in right for his second career homer.

Bart answered with a three-run shot off Matthew Boyd in the bottom half. Andrew McCutchen’s bases-loaded walk in the second tied it at 4.

Boyd permitted seven hits and walked two in a season-low three innings.

Key moment

Bart attempted to catch Swanson trying to steal second in the sixth. But Swanson would have advanced anyway on a called ball four to Matt Shaw. The throw went into the outfield and Swanson went to third before scoring on Busch’s flyball to right.

Key stat

Chicago went 10-3 against Pittsburgh in the season series.

Up next

The Cubs head to Cincinnati for a four-game series against the Reds beginning on Thursday.

The Pirates face the Athletics on Friday, opening a three-game series that will conclude their home schedule.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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