PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a solo home run in the sixth inning and Dansby Swanson delivered a go-ahead single in the 10th as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Friday night at PNC Park before a crowd of 35,593.

The Cubs improved to 58-45 while the Pirates dropped to 52-52 in a game that featured dominant starting pitching, a critical defensive double play at the plate and extra-inning resolution. The game was completed in 10 innings with a time of 2 hours 39 minutes.

Chicago has won five of its last seven games and eight of its last 12. Pittsburgh has lost three of its last four and four of its last seven.

Jared Jones started for Pittsburgh and turned in a sharp performance over six innings. The Pirates right-hander allowed two hits and one earned run while striking out five and walking one. Jones retired the side in order in the first, second and fourth innings and faced only one batter over the minimum through five frames.

In the first inning, Jones struck out Crow-Armstrong swinging to open the game and then retired Seiya Suzuki on a fly ball to right and Michael Busch on a lineout to first. He worked a 1-2-3 second inning as well, striking out Ian Happ and inducing a lineout from Nico Hoerner and a popout from Pedro Ramirez.

Chicago starter Matthew Boyd matched Jones through the early innings. Boyd worked five innings plus one batter in the sixth, allowing one run on five hits while striking out three and walking two. The left-hander retired the side in order in the second and fourth innings and worked around a two-out walk to Henry Davis in the third.

The third inning provided the game’s first scoring threat. Davis drew a two-out walk after a challenge overturned the initial call. Jake Mangum followed with a single to center that moved Davis to second. Nick Gonzales then singled on a ground ball to second baseman Nico Hoerner, but Davis was thrown out at home on a relay from Hoerner to third baseman Alex Bregman, ending the inning.

The game remained scoreless through four innings as both pitchers worked efficiently.

Pittsburgh broke through in the fifth inning with a two-out rally. Marcell Ozuna drew a walk and Brandon Lowe followed with another walk to put runners on first and second. Jared Triolo singled on a ground ball to Boyd, loading the bases. Henry Davis then grounded a single to Hoerner, scoring Ozuna from third to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. The Pirates loaded the bases again but Mangum flied to center, Gonzales flied to right and Bryan Reynolds struck out to end the inning with Pittsburgh holding the advantage.

The Cubs answered immediately in the top of the sixth. Swanson flied out sharply to center to begin the inning. Crow-Armstrong then drove a pitch over the right-field wall for his 22nd home run of the season, tying the game at 1-1. Suzuki popped out in foul territory and Busch flied to center to end the inning.

Both teams created scoring chances in the middle innings but were turned away by strong defensive plays.

The Cubs threatened in the seventh against Pittsburgh reliever Yohan Ramirez. Bregman grounded out to third to open the inning. Happ then singled on a ground ball to first base in a play that was overturned on a Cubs challenge. Hoerner followed with a single to center, sending Happ to third. After a challenge on the pitch result led to a strikeout of Ramirez, Carson Kelly grounded into a force out at second base to end the inning.

The Pirates had their best scoring opportunity in the bottom of the seventh against the Cubs bullpen. Triolo flied out to right for the first out. Davis singled to left and Mangum singled on a ground ball to right that deflected off first baseman Busch, putting runners on first and third with one out.

Gonzales then flied to left field. Left fielder Happ made a strong throw to catcher Kelly, who applied the tag on Davis at the plate for an inning-ending double play. The play was reviewed and upheld, keeping the game tied at 1-1.

Both teams went quietly in the eighth and ninth innings as the bullpens dominated.

For Pittsburgh, Gregory Soto worked a perfect eighth inning. Mason Montgomery struck out three in a hitless ninth inning. Wilber Dotel pitched the eighth and allowed two hits but no runs.

The Cubs bullpen also held firm. Caleb Thielbar worked a scoreless eighth and ninth innings to send the game to extra innings. Thielbar retired the side in order in the eighth and worked around a Ryan O’Hearn single in the ninth.

O’Hearn led the Pirates with two hits in four at-bats. Mangum also collected two hits in four at-bats. Gonzales drove in a run with a groundout in the 10th.

In the 10th, with the automatic runner on second base, the Cubs broke through. Hoerner struck out swinging to start the inning. Ramirez singled on a ground ball to shortstop Triolo, putting runners on first and third. Michael Conforto lined out to second baseman Lowe for the second out.

Swanson then singled sharply to center field off Yohan Ramirez, scoring Happ, who was the automatic runner, to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead. The Pirates intentionally walked Crow-Armstrong to load the bases. Suzuki then drew a walk to force in Ramirez, extending the lead to 3-1. Busch struck out swinging to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Pirates attempted a comeback. The automatic runner, Davis, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Mangum. Gonzales grounded out to shortstop, scoring Davis to cut the lead to 3-2. Reynolds lined out sharply to right fielder Suzuki to end the game.

Thielbar earned the win, improving to 3-2 on the season. Ramirez took the loss, falling to 6-3. Gavin Hollowell recorded his first save of the season for the Cubs.

The Cubs have won four of their last seven meetings against the Pirates dating to the 2025 season. The teams have split their last six meetings in Pittsburgh.

The series continues Saturday afternoon at PNC Park. Following the series, Chicago travels to St. Louis for a four-game set against the Cardinals beginning Monday. Pittsburgh hosts Arizona for three games starting Monday.

The Cubs have won eight of their last 12 games overall. The Pirates have lost three of their last four and four of their last seven.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Pittsburgh 6, Chicago 5. The ELO system gave the Cubs a 52.00 percent probability to win. Chicago was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over-under line of 7.5.