CHICAGO (Interstat) — Alex Bregman finished a triple shy of the cycle, and the Chicago Cubs rode a 16-hit attack to a 12-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. Bregman went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, while Michael Busch drove in three runs, Carson Kelly added two RBIs and Seiya Suzuki had three hits and one RBI. Shota Imanaga earned the win after allowing two earned runs on five hits over six innings with four strikeouts. Wilber Dotel took the loss for Pittsburgh. The Cubs scored in five innings and turned a close early game into a lopsided win before an attendance of 39,190 in a game that lasted 2 hours, 39 minutes.

The Pirates opened the scoring in the first when Konnor Griffin tripled to center field and Oneil Cruz followed with an RBI single to left. Pittsburgh had a chance for more after Rafael Flores Jr. reached on a single, but Esmerlyn Valdez struck out swinging to end the inning. Chicago went quietly in the bottom of the first, with Pete Crow-Armstrong striking out and Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch making outs.

Chicago broke through in the second. Bregman singled, Ian Happ singled and Nico Hoerner singled to load the bases. Michael Conforto brought home Bregman with a sacrifice fly to left. After Pedro Ramírez reached on a forceout, Carson Kelly doubled to left to score Happ and Ramírez, giving the Cubs a 3-1 lead. Pete Crow-Armstrong grounded out to end the inning, but Chicago had taken control.

The Cubs added two more in the third. Suzuki singled and Busch doubled to right, with Suzuki scoring on the play. Busch advanced to third on a throwing error by right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez. After Bregman popped out, Happ walked. Hoerner then flew into a forceout that allowed Busch to score. Conforto singled to move Hoerner to third, but Ramírez grounded out to end the inning.

Chicago blew the game open in the fourth. Kelly was hit by a pitch and Crow-Armstrong walked. Suzuki singled to right to score Kelly and move Crow-Armstrong to third. Busch followed with a sacrifice fly to shortstop that scored Crow-Armstrong. Bregman then homered to left field, scoring Suzuki and making it 9-1. Happ grounded out, Hoerner doubled, and Conforto popped out, but the Cubs had already built a commanding lead.

Imanaga settled in after the first. He allowed just one more run over his final five innings and finished with four strikeouts. Chicago’s bullpen then closed the door. Daniel Palencia, Javier Assad and Trent Thornton each pitched a scoreless inning. Palencia allowed no hits, while Assad and Thornton each allowed one hit. The Cubs also played clean defense behind their pitchers and turned a double play in the seventh.

Pittsburgh’s only other run came in the sixth when Bryan Reynolds homered to left field. The Pirates managed seven hits overall, with Griffin, Cruz, Flores Jr., Reynolds, Nick Gonzales, Jake Mangum and Jared Triolo accounting for the offense. Pittsburgh could not string together enough hits against Imanaga or the Cubs’ relievers. The Pirates also left runners on base in several innings and went hitless in key spots after the first.

Chicago padded its lead in the sixth. Suzuki tripled to right field and Busch singled to center to drive him in. Bregman doubled to left to move Busch to third, and Tyrone Taylor brought Busch home with a sacrifice fly to right. Hoerner flied out and Conforto grounded out, but the Cubs led 11-2. The Cubs added one more in the seventh when Ramírez doubled, Kelly singled to center and Crow-Armstrong singled to right to score Ramírez. Suzuki then grounded into a double play, and Busch flied out to left.

For the game, Bregman was the top Chicago star, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Busch went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Kelly went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Suzuki went 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. Hoerner added two hits and one RBI. The Cubs made three sacrifice flies, getting them from Conforto, Busch and Taylor. Chicago finished with 16 hits, while Pittsburgh finished with seven.

Bregman’s day at the plate highlighted a resurgent stretch that has made him a key part of Chicago’s playoff push. Although his overall numbers were slow to develop earlier in the season, he has hit for average and power since the middle of the summer. With Crow-Armstrong starring in center field, Bregman has quietly provided balance in the Cubs’ lineup. His three hits Friday gave Chicago another productive afternoon from a veteran presence in the middle of the order.

The win improved the Cubs to 82-66 and moved them into a tie with the Phillies for the National League’s top Wild Card spot after Philadelphia lost in Atlanta. Chicago owns the tiebreaker over Philadelphia after winning the season series 6-1. Pittsburgh fell to 74-74. Imanaga improved to 11-10 on the season, while Dotel dropped to 1-5. The Pirates’ pitchers combined for 13 strikes, 50 balls and 13 balls in play, while Chicago’s pitchers combined for three strikes, 39 balls and three balls in play.

Pittsburgh will continue the series against Chicago on Saturday and Sunday at Wrigley Field. The Pirates then return home for a series against Milwaukee starting Tuesday. The Cubs will host Atlanta for a three-game series beginning Monday after finishing the weekend set with Pittsburgh. Both teams remain in the middle of a late-season push, with Chicago trying to secure a postseason berth and Pittsburgh looking to finish above .500.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Pittsburgh Pirates 8, Chicago Cubs 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Chicago with a 58.8 percent probability to win. Chicago had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under line was 8, and the game total was 14.