Dansby Swanson, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki all took Pirates ace Paul Skenes deep in the fifth inning as the Cubs pulled away for an 8-3 victory on Thursday. Suzuki later added a two-run shot off reliever Kyle Nicolas as Chicago took two of three from the last-place Pirates.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes experienced a career first on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs ( GameTracker ), and not of the positive manner he's grown accustomed to over the last year. Rather, Thursday's game represented the first time he has surrendered three home runs during an appearance at the big-league level.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fell 8-3 to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, May 1, dropping the game and the series after Paul Skenes allowed a trio of home runs in the fifth inning.

SportsLine's model simulated Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 10,000 times and revealed its MLB picks for Thursday's matchup

Its a Paul Skenes Thursday. Its May 1 and Skenes and the Pirates (12-19) and the Cubs (18-13) wrap up a series in Pittsburgh. Colin Rea is slated to take the mound for Chicago against Skenes for Pittsburgh.

The Cubs opened this season series Tuesday with a 9-0 victory as moderate favorites (-145), while helping the total push (9) at most shops behind LHP Shota Imanaga. In Wednesday's game, the Pirates returned the favor,