Cubs take Paul Skenes deep 3 times, Suzuki homers twice in all as Chicago pulls away for 8-3 win

PITTSBURGH (AP) — 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.

Skenes (3-3), fresh off a masterful performance in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers last Friday, labored through his shortest start of the season.

The 22-year-old reigning National League Rookie of the Year lasted just five innings. His four walks matched his total on the season coming in and the aggressive Cubs pounced in the fifth to turn a two-run deficit into a 3-2 lead.

Swanson led off the fifth with his sixth homer. Tucker added his eighth two batters later and Suzuki put Chicago in front to stay with a shot to the left-field bleachers. Ian Happ, a Pittsburgh native, had three hits. Swanson, Suzuki and Michael Busch had two hits apiece for the Cubs.

Colin Rea (2-0) allowed two runs in a season-high six innings for Chicago.

Bryan Reynolds hit his ninth home run for Pittsburgh. The Pirates have dropped four of five.

A crowd of 13,633 turned out for the matinee, including some in the same front-row seats in right field above the 21-foot high Clemente Wall where a fan fell from on Wednesday night. The unidentified male was in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital on Thursday after what Pittsburgh Police described as an accident.

The public address announcer read a statement from Pirates owner Bob Nutting before the first pitch in which Nutting called the incident “one of the most difficult moments many of us have ever experienced.”

Skenes walked the bases loaded in the third, but escaped major damage by inducing a double play to get out of it.

1 — the number of home runs Skenes had allowed in his first six starts.

Cubs: visit NL Central rival Milwaukee this weekend. Ben Brown (2-2, 6.04 ERA) starts against the Brewers' Quinn Priester (1-0, 3.79).

Pirates: Pittsburgh welcomes San Diego for a three-game series beginning Friday. Mitch Keller (1-2, 3.97) gets the ball for Pittsburgh in the opener.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds (10) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds celebrates as he crosses home plate after hitting a solo home run off Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds (10) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea, left, during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Chicago Cubs' Kyle Tucker (30) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Chicago Cubs pitcher Colin Rea delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson (7) is greeted by Nicky Lopez (12) as he heads to the dugout after hitting a solo home run off Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)