After the Cubs lost Wednesday evening, with Paul Skenes looming on the horizon, a series loss might have been possible.

“Not for this Cubs team,” said Cubs hitters. They smashed four home runs, three of them off Skenes — in one inning, the fifth. Dansby Swanson, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki hit those homers, and Suzuki added a two-run shot later on. The Cubs won the game 8-3 and took the series.

That was an impressive display of power off Skenes, who had allowed one home run — total — this year in 37⅔ innings before Wednesday, and had never, in 29 previous MLB starts, allowed more than two long balls in a game.

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It’s also the first time in Skenes’ MLB career that he did not strike out at least three opposing hitters. Well done, Cubs! They had good at-bats, drawing four walks. Skenes had walked four batters — total — this season before Wednesday, and had walked just four in a game twice last year.

Let’s go back to the beginning of this one. Bryan Reynolds homered off Colin Rea in the first inning and the Pirates added a run in the third on an RBI double by Oneil Cruz. That was after the Cubs loaded the bases on walks in the top of the third, but Michael Busch hit into a double play to end the inning.

Rea cruised right along, though. Despite those two runs, he kept his pitch count low, and so kept the game close while Skenes was shutting down the Cubs for four innings.

Then the Cubs had their home-run barrage in the fifth.

Swanson, leading off the inning [VIDEO].

Nicky Lopez grounded out and Ian Happ struck out. Then Tucker tied the game with this long ball [VIDEO].

Suzuki batted next. He ran the count to 3-0. On the Marquee broadcast, Jim Deshaies said he hoped Suzuki had a green light.

He did indeed. [VIDEO]

That gave the Cubs the lead. About the Cubs’ three-homer inning, from BCB’s JohnW53:

The Cubs had not hit three home runs in an inning since Sept. 30, 2023, in the first inning at Milwaukee, when Christopher Morel hit a solo homer, Yan Gomes hit a grand slam and Patrick Wisdom hit a solo shot to give the Cubs a 6-0 lead.

That was the fourth time they had done it in 2023. The earlier three were April 14, at Los Angeles vs. the Dodgers (eighth inning, solos by Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki and Patrick Wisdom); June 16, at home vs. the Orioles (third inning, solos by Miguel Amaya, Dansby Swanson and Morel); and Sept. 10, at home vs. the Diamondbacks (third inning, solos by Morel, Cody Bellinger and Swanson).

Rea then completed an uneventful fifth and sixth. At one point he retired 10 straight Pirates. Rea threw six innings and 73 pitches before being lifted. He’s been just outstanding for the Cubs this year. Here’s more on Rea’s outing [VIDEO].

The Cubs extended the lead in the seventh. Happ singled with one out, and one out later Suzuki hit his second of the game and ninth of the year [VIDEO].

It was the Cubs’ second four-homer game of this series. More from BCB’s JohnW53:

This is the Cubs’ fifth game of the season with at least four home runs, matching their total of all last season. They had six in 2023, three in 2022 and seven in 2021. Their record is 14, in 2004, followed by 11, in 2019.

Julian Merryweather threw a 1-2-3 seventh. In the bottom of the eighth, the Pirates pushed a run across thanks in part to an error by Swanson and wild pitch by Porter Hodge. Hodge had a sloppy inning and was quite wild (just 17 strikes in 26 pitches), but got out of it with just the one unearned run scoring.

The Cubs extended their lead in the ninth. Swanson led off with an infield hit (for his second straight multi-hit game) and Jon Berti also singled.

Happ doubled in Swanson to make it 6-3 [VIDEO].

Suzuki, with a chance for a third homer, flied to short right, but Michael Busch then singled in both Berti and Happ [VIDEO].

Ryan Pressly, who had been warming up for a potential save, finished the game anyway as he had thrown in a game only once since April 20. It was an easy 1-2-3 inning for Pressly on only 13 pitches, so he should be available Friday in Milwaukee. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

Four Cubs had multi-hit games (Happ, Suzuki, Busch and Swanson) and five of the eight runs scored with two out.

Former Cub note: Alexander Canario played for the first time against his old team and went 1-for-4. He’s 3-for-31 this season.

This is not necessarily the way the Cubs would have drawn up a meatloafed series at PNC Park, but they will surely take it. They will open a three-game series against the Brewers Friday evening in Milwaukee. Ben Brown is the Cubs scheduled starter and Quinn Priester will start for the Brewers. Game time is 7:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage Friday is via Apple TV+ (how to watch).