CHICAGO -- Brandon Lowe had a huge day, but the Pirates were unable to complete a sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Despite Lowe's two-homer, five-RBI afternoon, the Pirates blew a late lead and dropped the series finale, 7-6, on Sunday afternoon.
Pittsburgh was searching for its first sweep of the Cubs in Chicago in nearly a decade (April 14-16, 2017).
Lowe hit a grand slam in the second inning and added a solo shot in the fifth as the Pirates built a 6-2 lead. It marked Lowe's 10th career multihomer game and his second of the season.
However, the Cubs scored five unanswered runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth.
A day after capitalizing on a costly Cubs error to pick up a win, the Pirates returned the favor. With Pittsburgh clinging to a 6-4 lead in the eighth inning, reliever Justin Lawrence gave up a two-out single to pinch-hitter Michael Busch. As one run scored, left fielder Bryan Reynolds threw the ball into the infield, but his throw went wide of second base and Dansby Swanson motored home with the tying run.
"Just got caught in between where I wanted to throw it," Reynolds said after the game. "Tried to stop it and it came out."
The Cubs won it on Carson Kelly's walk-off single.
Lawrence shouldered the blame after the loss, charged with a blown save after allowing two runs (one earned) in the eighth inning. It’s the fourth straight appearance in which Lawrence has surrendered a run.
"Just frustrated I couldn't get the job done for the team," Lawrence said. "It's as simple as that. We're playing really good baseball right now, and now feels like not the first time that I've kind of messed up our momentum.
"... It stinks. Should have come out of here with a sweep. I wasn't able to get it done."
Lowe -- who also walked in the game -- is off to a strong start in his first season with the Pirates. He now has five homers and nine RBIs on the season to go along with a .373 on-base percentage and .965 OPS.
His grand slam was blown out 38 feet by the wind, touching down in the second row of the bleachers.
"I think this is the first day I've ever played at Wrigley [with the wind] blowing out like that," Lowe said. "So that was definitely a comforting factor to know that you don't have to get it perfect to get it out. Some homers might not have been homers other days, but they were today."
The 31-year-old, playing in his ninth big league season, also had a message for a young Pirates group after this series.
"It's tough, because there are games that the other team wins and games that we lose," he said. "And I think everybody in here kind of feels that way, that we lost this one. Those days will happen, but still won a series in a tough place to go play.
"It's a good team on the other side of the field right there. And we walked into their place, took two of three, and we're going back home to play a four-game set against the Nationals. Wipe this last day, feel good about a series win and keep looking. Those series wins are gonna lead you to a good spot."
His manager echoed that sentiment, and the Pirates are focusing on the positives after a big weekend for the team.
"There are a lot of great things," Don Kelly said. "Especially for a lot of our young guys, coming into Wrigley for the first time -- the energy, the crowd. There aren't many places you feel like that. It's like it was on Opening Day in Pittsburgh.
"For our young players to come in and get that experience and win a series here is huge for us going forward, especially those first two games. Would have been nice to get this one, too. But taking two of three from the Cubs in Wrigley, really proud of the way we played."