PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates' scoreless streak reached 23 innings in frustrating fashion on Friday night, when a pitcher's best friend turned into the Bucs' worst enemy as they lost their second straight 1-0 decision to the Cubs at PNC Park.
The Pirates hit into a franchise-record-tying seven double plays -- also tying the MLB mark for a nine-inning game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau -- including six that ended innings. The Bucs have dropped five straight games, tying their longest losing streak of the season, and 13 of their last 21 to fall below .500 for the first time since July 15.
The Pirates haven't scored since the fourth inning of their 6-4 loss to the Twins on Wednesday afternoon, and they've put up only nine runs during this five-game skid. They out-hit the Cubs on Friday, 7-6, but their historic double-play output negated those efforts and another brilliant start by Trevor Williams.
"It's tough. But sooner or later, you know somebody on the team's going to get hot," leadoff man Corey Dickerson said. "It could be anybody at anytime, which is what we need. What we need is to feed off somebody or for somebody to pick each other up and let it get contagious."
Unfortunately for the Pirates, only double plays seemed to be contagious after a nearly two-hour rain delay. Veteran lefty Cole Hamels did not overpower Pittsburgh, recording only three strikeouts in seven innings, but over and over again, he forced the Bucs to put the ball on the ground in key situations.
"With such a tight game, you can't afford one mistake. And the guys just came through," Hamels said of his defense. "So it's outstanding to be able to see and have those guys behind you."

David Freese finished the first inning with a double-play grounder to third baseman Javier Baez, and he bounced into a game-ender against right-hander Jesse Chavez. Josh Bell hit into two double plays. Dickerson and Gregory Polanco grounded into one each. Pinch-hitter Adam Frazier lined into a double play to end the eighth, too, as pinch-runner Kevin Newman was ruled out at first base after diving back to the bag.
"They got 'em a lot of different ways," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "We couldn't find dirt, grass. They made plays. They've got a good defense. They've had a good defense all year there in the infield. It just goes to show you the benefit of a well-executed pitch in certain situations."

The Cubs' consecutive combined shutouts spoiled a pair of excellent starts by Pittsburgh pitchers. On Thursday night, Ivan Nova's efficient outing went to waste. On Friday, Williams was on the wrong end of the pitchers' duel.
"Baseball is weird, man. For all the hops to go the right way for them tonight, they had guys in the right spots. It's just tough," Williams said. "I felt like we had a lot more loud outs. It was tough. The ball bounces their way sometimes, and it's unfortunate for us that we came up on the losing side."
The only run Williams allowed came in the second inning, when Kyle Schwarber launched a high fastball into the right-field seats. But Williams allowed no further damage, due in part to his precise fastball location all over the strike zone. As Nova did on Thursday, Williams mixed high four-seam fastballs with sinkers down in the zone to keep the Cubs off-balance.
"He just moved the ball around and attacked. Very aggressive. Quick and efficient," Hurdle said. "I can't say more: He pitched a fantastic game."

Williams' strong start continued an excellent run in which he has allowed only three runs in 36 innings over his last six starts, lowering his ERA to 3.53. But he couldn't single-handedly end the Pirates' losing streak.
"At this point of the year, you're pitching in big games. There's still the Wild Card push that we can make," Williams said. "It's really our destiny. It's out in front of us. We just have to win some ballgames from here on out."

SOUND SMART
• The Pirates are the fourth team since at least 1908 to lose back-to-back 1-0 games in which a solo homer proved to be the difference each time. You don't have to look too far back to find the last instance, however. The Giants beat the Dodgers, 1-0, on a pair of Joe Panik homers on March 29-30.
• The Pirates last hit into seven double plays in a 7-5, 10-inning win over the Cardinals on June 16, 1994. They also grounded into six double plays in that game and hit into their final double play on a sacrifice fly.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
While the Cubs' infield defense won the day, Pirates second baseman Josh Harrison began the night with a nifty play of his own. Batting with two outs in the first, Benjamin Zobrist hit a grounder to shallow right field. Harrison made a diving stop, rolled over and threw the ball in one motion to record the out at first base.

HE SAID IT
"It's awesome. I grew up watching him pitch. In our area, he's a big deal. He's still a big deal in the Major Leagues. He's been doing it for 10-plus years, and he's one of the best at his craft. It's cool that we got to match up. ... It's cool for all of Rancho Bernardo High School to see that matchup." -- Williams, on dueling with Hamels, a fellow Rancho Bernardo (Calif.) High School product
UP NEXT
Pirates starter Joe Musgrove will take the PNC Park mound at 7:05 p.m. ET on Saturday against right-hander Tyler Chatwood, stepping into the Cubs' rotation to replace injured lefty Mike Montgomery. Musgrove has completed at least six innings in six of his last seven starts, posting a 2.70 ERA during that stretch, but the Bucs have won only three of those games.