BOX SCORE

CHICAGO — Friday was always going to be a fun day at Wrigley Field.

It was one of those old-fashioned pitchers’ duels that you look forward to when the pitching probables are released. Paul Skenes and Cade Horton, both former top prospects, first-round picks and under 23 years old is as exciting a matchup as you can draw up.

The pair delivered – and it took the team’s bullpens – and extra innings – to settle this one.

The Pirates were able to push across just one run in the 10th, but it was enough to beat the Cubs 2-1.

Here are three takeaways from the Cubs’ (42-28) loss against Pittsburgh (29-42):

Extra innings woes

The Cubs had the perfect scenario drawn up. Trailing by a run in the 10th inning with the top of their lineup coming up and one of their best baserunners – Jon Berti – as their extra innings runner.

The Cubs failed to score in the extra frame, let alone advance Berti.

Ian Happ grounded out to third base, Kyle Tucker popped out to first and Seiya Suzuki grounded out to second to end the game.

The Cubs offense has been so good, but they’ve struggled in extra innings. They’re averaging just 0.75 runs in their eight extra innings games, the fourth worst mark in baseball. They’ve scored just six times in those eight contests.

The runner on second base and being at home should make the Cubs play for the big inning, but, unfortunately for them on Friday, they failed to even advance the runner. This offense can score, but has struggled to do so in extras this season.

Full send

Kyle Tucker roped a double to the left-center gap in a scoreless game with two outs in the fifth and Ian Happ on first base. On another day you might play conservative and hold Happ at third base and trust your three-hole hitter, Seiya Suzuki to drive in the first run of the game.

But this was no normal day – with Skenes on the mound, stringing together multiple hits to produce a run would be hard to do. So third base coach Quintin Berry sent Happ home on the play, putting the pressure on the Pirates’ defense to execute a perfect relay.

Oneil Cruz rifled the ball to shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who scooped the ball and fired a strike to catcher Henry Davis to nab Happ at home and end the inning and the threat.

The send, while aggressive, was the right play. Skenes is the best pitcher in baseball, runs are at a premium and an offense must press the issue when the opportunity arises. They did that – even if it didn’t work out.

Skenes was solid on Friday – albeit not the dominant self he had been the last few outings, but he kept the Cubs’ high-powered offense at bay on Friday afternoon.

Toe-to-toe

Cade Horton doesn’t have the major-league pedigree that Skenes has accumulated, but Friday was still a fun pitching matchup. Horton was a former first-round pick himself and the Cubs’ top pitching prospect entering the year. He didn’t have the national fanfare that Skenes had when he ascended the minor-league ladder, but Cubs fans monitored his progression down on the farm.

The right-hander more than held his own against Skenes. Horton pitched into the sixth inning and kept the Pirates scoreless, keeping his team in the game in what was a difficult matchup for them.

He’s been solid since joining the big-league ball club last month. The Cubs won the first five games he pitched in – they used an opener in his major-league debut, but he started the next four – but he was coming off the worst outing of his young career, allowing four runs in five innings in their 4-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Horton bounced back in a big way, putting the Cubs in a position to win back-to-back games – just what they would have hoped for going into Friday’s contest.

His development has been and will continue to be an important storyline for the Cubs and their fans to monitor. Horton has been a solid contributor in the Cubs’ rotation, which has been decimated by injuries.

He’s stepped in and, for the most part, given the Cubs a chance to win each time. That’s more than you can ask for from a rookie starter.