BOX SCORE

CHICAGO — The Cubs followed up Friday’s marquee pitching matchup with another duel between hurlers.

This time, they emerged victorious.

Dansby Swanson’s solo blast in the sixth catapulted them to a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs (43-28) will look for the series win in Sunday’s finale.

Here are three takeaways from the win over the Pirates (29-43)

Boyd dazzles again

We’ve joked here about Jameson Taillon’s consistency in the past.

Count Matthew Boyd as another consistent force in the Cubs’ beleaguered rotation – that’s a positive.

The left-hander delivered six innings of one-hit, one-run ball in the Cubs win and lowered his ERA to 2.79 this season. Just like Taillon, the performances haven’t been flashy and jaw dropping, they’ve just been good almost every time he’s out there – and that’s so beneficial to this Cubs team.

Again, this team is without their co-aces in Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga, but Taillon and Boyd have picked up the slack, ensuring this rotation doesn’t miss a beat. Boyd’s signing wasn’t flashy this offseason and yet it’s proven to be one of the best.

He missed most of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery before signing with the Cleveland Guardians and eventually becoming their defacto ace during their run to the American League Championship Series.

He’s been just as good for the Cubs – and that’s a good thing.

Wrigley weather

The weather at the Friendly Confines was the topic of conversation last season. It’s becoming a talking point again this year.

Wrigley Field ranked 16th in park factor this season, per Statcast, but the Cubs’ home-road splits have been dramatic.

Entering Saturday, they were averaging 5.16 runs per game at Wrigley Field with 28 home runs and a .728 OPS in 31 games. In 37 road games, they’ve scored 5.84 runs per game with 68 home runs and an .808 OPS.

It’s a week before the official start of summer and Saturday’s 64-degree first pitch was on the cooler side. Couple that with the fact that the wind was blowing in and it’s led to suppressed offense at home. The wind has blown in during 23 of the other 32 games at Wrigley Field. It’s blown out four times with a crosswind in the other four contests.

Saturday was no exception – the wind was blowing in and the Cubs and Pirates combined for three runs with scoring at a premium. The Cubs’ first run of the game came courtesy of some small ball – Nico Hoerner singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on an Ian Happ sacrifice fly to left field.

Dansby Delivers

Swanson was able to cut a 101.4-mph solo home run through the winds in the sixth inning to give the Cubs the lead for good.

It was a good sign for the Gold Glove shortstop who had struggled a bit to open the month. Swanson was 10-for-47 (.213) entering Saturday in 12 games in June, with one home run.

It’s hard to definitively say this is the start of another heater for him, but it’s an opportunity to emphasis his offensive profile. He’s a streaky hitter – in his final 23 games of May he hit .286 with four home runs.

But having him get hot is a nice compliment when he’s sandwiched between Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch in the Cubs’ lineup.