BOX SCORE

CHICAGO — Andrew Kittredge’s strikeout of Bryan Reynolds to end the top of the eighth invoked a loud roar from the 40,062 fans at Wrigley Field on Saturday afternoon.

In a tie game, the crowd was eager to erupt for a Cubs late rally and win on a picturesque summer day at the Friendly Confines. And the Cubs’ top two hitters – Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki, who have been in an offensive rut – delivered a reason for the fans to cheer as the Cubs beat the Pirates 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.

The Cubs (69-53) had their first comeback win since July 2, having gone 35 games without one before Saturday, the longest stretch in franchise history.

Here are three takeaways from the win over the Pirates (52-72):

2-3 deliver

During this offensive rut the Cubs have been in, the struggles of Suzuki and Tucker have been magnified. Since the All-Star break, the duo had a slash line of .184/.330/.272 (.602 OPS) entering Saturday with eight extra base hits.

The duo that carried the offense in the first half of the offense hadn’t done that lately – until Saturday.

Tucker led the eighth inning with a single to right, his second hit of the game and just his second multi-hit game of the month. He swiped second and then scored on Seiya Suzuki’s RBI single, his ninth RBI since the Midsummer Classic after entering the break with 77. Suzuki would later score in the frame on an RBI double from Nico Hoerner.

Sure, it’s the bopping, power-hitting display the duo had put on in the first half of the season, but seeing those two help propel the Cubs to a win was a welcome sign. If the Cubs are going to cement their place as a playoff team, they need those two to click.

Saturday was a good first step and the Cubs will hope it’s the one that is getting them back on track.

Brilliant Shota

Another Shota Imanaga start, another gem from the Cubs ace.

It’s become commonplace to expect the left-hander to not only turn in a solid performance when he toes the rubber, but for the Cubs to win those start days.

He did that again on Saturday, allowing just one run on three hits with six strikeouts in seven sparkling innings against the Pirates. Since coming off the injured list on June 26, Imanaga has a 3.24 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP across 58 innings for the Cubs.

He’s been the face of a rotation that, since July 1, has a 2.87 ERA — the best mark in baseball.

Of course, the issue for the Cubs lately isn’t Imanaga or any of the other starters. Sure, Imanaga probably would want that pitch that led to Tommy Pham’s 428-foot home run in the fourth inning back, but mistakes happen, and one shouldn’t doom an outing.

And the Cubs’ late rally ensured Imanaga’s gem wasn’t a moot point.

Missed opportunities, again

The Cubs delivered with the two-run eighth inning, but it looked like, for the third day in a row, the Cubs would rue another missed opportunity to put up a crooked number to break open a game.

Saturday, it happened in the sixth inning, when Suzuki led the frame off with a single and Pete Crow-Armstrong was hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners on with no outs.

The Cubs failed to advance the runners and put up a zero in that inning, despite another promising start. Friday, the Cubs had bases loaded and no outs in the seventh inning and pushed across just one run. Thursday in Toronto, they had second and third with no outs, the top of their lineup due up and put up a goose egg in the frame.

It’s a microcosm of the funk their offense is in. They’re not putting together those long, game-changing rallies that lead to crooked numbers in the scoreboard. It’s almost the opposite of what this offense was early in the year, when they were one of the most prolific lineups in baseball.

Ultimately, the late rally made that sixth inning a moot point, but the Cubs will want their offense to put up crooked numbers in those situations.