North Shore Nine

On a rainy, tense afternoon in Wrigley Field, the Pirates found a way to claw out a gritty 2-1 extra-inning win over the Cubs—because of course it was weird, it’s Wrigley. With Paul Skenes on the mound, everything just feels a little more important, and today was no different.

Skenes went five scoreless, flashing dominance without even having his best stuff. But once he exited, the tension ramped up. Ryan and Neil on the NS9 Postgame Show summed it up best: it was one of those games where you were just waitingfor a Cubs walk-off that never came. Somehow, the Pirates avoided that script.

The offense wasn’t exactly lighting it up, but they scraped across enough—just enough—to make it count. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t smooth. But it was a win.

And there’s something about these Skenes games that just hit differently. The buzz, the tempo, the way the entire team seems to lock in. Even with him only going five innings, the impact was clear.

Also: Jim Rosati being in the building? Coincidence? YES!

From big pitches to rain delays to tightrope bullpen performances, this one had all the usual Wrigley chaos—but the Pirates came out on top.

Catch the full breakdown on our latest postgame show powered by Primanti Bros. Watch or listen now and don’t forget to subscribe to North Shore Nine for all your Pirates coverage.