The Pittsburgh Pirates scored twice in the first inning and three times in the third and never looked back as they beat the Chicago Cubs 9-5 Thursday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The win completed a series sweep and extended the Cubs losing streak to nine in a row, their longest since losing 12 straight in 2012. The Cubs limp into St Louis Friday night to open a three game series with the St Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals are locked in a battle with the Milwaukee Brewers for the NL Central title as they lead by 1 game with 3 to play. It will be Alec Mills (1-0) for the Cubs against Dakota Hudson (16-7) for the Redbirds in the opener. Due to our high school football coverage Lite 103 WAKO will not have coverage of game one. We will resume Cubs baseball with the final two games of the series and season Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.