Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes endured a rare rocky start in an 8-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Skenes gave up three home runs in the fifth inning, two more than he allowed across his first six starts of the season.

What a day it was for the Chicago Cubs, who took on arguably the best arm in Major League Baseball in Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates and Cubs, division rivals, are in completely different spots as organizations.

Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes experienced a career first on Thursday against the Chicago Cubs ( GameTracker ), and not of the positive manner he's grown accustomed to over the last year. Rather, Thursday's game represented the first time he has surrendered three home runs during an appearance at the big-league level.