Alex Bregman hit his 25th homer and doubled among three hits, Shota Imanaga tossed six effective innings and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Friday to end a four-game slideByMATT CARLSON Associated PressSeptember 11, 2026, 5:26 PMCHICAGO -- Alex Bregman hit his 25th homer and doubled among three hits, Shota Imanaga tossed six effective innings and the Chicago Cubs pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates 12-2 on Friday to end a four-game slide.Seiya Suzuki had three hits, including a wind-blown triple, scored three runs and drove in one as the Cubs finished with 16 hits against three Pittsburgh pitchers and ended the Pirates' four-game winning streak. Chicago remains well behind NL Central-leading Milwaukee but is in position for a wild card.Michael Busch doubled and had three RBIs, and Carson Kelly doubled in a pair of runs. All of Chicago's starters had at least one hit, and five finished with two or more.Bregman went deep in the fourth inning, a two-run shot off Khristian Curtis that made it 9-1.Imanaga (10-10) allowed two runs on five hits in a second straight solid start and win. The left-hander struck out four and walked two.Bryan Reynolds hit a solo shot for Pittsburgh, which came in having won 9 of 11 to climb back above .500. Rookie Konnor Griffin tripled among two hits.Pirates rookie right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez left in the sixth inning with left hamstring discomfort after running to first on a groundout.Popular ReadsThe Cubs made it 3-1 in the second off Pirates opener Wilber Dotel (1-5). After Chicago loaded the bases, Michael Conforto’s sac fly tied it at 1 and Kelly’s double plated two more.Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (10-11, 3.83 ERA) faces Cubs RHP Clay Holmes (6-7, 2.83) on Saturday.___See AP’s full MLB coverage here