CHICAGO — Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run homer and Carmen Mlodzinski pitched six-hit ball into the sixth inning, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Friday.

Pittsburgh was shut down by Shota Imanaga before breaking through against Caleb Thielbar in the seventh. Ryan O’Hearn hit a leadoff single for the Pirates’ first hit of the chilly afternoon, and Reynolds drove Thielbar’s next pitch deep to left for his third homer.

Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in nine games since its 1-3 start.

Chicago went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base. Ian Happ had two of the team’s six hits.

Cubs slugger Seiya Suzuki went 1 for 3 with a fourth-inning single in his first game this season. He had been sidelined by a sprained right knee.

Imanaga struck out nine and walked one in six innings. The Japanese left-hander threw 68 of 100 pitches for strikes.

Thielbar (1-1) was lifted after Oneil Cruz’s two-out single in the seventh. The 39-year-old lefty pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings over his first four appearances this year.

Mason Montgomery (1-0) replaced Mlodzinski with runners on first and second in the sixth. He struck out Pete Crow-Armstrong and walked Carson Kelly before fanning pinch-hitter Matt Shaw for the final out of the inning.

The Cubs also left the bases loaded in the fourth when Moisés Ballesteros lined to Reynolds in left.

Isaac Mattson and Gregory Soto each pitched an inning for the Pirates before Dennis Santana handled the ninth for his first save this season.

Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in his first career road game. The 19-year-old shortstop agreed to a nine-year, $140 million contract on Wednesday

Challenge quandry

Pittsburgh’s Nick Gonzales wanted to challenge a strike call. Then he didn’t want to challenge a strike call. Then he won the challenge anyway.

The amusing sequence happened in the seventh inning.

Gonzales was down 0-2 with one out and no one on when he looked at a 93.6 mph fastball from Cubs reliever Caleb Thielbar. Umpire Roberto Ortiz ruled it was a called third strike.

Gonzales motioned to his helmet with his right hand, indicating he wanted to use baseball’s new Automated Ball-Strike System to take a closer look at the pitch. But he quickly brought his hand down and started walking toward Pittsburgh’s dugout.

The Pirates lost a challenge in the sixth. With the ABS system, each team has the ability to challenge two calls per game, and a team retains its challenge if successful.

Despite Gonzales trying to take back the challenge, Ortiz came out from behind the plate and began the process. The pitch ended up being outside, and Gonzales flied out to left.

“That was an interesting one,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “I’m not sure verbally what was said there, and I don’t know if there was physical touch between the hand and the helmet. … I mean it’s new to all of us and how we’re going about it, and I think if the umpire deems that you make an intention to challenge, that’s what Roberto went with there.”

Up next

Braxton Ashcraft (1-1, 2.25 ERA) starts for Pittsburgh on Saturday, and fellow right-hander Edward Cabrera (1-0, 0.00 ERA) pitches for Chicago.