Sunday’s game between the Pirates and Cubs was a slugfest. When it was over, Chicago won, 11-8, at Wrigley Field to sweep the four-game series.

The Pirates headed home on a six-game losing streak, having dropped their record to 48-89. The sad part was that they had a chance to win all four games. The first three games the Bucs lost by one run, then they took a lead into the bottom of the seventh in this one.

• Box score

“We didn’t finish it,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We didn’t make plays, we didn’t make pitches. It’s extremely frustrating.”

No lead was safe, as it changed hands five times. The Pirates had an 8-7 advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh, but the bullpen couldn’t hold it. It didn’t help that right-hander Shea Spitzbarth and left-hander Sam Howard had problems throwing strikes. Before anyone knew it, the bases were loaded with two outs.

In came right-hander Nick Mears to try to hold off the Cubs, but it didn’t happen. Frank Schwindel swung at a 2-2 pitch and hit the ball into the left-center-field basket for a grand slam.

“It felt really good off the bat,” Schwindel said. “It wasn't one of my best swings, but I got just enough of it, and once I saw [Bryan Reynolds’ uniform] numbers turn, [the ball landed] in the basket. Yeah, not many better feelings in the world.”

• Not 1, not 2, but 3 dazzling plays for Gamel

Said Shelton, “We have to make sure we execute pitches. And we talk about guys getting opportunities in every situation and being able to capitalize on those opportunities. We have not done that in the last few days.”

The Pirates had their share of highlights on offense. Yoshi Tsutsugo gave them a 1-0 lead in the first inning with his seventh home run of the season, while Reynolds, who was a triple short of the cycle, hit his first career grand slam two innings later off right-hander Zach Davies.

“It was a pretty cool experience for sure,” Reynolds said.

Matt Duffy hit a grand slam a half-inning later for the Cubs. This was the first game with three slams since the Reds-Brewers matchup on April 21, 2015.

“The offense continued to battle back. … Even entering the ninth inning, they went right after it,” Shelton said. “I commend them, they fought back in every game that series. We continued to have good at-bats.”

It’s time to move forward, as the Pirates begin a three-game series against the Tigers at PNC Park on Monday afternoon.

“We keep our best foot forward every day. We lost four close games here. We play hard every day,” said outfielder Ben Gamel, who made a great diving catch in the seventh inning. “That’s one thing we are going to do and continue to do through the end of the year. That’s the only thing I can speak on.”