Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/5/25): Cubs 7, Padres 1 – Kelly Homers Again as Cubs Take Series
The Cubs entered their game against the Padres Saturday at Wrigley Field hoping for a fifth consecutive victory. Once again, Chicago got a lot of help from the bottom of the lineup to keep the streak alive and win the series.
The North Siders grabbed the lead against Nick Pivetta with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Catcher Carson Kelly had an RBI single and Kyle Tucker drew a bases-loaded walk to account for the scoring. Matthew Boyd had to deal with some early traffic on the bases but kept San Diego off the board.
Dansby Swanson cracked a solo homer in the 3rd inning, then Nico Hoerner added a run-scoring single in the 4th to increase the Cubs’ advantage to 4-0. Boyd eventually put up six scoreless frames to earn a quality start Saturday.
Kelley blew the game wide open in the bottom of the 6th when he cranked a three-run home run off of Alek Jacob to put Chicago on top 7-0. The Padres scored in the 7th inning to avoid a shutout, but they went down to a 7-1 defeat. (Box score)
Key Moment
Kelly took a lot of pressure off the bullpen with his insurance home run in the 6th inning. That is always a good idea against the scary Padres lineup.
Why the Cubs Won
The offense was very good against a great San Diego pitching staff and they got another excellent starting pitching effort.
Stats That Matter
- Two pretty good he starts out of the gate for Boyd in 2025: 6 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 5 K, and 1 BB.
- Kelly is having an unbelievable start to the season with four more RBI Saturday, giving him 10 for the season.
- Swanson singled and walked in addition to his homer.
- Ian Happ celebrated his 1000th career MLB game with a double, walk, and a great diving catch.
Bottom Line
Just a very impressive series win against a good Padres team. The Cubs are getting contributions from up and down the lineup so far in 2025. That is a great sign going forward after having a very top-heavy batting order the past few years. Boyd could be an important part of the rotation for Chicago if he keeps pitching like this.
On Deck
The Cubs go for the sweep Sunday at 1:20pm CT. Ben Brown starts against Kyle Hart in a game available on Marquee with radio coverage on 670 The Score.