Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (6/5/25): Cubs 7, nationals 1 – Happ’s Big Night Leads to Series Victory
The Cubs and the Nationals met in the deciding game of their series at Nationals Park on Thursday. Chicago scored early and the pitching staff was very sharp as they won easily to take the series.
Pete Crow-Armstrong got the North Siders on the board in the opening frame with a two-run homer off of Jake Irvin. Ian Happ cracked an RBI double in the top of the 2nd to give the road team a 3-0 lead and give him 500 career runs batted in.
Colin Rea replaced opener Drew Pomeranz in the bottom of the 2nd and pitched very well, keeping Washington scoreless through six frames. Happ added some insurance with a long two-run dinger against reliever Jackson Rutledge to put the Cubs in front 5-0 in the 6th.
RBI singles by Reese McGuire and Happ increased the margin to 7-0 in the 9th. The Nats added a meaningless run in the bottom of the frame as Chicago prevailed 7-1. (Box score)
Key Moment
The Nationals loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 7th, but Caleb Thielbar froze CJ Abrams on a curveball for a called third strike to maintain the 5-0 lead.
Why the Cubs Won
The offense bounced back very nicely from the shutout on Wednesday and the pitching was outstanding.
Stats That Matter
- Rea was much better than his efforts against the Reds: 5.1 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 0 K, 1 BB.
- Happ had three hits and four RBI in probably his best game since returning from injury.
- Matt Shaw had three singles, scored two runs, and stole two bases
Bottom Line
The Cubs have now won eight consecutive series and took care of business in a very soft part of their schedule. Kyle Tucker returned to the lineup and did not look any worse for wear. Shaw is making a huge difference in every aspect of the game after coming up for a second time.
On Deck
Chicago now heads to Detroit to start a series with the mighty Tigers Friday at 6:10pm CT. Ben Brown will start against ace Tarik Skubal in a game televised exclusively on Apple TV+ with radio coverage on 670 The Score.
