Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/4/25): Cubs 11, Cardinals 3 – Fireworks at Wrigley

The Cubs welcomed the rival Cardinals to Wrigley Field for a Fourth of July matinee. Chicago decided to put on a fireworks display early in this one, hitting a franchise-record eight home runs as they crushed St. Louis.

Miles Mikolas did not have it on Friday and the North Siders began taking advantage immediately. Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit back-to-back solo homers to put the home team on top 2-0 in the bottom of the 1st.

Michael Busch and Carson Kelly repeated the feat with consecutive solo shots in the 2nd. In the 3rd inning, PCA hit another monster dinger and Busch blasted a two-run moonshot to the top of the scoreboard to make it 7-0 Cubs.

That was more than enough for Colin Rea, who pitched into the 7th inning and only allowed a solo homer to Brendan Donovan. Chicago’s first baseman continued his monster afternoon with an RBI single in the 5th.

The homer party wasn’t over yet for the North Siders, with Busch hitting his third and Dansby Swanson cracking a two-run shot that made it 11-1. Jon Berti came on for mop-up duty in the 9th and gave up a couple before closing out the 11-3 victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs wasted no time jumping on Mikolas with two home runs in the 1st inning, and they never looked back.

Why the Cubs Won

Hitting the most home runs in franchise history in a game is usually a pretty good way to win.

Stats That Matter

• Rea was way better than his previous start at Wrigley against Seattle: 6.2 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 4 K, 2 BB.
• It was a massive game for Busch with four hits, three home runs, and five RBI.
• PCA was also perfect at the plate and made a tremendous diving catch in the top of the 1st.

Bottom Line

The Cubs won Thursday’s game with pitching and defense, then won Friday by bashing the ball all over the park. Being able to win in multiple ways will help them the rest of the way and in the postseason, provided they make it. Busch has developed into a very valuable player, filling the huge hole left when Anthony Rizzo was traded away.

On Deck

Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. The Cubs have yet to name a starter to face Matthew Liberatore in a contest airing on Marquee with a radio feed on 670 The Score.