Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (6/20/25): Mariners 9, Cubs 4 – Big Dumper Day

The Cubs welcomed the Mariners to Wrigley Field on a warm and windy Friday afternoon. Chicago jumped ahead early, but Seattle roared back with four home runs to win comfortably.

Cal “Big Dumper” Raleigh started the scoring with a solo home run off of Matthew Boyd in the top of the 1st inning. Ian Happ responded immediately in the bottom of the frame with a homer against George Kirby, and Michael Busch added a two-run single to give the North Siders a 3-1 lead after one.

The Mariners cut the deficit to 3-2 with an RBI single by Donovan Solano in the top of the 4th inning. The Cubs got that tally right back on a solo home run by catcher Reese McGuire in the 5th.

Ryan Pressly ran into trouble for the first time in a long time in the 6th, giving up a game-tying two-run blast to designated hitter Mitch Garver. Big Dumper struck again in the 7th, hitting the go-ahead two-run homer off of Caleb Thielbar to put Seattle in front 6-4.

The M’s put the game on ice in the 9th inning when Garver hit his second dinger, this time a three-run shot against Génesis Cabrera to bring the score to 9-4. Chicago went down quietly in the bottom half as Seattle was victorious by the same total. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs came into the game knowing Raleigh was the most dangerous hitter in the lineup, yet he was the one who did them in on Friday.

Why the Cubs Lost

The bullpen that has been so good recently got absolutely rocked for seven runs, which was definitely the difference.

Stats That Matter

• Boyd’s pitch count was creeping up, but he probably could have gone one more inning: 5 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 6 K, 2 BB.
• Busch had a three-hit game on Friday.
• Kyle Tucker reached base three times as well with a walk, single, and a double.

Bottom Line

The bullpen finally had a letdown after pitching so well for over a month. The offense hit into a lot of bad luck Friday, including a pair of line drive double plays to first base. That being said, Chicago hitters have to turn it on when conditions are favorable at Wrigley because it won’t be as easy to keep opposing teams’ lineups in check.

On Deck

Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. Cade Horton takes the mound against Emerson Hancock in a contest broadcast on Marquee with the radio feed on 670 The Score.