Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/2/24): Cubs 6, Cardinals 3 – Third Consecutive Win Despite Major Control Issues

The Cubs kept the momentum from their dramatic Thursday night victory going Friday afternoon, jumping out of the gate with five early runs against Cardinals starter Erick Fedde. Chicago held on to that lead despite walking in three St. Louis runners with the bases loaded to win their third-consecutive game 6-3.

The North Siders did all the damage on Fedde in the 2nd inning, beginning with an RBI single by Pete Crow-Armstrong. Then normally light-hitting catcher Christian Bethancourt lifted an opposite-field three-run homer into the basket in right. Michael Busch added a solo shot to make it 5-0 by the time the frame was over.

The Cardinals applied constant pressure to Javier Assad his entire outing on Friday. Paul Goldschmidt drew a walk with the bases loaded to cut the deficit to 5-1 in the 3rd inning, but Assad retired Nolan Arenado to limit further damage. The Cubs bullpen took over in the 5th and didn’t give up anything the next three frames.

It was a different story when Julian Merryweather took over in the 8th, as the big right handler walked four batters to force in a run. Craig Counsell pulled him with two outs in favor of Héctor Neris, who then walked Brendan Donovan to bring home another and tighten the score to 5-3. The Cubs closer averted total disaster by striking out Brandon Crawford to end the threat.

Chicago picked up a big insurance run in the bottom of the frame when Seiya Suzuki doubled and came in to score when reliever Kyle Leahy appeared to have him picked off second base but threw the ball into the outfield for an error. Neris came back out for the 9th and made quick work of the top of the Cardinals’ order to save the 6-3 triumph. (Box score)

Key Moment

St. Louis loaded the bases via the walk in the 3rd and the 8th innings, but the Cubs did not allow a hit in either scenario.

Why the Cubs Won

They got four RBI from the bottom two hitters in the lineup. Also, the bullpen continues to do very good work since the start of July.

Stats That Matter

• Assad ran up a huge pitch count with all the baserunners he allowed: 4 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 3 K, and 3 BB.
• Suzuki had a double and a triple and is absolutely red hot right now.
• PCA had a walk in addition to his single and stole his 21st base without being caught.

Bottom Line

It might be too little too late, but it’s nice to see the Cubs offense produce a little bit more like what was expected before the season. Suzuki and Bellinger clearly need to be clicking for this lineup to work effectively. Crow-Armstrong becoming a consistent threat with the bat would be a huge development for 2025 and beyond.

On Deck

Chicago looks to win the series Saturday afternoon at 1:20pm CT as Jameson Taillon tries to bounce back from a rough outing against Kyle Gibson in a game airing on MLB Network (out of market only), Marquee, and 670 The Score.