Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/18/25): Cubs 13, D-Backs 11 – Teams Score 21 Runs in Final 3 Innings in Crazy Slugfest

The Cubs opened a series against the Diamondbacks at a warm and windy Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. What appeared to be a pitcher’s duel for most of the afternoon absolutely went off the rails with 21 runs scored in the final three innings as Chicago pulled out an insane 13-11 win.

The North Siders struck first in the bottom of the 2nd when catcher Carson Kelly hit a two-run homer to center against Corbin Burnes. Colin Rea pitched well again Friday, keeping Arizona off the scoreboard through four frames.

The D-backs finally tallied against Rea on an RBI single off the bat of Corbin Carroll in the 5th. The road team loaded the bases later in that inning, but Caleb Thielbar kept the score at 2-1 by getting Josh Naylor to ground out.

The Cubs appeared to have blown the game open in the 7th when they loaded the bases against Ryne Nelson with nobody out. Ian Happ jumped on a fastball in the middle of the plate and blasted a grand slam to right, then Kyle Tucker tripled and Michael Busch singled him home to put the home team ahead 7-1. The lead would not last long.

Arizona wasted no time storming back in the 8th with three consecutive singles against newly called-up Jordan Wicks to load the bags. Porter Hodge came on and immediately gave up a grand slam to Eugenio Suárez, who has now hit five homers against the Cubs this year and 36 for his career, to cut the deficit to 7-5.

That’s when Chicago’s beleaguered bullpen had a total meltdown, giving up six more runs to fall behind 11-7. The go-ahead runs came on a Randal Grichuk two-run double that probably should have been knocked down by Gage Workman at third. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then ostensibly ended the game with a three-run dinger to cap off the carnage.

The Cubs picked up right where they left off in the bottom of the frame, however, getting the first two runners on for Kelly, who crushed his second homer of the day against Bryce Jarvis to cut the lead to one.  Joe Mantiply relieved Jarvis and gave up a single and a go-ahead two-run homer to Tucker to give the North Siders a 12-11 edge.

Seiya Suzuki made it back-to-back homers with a solo shot to center that put Chicago up 13-11. Ryan Pressly pitched around a double in the 9th inning to finish off the incredibly chaotic victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

It would have been quite easy for the Cubs to throw in the towel after giving up 10 runs in a single inning. Instead, they fought back to earn win they had appeared to have thrown away.

Why the Cubs Won

They took full advantage of the weather conditions, hitting five home runs to out-slug the Diamondbacks and prevail.

Stats That Matter

• Rea’s performance seems even better considering how the pitchers after him fared: 4.2 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 5 K, 0 BB.
• Kelly continues to rake early in the season with five more RBIs Friday.
• Happ is starting to heat up with three more hits in this one.
• Busch collected three more knocks and made a couple of very nice plays at first base.

Bottom Line

Well, that was about the wildest baseball game you will ever see. The bullpen continues to be a big problem, but the offense is humming along. It certainly feels a lot better that they won this game than if they had gone quietly after the 10-run debacle. Chicago keeps finding different ways to win, which will give them some margin for error to try and fix some of the glaring problems on the roster.

On Deck

Game two of the series is Saturday at 1:20pm CT. Ben Brown takes the hill against Zac Gallen in a contest televised on Marquee with radio coverage on 670 The Score.