Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/20/25): D-Backs 3, Cubs 2 F/11 – Arizona Avoids Sweep at Rainy Wrigley

The Cubs attempted to complete a sweep of the Diamondbacks at a wet and windy Wrigley Field on Easter Sunday. It was a very long afternoon with two rain delays and extra innings, but Chicago could not finish off a third consecutive victory.

The game was delayed by 40 minutes before finally getting underway. The Cubs got their first two runners on base against Merrill Kelly in the bottom of the 1st before a second wave of precipitation brought the tarp back on the field. Play resumed 58 minutes later with Michael Busch hiting an excuse-me check-swing RBI single to left field that gave the home team a 1-0 lead.

Jameson Taillon started out well before running into trouble in the top of the 4th when Pavin Smith had a one-out double and scored on a single by Josh Naylor to tie the game. Arizona got men on second and third later in the frame, but second baseman Nico Hoerner threw home on a ground ball to nail Josh Naylor at the plate and limit further damage.

Kelly absolutely dominated Chicago for the rest of his outing, not giving up a single baserunner until he was forced to leave the game with an injury in the 6th inning. Neither side could get anything generated on offense and the contest went to extras.

Jordan Wicks came on in the 10th and catcher Jose Herrera laid down a bunt, The Cubs lefty threw to first base, but Hoerner missed the throw and it went into the dugout, allowing the courtesy runner to score. The D-backs did not add to their advantage and Hoerner atoned for his mistake with an RBI infield single that tied the score 2-2 in the bottom of the frame.

Naylor put Arizona back ahead with an RBI single in the 11th inning, but they failed to score any additional runs when the big first baseman was thrown out trying to steal home. The North Siders came up empty in the bottom of the frame and the Diamondbacks avoided the sweep with a 3-2 win. (Box score)

Key Moment

Ian Happ hit a hard line drive to shortstop in the 11th inning that Geraldo Perdomo snagged and then stepped on second base to double off automatic runner Jon Berti to snuff out any scoring opportunity in the frame.

Why the Cubs Lost

The hitters who were so effective in the first two games of the series could not do much of anything in this one and the bullpen eventually gave up runs in extra innings.

Stats That Matter

• A decent outing for Taillon considering he had to sit an hour through a rain delay after pitching his first inning: 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 6 K, 2 BB.
• Busch was the only batter to reach base more than once on Sunday.
• The bullpen did nice work, only allowing the two courtesy runners to score in six innings.

Bottom Line

The Cubs have been playing very good opponents so far this season, which makes getting sweeps a very difficult proposition. They ran into a starting pitcher that was on his game early and then caught a couple of bad breaks in the late innings to come up short. If there was a positive, it was that their relief pitching looked decent for a second consecutive game.

On Deck

The Cubs have Monday off before beginning a two-game series with the Dodgers at the Friendly Confines starting Tuesday at 6:40pm CT. Shōta Imanaga takes on Dustin May in a matchup available on Marquee with radio coverage on 670 The Score.