Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/5/26): Cubs 6, Cardinals 4 – Win Over Sloppy Cards Prevents Sweep
The Cubs salvaged the final game of the series against the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon with a relatively unattractive win. After briefly taking the lead, the road team suffered a defensive meltdown that handed a victory to the Cubs.
Chicago moved in front against starter Matthew Liberatore in the bottom of the 1st on an Alex Bregman RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Nico Hoerner. Javier Assad did an excellent job protecting that 2-0 advantage into the 5th inning.
The North Siders’ bullpen ran into major trouble in the top of the 6th when Tyler Ferguson gave up a go-ahead three-run homer to Jordan Walker. That 3-2 deficit would be short-lived, however, as Hoerner had an RBI single off of Matt Svanson in the bottom of the frame.
Later in that same inning, Dansby Swanson hit a ground ball to third base with runners on first and second that appeared to be in tailor-made double play. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, third baseman Jose Fermin fired the ball wide of second base and into right field, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Pinch-hitter Pedro Ramírez then added a sac fly and Walker made an errant throw to third that brought home another runner and made the score 6-3 Cubs.
St. Louis cut into the margin with an 8th inning sacrifice fly by Walker, but that would be as close as they got with Jacob Webb closing out the 6-4 win. (Box score)
Key Moment
Walker, who had already homered earlier in the game, represented the tying run with men on the corners and one out in the top of the 8th. Webb got the powerful right fielder to line out to center field and limit the damage to just a sacrifice fly.
Why the Cubs Won
They got decent pitching and took full advantage of several defensive mistakes by the Cardinals.
Stats That Matter
- Assad had to work around some traffic on the bases which drove up his pitch count: 4.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 K, and 2 BB.
- Hoerner came through twice with runners in scoring position.
- Four Chicago batters were hit by pitches.
Bottom Line
The Cubs avoided what would’ve been a costly sweep and came away with a 4-2 homestand. It would be helpful if they could play better in the next series against the Cardinals. Those games are likely to be very important with possible playoff implications.
On Deck
The Cubs get Monday off before traveling to Baltimore for a series against the Orioles beginning Tuesday night 5:35pm CT. Matthew Boyd takes on Shane Baz in a matchup broadcast on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
