BOX SCORE

CHICAGO — The Cubs notched their 50th win of the season Tuesday night with a 5-2 decision over the Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field.

Through 85 games, it’s the Cubs’ fastest season to 50 wins since, well, 2016 — when they did it in 76 games.

Here are three things we learned in the win over the Guardians (40-43).

You can’t a-Boyd him 

Matthew Boyd has been nothing short of excellent in his first Cubs season, and his June was even better. He posted a 1.78 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched in ace Shota Imanaga’s injury absence for most of the month.

Visitors really have felt Boyd’s wrath this season when he takes the mound at Wrigley. The veteran left-hander entered Tuesday with a 6-0 record and a 2.41 ERA at The Friendly Confines, as his former team, the Guardians, came to town.

Though Boyd allowed two earned runs in the fourth inning, he was incredibly efficient for the majority of the night. One element of that efficiency came when he handed Cleveland a taste of its own medicine by picking off Nolan Jones at first base in the fourth. That pickoff extended Boyd’s MLB-leading number to seven first base pickoffs this season.

Boyd finished another sparkling night under the Wrigley lights, throwing seven strong innings while allowing just the two earned runs on five hits and striking out five. The lefty has a 2.65 ERA through 17 starts this season — a top-six mark in the NL and just outside the top 10 in all of MLB — and owns an 8-3 record.

Get your head in the game

After opening the bottom of the second inning with three runs on four consecutive hits, the Cubs loosened up a bit — but perhaps too much. 

Carson Kelly found himself on third base after ripping a two-run double and advancing on an errant throw from Guardians second baseman Angel Martínez. Kelly tried to score on a wild pitch from Guardians starter Gavin Williams as Nico Hoerner dug in for his at-bat, but the ball took a favorable Cleveland bounce, and Kelly was tagged out at home on an easy flip from catcher Bo Naylor to Williams. 

The Cubs in the bottom of the 2nd inning:

Single
Single
Single
Double
Walk
Walk

They made three outs on the bases … pic.twitter.com/A4HwqPVcua

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 2, 2025

Hoerner took his walk, and he was primed to steal second as Matt Shaw stepped up — but Williams noticed that, and after one unsuccessful pickoff attempt, he nabbed Hoerner for the second out of the inning.

Shaw took his walk, too, and replaced Hoerner at first. Like Hoerner, Shaw crept far too much toward second, and Williams nabbed him to end the inning.

That made all three outs for the Cubs in the second inning on the basepaths — which is unusual for a team that had the most stolen bases (100) in the NL entering Tuesday’s play.

The silent killer

Michael Busch quietly is having an All-Star-caliber season for the Cubs, even if he didn’t receive the fan votes to move on to the next round. 

As of late, the Cubs’ 27-year-old first baseman is putting up scorching numbers. He slashed .309/.385/.617 (1.002 OPS) in June, complete with 19 RBI and seven home runs. 

A three-hit night Tuesday means Busch now is hitting .282 with an .889 OPS. His 14 homers are the third most among NL first basemen, and his 50 RBI are tied for sixth most in the league at his position.

Next up, Imanaga (4-2, 2.54 ERA) is scheduled to make his second start since returning from the IL in Wednesday’s rematch. Cleveland will send right-hander Tanner Bibee (4-8, 3.90 ERA) to oppose him. Coverage begins on Marquee Sports Network at 6 p.m. CT, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05.