CHICAGO — The Cubs had one objective when they took the field for their final Friday 1:20 game of the 2025 season: Just win.
Their playoff spot long has been secured, and a NL Wild Card Series matchup with the San Diego Padres is set. The only remaining question is where that series will take place.
The Cubs still controlled their own destiny entering Friday: Take two of three from the St. Louis Cardinals, and playoff baseball will return to Wrigley Field.
A 12-1 win — powered by home runs from Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch and topped off with a Seiya Suzuki grand slam — was a fine return to form for Cubs hitters and brought them one win or one Padres loss closer to home-field advantage.
That magic number now is 1, and the advantage could fall into the Cubs’ laps later Friday night if the Arizona Diamondbacks take down the Padres on the West Coast.
Here are three things we learned as the Cubs (90-70) routed the Cardinals (78-82) in a crucial series-opening victory that also secured Chicago’s first 90-win season since 2018:
Tucked back in
Kyle Tucker made his long-awaited return to the Cubs’ lineup, batting cleanup as the team’s designated hitter.
The 2025 All-Star right fielder hadn’t seen any game action since Sept. 2, dealing with a lingering calf injury that forced him to leave the team for a few days last week to visit his physical therapy specialists in his hometown of Tampa, Fla.
There were questions as to whether Tucker would even slot into the lineup before the playoffs begin Tuesday, but much to the relief of the team, he made it back just in the nick of time.
There also was some adjustments for Tucker as he faced big-league pitching again for the first time in over three weeks. In his first at-bat, he rolled over softly to Cardinals first baseman Alec Burleson.
But Tucker clearly knew what he needed to do the next time, and when he came up again in the fourth inning, he punched a single up the middle for what was only the Cubs’ second hit of the game at that point.
In his third at-bat, Tucker drove the ball to left-center — 100 mph off his bat — but it held up on the warning track for St. Louis center fielder Victor Scott II to make the catch.
It was an appearance that exemplified the kind of hitter the Cubs need in their lineup for the playoffs — someone who has the experience to adjust on the fly and remain patient no matter the situation. If that’s the key to the contagious hitting Tucker brought to the batting order so many times this year, the Cubs are well set up for next Tuesday and beyond.
30-30 vision
The road was long and often winding, but Crow-Armstrong finally achieved what many knew he could: A 30-home run, 30-stolen base season, in which he joined Sammy Sosa as the only two Cubs in franchise history to do it.
The home run that did it was a two-run shot off Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas in the fourth inning — a 108.4-mph rocket on a hanging curveball that landed in the right-center bleachers.
Crow-Armstrong knew he had it — the bat flip made that obvious.
And when the 23-year-old trotted back out to center field in the next frame, he gave a shy wave to acknowledge the thunderous “P-C-A” chants that rang out from the crowd.
The second half of the season hasn’t been the easiest for the Cubs’ All-Star center fielder, who had hit just three home runs since July 23. He slashed just .160/.216/.230 (.446 OPS) in August and is managing a .197/.237/.288 (.525 OPS) clip in September.
But when the playoffs begin, it’ll be a clean slate for Crow-Armstrong, who’s showing during this final stretch of the season that he can carry momentum when it counts for the Cubs.
REAson to believe
Colin Rea likely won’t be in the Cubs’ playoff rotation, but what he did Friday was just another reason why manager Craig Counsell will be happy to turn to him in relief during the wild-card series.
The Cubs’ 35-year-old right-hander spun 5.2 scoreless innings against Cardinals hitters, allowing just two hits and striking out seven.
Rea’s final start of the regular season continued his excellent home stretch. He posted a 2.60 ERA over five starts and 27.2 innings pitched in September.
Rea, of course, was never supposed to be a member of the Cubs’ rotation to begin with — he jumped in out of pure necessity when Justin Steele went down for the year back in April.
But 27 starts and 137.2 innings later, Rea has provided so much value to a Cubs pitching staff that’s faced adversity since the season began.
The series continues Saturday at 1:20 p.m. CT with Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon (10-7, 3.78 ERA) scheduled against Cardinals righty Michael McGreevy (8-3, 4.34 ERA).
Coverage begins at noon CT on Marquee Sports Network.