This Cubs team is starting to do really special things.
Seriously, the Cubs had no business winning Friday’s game, not after Matthew Boyd had a rare bad outing, not after Julian Merryweather had another lousy relief appearance, not after they went into the seventh inning trailing by four.
And yet, none of that mattered. Pete Crow-Armstrong homered twice, including a grand slam, giving him his first six-RBI game since… last Friday. The Cubs put 11 on the board in the last three innings and cruised to a 13-6 win over the Reds.
Let’s begin at the beginning, which wasn’t very good.
The Cubs hit the ball hard off Hunter Greene in the top of the first, but for outs. In the bottom of the inning, TJ Friedl hit this ball off Boyd [VIDEO].
I would think that ball kid doesn’t have a job after that, or at least was reassigned. At Wrigley, I’ve seen those folks take their little stool and get out of the way, even if they think the ball was foul, and that one was clearly fair. Friedl wound up on second with a double, laughing.
Then Boyd made this laughably bad play [VIDEO].
At that point there’s no way a play could be made at first. Boyd should have eaten the ball. Instead, a run scored and Santiago Espinal wound up on second, where two singles scored him. Another double made it 3-0 Reds.
It could have been worse, but the Cubs got out of the inning with this double play [VIDEO].
The Cubs couldn’t do anything with Hunter Greene for the first three innings except for a Nico Hoerner double, and the Reds made it 4-0 in the bottom of the third. Austin Hays tripled and scored on a Boyd wild pitch.
Finally, the Cubs got on the board off Greene in the fourth. With one out, Seiya Suzuki doubled and PCA made it 4-2 with this home run [VIDEO].
A note on this home run from BCB’s JohnW53:
Pete Crow-Armstrong’s home run was his first batting fourth. He previously had hit nine homers batting seventh and three batting first.
He is the second Cub who has homered in at least three different spots in the order this year. Carson Kelly has homered batting fourth, fifth, eighth and ninth.
Boyd lasted only four innings and threw 93 pitches in that time, way too many. It was his worst outing as a Cub and hopefully, his next time out he can get back on track.
Julian Merryweather threw the fifth, and let’s be charitable and just say it did not go well. Of the first six hitters Merryweather faced, three had hits and one walked, and after a two-run single by Friedl, Merryweather was replaced by Chris Flexen.
Not going to say anything about injury here. Merryweather has just been mostly bad this year. When Tyson Miller is ready to return, I could see the Cubs simply giving Merryweather a DFA. And Merryweather’s outing could have been worse if not for this slick play by Matt Shaw [VIDEO].
Flexen held the Reds scoreless for the rest of the fifth and all of the sixth, and as previously mentioned, the Cubs went to the seventh down by four.
With one out in the seventh, Hoerner singled. Shaw came to bat and hit a ground ball and here’s where a play happened that set the tone for the rest of the inning. Nico slid around an attempted tag by Matt McLain and was called safe. So instead of a runner on first and two out, there are runners on first and second with just one out.
Here’s the play:
That seemed to energize the Cubs. Ian Happ blooped a single to left, loading the bases [VIDEO].
Kyle Tucker then smacked a single to left, making it 6-4 [VIDEO].
About that hit:
Kyle Tucker now 29-68 (.426) career with bases loaded
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) May 24, 2025
Suzuki singled, loading the bases, and bringing PCA to the plate [VIDEO].
A crew chief review ruled “call stands” on the home run, and the Cubs, improbably, had the lead by 8-6.
Check out this cool field view of PCA’s slam [VIDEO].
Grand slam facts from BCB’s JohnW53:
PCA’s grand slam was the Cubs’ third of the season. Ian Happ and Michael Busch hit the earlier two. The Cubs hit six all of last season.
It was No. 359 in the regular season since 1876 and No. 335 since 1901, when the Modern Era began. It was No. 151 on the road since 1876.
PCA became the 210th different Cub to hit a slam.
The Cubs were not done scoring runs, though. Brad Keller held the Reds scoreless in the bottom of the seventh, and then the Cubs bats came alive again in the eighth.
Hoerner doubled leading off the inning, his third hit of the game. One out later, Happ walked, but then Tucker flied out for the second out.
That made it 11-6. Drew Pomeranz continued his fine work as a Cub, throwing a scoreless eighth, and then the Cubs put two more on the board with another long ball in the top of the ninth.
Carson Kelly led off the inning with a single, and one out later Dansby Swanson hit his 11th of the year [VIDEO].
Ryan Pressly was summoned to finish things up. He allowed a two-out double, but that was it. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].
Here are PCA’s postgame comments [VIDEO].
And more PCA, from BCB’s JohnW53:
PCA is the fifth MLB player with three multi-homer games this season.
The others are Jordan Beck of the Rockies, Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks, Tyler Soderstrom of the Athletics and Kyle Stowers of the Marlins.
I can’t really add much more than what PCA said in that clip. This Cubs team really doesn’t quit. To win that game, after looking pretty bad for six innings and trailing by that much, is pretty special. And, hopefully, sets the tone for the rest of the series.
Make no mistake, this game is further evidence that Pete Crow-Armstrong is a legitimate MVP candidate. His manager is impressed:
“Watching him take his game to the next level at 23 years old, it’s fun to watch.”
Craig Counsell reflects on PCA’s electric night pic.twitter.com/yOBVE3gvBu
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) May 24, 2025
The Cubs go for the series win Saturday afternoon at GABP. Colin Rea will start for the Cubs and Andrew Abbott gets the call for the Reds. Game time is 3:10 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.