Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/3/26): Cardinals 17, Cubs 1 – St. Louis Smashes Peterson
After piling up 23 runs on the Padres Wednesday, the Cubs had the tables completely turned on them Friday afternoon. The visiting Cardinals exploded early, hitting double digits by the 4th inning and never looking back as they won easily.
Chicago starter David Peterson had immediate trouble, giving up loud contact from the beginning of his outing. Center fielder Nathan Church struck the first of many blows with a three-run homer in the top of the 2nd inning to give St. Louis a 3-0 advantage.
The Cards kept up the scoring with three more in the top of the 3rd and finally knocked Peterson out of the game with five more in the 4th. Masyn Winn put an exclamation point on the frame with a three-run homer to make it 11-0.
When the onslaught eventually came to an end, the North Siders found themselves on the wrong side of a 17-1 defeat. (Box score)
Key Moment
Any chance for a comeback went up in smoke in the 3rd and 4th innings.
Why the Cubs Lost
The starting pitching gave them absolutely no chance to win on Friday.
Stats That Matter
- It was an ugly line for Peterson in this one: 3.2 IP, 10 R, 9 H, 3 K, and 3 BB.
- Pedro Ramírez tripled and scored Chicago’s only run on an Alex Bregman double in the bottom of the 7th.
Bottom Line
That game is basically a write-off for the Cubs, so don’t even think about it after this. They are going to continue to search for whatever pitching help they can find and some of the chances they take may end up like Peterson in this one. Hopefully, they can find a couple that will be valuable down the stretch.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Saturday night at 7:08pm CT. Shōta Imanaga goes against Kyle Leahy in a contest broadcast exclusively on FOX with a radio feed on The Score.
