Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/3/24): Cardinals 5, Cubs 4 – Defensive Meltdown Leads to Painful Defeat

The Cubs were on their way to their fourth consecutive victory Saturday afternoon with a three-run lead over the Cardinals in the top of the 8th inning. Then disaster struck as back-to-back defensive miscues erased Chicago’s advantage and led to a painful one-run defeat.

Alec Burleson put the Redbirds ahead with a solo home run off of Jamison Taillon in the top of the 1st. Michael Busch responded immediately in the bottom of the frame when he took Kyle Gibson deep for a two-run homer that gave the Cubs a 2-1 advantage.

Pete Crow-Armstrong increased the margin for the North Siders with an RBI triple in the 2nd and he then came in to score on a safety squeeze by Miguel Amaya. The Cardinals had some scoring chances but Taillon and the bullpen kept the home team on top 4-1 through seven frames.

Porter Hodge came on in the 8th inning and Chicago’s defense completely fell apart with runners on first and second and two out. Brendan Donovan hit a ground ball that third baseman Isaac Paredes fielded very deep behind the bag. Instead of just eating it, he made a futile throw that completely airmailed first and allowed a run to score. Even worse, the error allowed the potential tying tally to reach scoring position and,  sure enough, that runner came in when a Nolan Arenado pop-up somehow dropped between Nico Hoerner and PCA for a two-run single.

Tommy Pham tripled off of Héctor Neris to lead off the top of the 9th and registered the go-ahead run on a Lars Nootbaar sacrifice fly. Unlike on Thursday, St. Louis closer Ryan Helsley had no trouble on Saturday and quickly recorded the save in the 5-4 victory. (Box store)

Key Moment

Hoerner appeared to be tracking the Arenado pop-up before Crow-Armstrong called him off, assuming he had the speed to get to it. Hoerner gave way, but the ball dropped quicker than PCA anticipated and it deflected off the tip of his glove for a hit. Of course, that play would not have evened the score if Paredes had not made an extremely ill-advised throw the batter before.

Why the Cubs Lost

It would’ve been nice if some insurance had been added by the offense but this loss is almost entirely on the horrible defense in the 8th.

Stats That Matter

• Taillon bounced back nicely Saturday after a bad time in Cincinnati and definitely deserved to get a win: 6 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 4 K, and 1 BB.
• Busch had another hit in addition to his homer and continues to impress.
• First impressions of Paredes have not been great. He is 2-for-20 in a Cubs uniform and some of his throws from third have been adventurous.

Bottom Line

The Cubs are just incapable of building any kind of momentum in 2024 and Saturday’s game is a prime example. The Cardinals gave them a chance to win the series and two inexplicable errors threw it away. It’s something that’s going to have to change in a big way if they want to be competitive in 2025.

On Deck

Chicago tries to recover and win the series Sunday night at 6:10pm CT. Justin Steele goes up against Miles Mikolas in a matchup televised exclusively on ESPN with a radio feed on 670 The Score.