Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/23/25): Cubs 13, Reds 6 – PCA Powers Comeback Victory
The Cubs traveled to Great American Ball Park to take on the Reds Friday night. Chicago fell into an early hole before a four home run eruption led them to a huge victory in the series opener.
Matthew Boyd ran into all kinds of trouble in the bottom of the 1st inning with the first six hitters reaching base. RBI singles by Santiago Espinal and Austin Hays were followed by a Spencer Steer double to put Cincinnati in front 3-0.
Boyd used a double play to escape further damage in that frame, but a wild pitch allowed Hays to score from third and increase the Reds’ lead to 4-0 in the 3rd. The Cubs finally got to Hunter Greene in the 4th when Pete Crow-Armstrong blasted a two-run homer to right to cut the deficit in half.
Cincinnati got those two tallies back against Julian Merryweather in the bottom of the 5th on singles by Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl to go on top 6-2. Chicago loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 7th and Kyle Tucker ripped a two-run single off of Tony Santillan that made it 6-4.
After a Seiya Suzuki single re-loaded the bases, Crow-Armstrong skied a very high fly ball down the right field line that sailed over the foul pole for a go-ahead grand slam that put the North Siders ahead 8-6. Suzuki whacked a three-run homer off of Brent Suter in the 8th to stretch the road team’s lead to 11-6.
Dansby Swanson added one more two-run dinger in the 9th as the Cubs won comfortably by a score of 13-6. (Box score)
Key Moment
Nico Hoerner was able to avoid a tag on an attempted force out by Reds second baseman Matt McLain to put two runners on with one out in the 7th. The next four Cubs hitters got knocks and they scored six runs to go ahead for good.
Why the Cubs Won
The lineup absolutely exploded for 11 runs in the final three innings to overcome a shaky starting pitching performance.
Stats That Matter
- Boyd wasn’t great, but he did avoid a complete disaster in the 1st inning and his teammates picked him up: 4 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 3 K, 2 BB.
- Just another two-homer, three extra-base hit, six-RBI game for PCA.
- Hoerner had three hits, including two doubles, in addition to his heads up baserunning.
- Suzuki had three knocks as well and has 46 RBI this season.
Bottom Line
That felt like a Cubs loss right up until the explosive 7th inning, and it’s clear at this point they are never out of any game with the offensive talent they have. Crow-Armstrong has become a superstar in the blink of an eye and is a legitimate MVP candidate. It was nice to see Chicago exorcise some of the demons they have faced at GABP in recent years.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at 3:10pm CT. Colin Rea takes the hill against Andrew Abbott in a contest available on Marquee with radio coverage on 670 The Score.