Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/5/25): Cubs 11, Nationals 5 – Four Homers Key Victory
The Cubs and Nationals began their series at Wrigley Field on a brisk Friday afternoon with the wind blowing out. Chicago took full advantage of the conditions, hitting four home runs and winning comfortably.
The North Siders went off for a total of five runs against Washington starter Jake Irvin in the bottom of the 1st inning. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a sacrifice fly and Nico Hoerner had an RBI bloop double to pick up the first two tallies. Dansby Swanson had the big blow with a three-run homer to put the home team ahead 5-0.
Catcher Reese McGuire went deep for a solo shot to give the Cubs a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd. The Nats finally got to Javier Assad with a two-run homer by Luis Garcia Jr. in the 4th to reduce the deficit to 6-2.
Chicago got those runs right back in the bottom of the frame when Willi Castro hit an automatic double that made it 8-2. Assad came out of the game with two on and one out in the top of the 6th. Caleb Thielbar took over and surrendered a triple to Daylen Lile, followed by a sac fly by Garcia that brought Washington within 8-5.
The North Siders immediately answered back again against reliever Shinnosuke Ogasawara with a sacrifice fly by PCA and a solo homer by Hoerner to go back and front 10-5 in the bottom of the frame. Ian Happ added one more homer in the bottom of the 8th, and the Cubs were victorious 11-5. (Box score)
Key Moment
Swanson’s homer gave Chicago a big crooked number early and took the pressure off Assad with the wind blowing out.
Why the Cubs Won
The bats made the most of the wind and a bad opponent to put up 11 runs.
Stats That Matter
- Assad was good enough on Friday with the kind of run support he got: 5.1 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 4 K, 2 BB.
- PCA had two hits and two RBI after sitting out two games.
- Happ also walked three times and scored four runs.
Bottom Line
The Cubs handled their business against the hapless Nationals efficiently and the offense looked good doing it. Chicago has officially avoided a losing season with their 81st win, but they have higher goals than that. If they can keep hitting like Friday, they might reach some or even all of them.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Saturday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. Matthew Boyd takes the mound against Brad Lord in a contest broadcast on Marquee with a radio feed on 670 The Score.
