An unseasonably warm Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field is typically a recipe for an active offensive baseball game, but no expectations could have possibly matched reality for the series opener between the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The afternoon didn’t start out heavily loaded with offense, with the Cubs taking a 2-0 early on and carrying a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning.
It was then when the North Siders busted the game open, primarily thanks to an Ian Happ grand slam that paved the way for a five-run inning, giving the Cubs a commanding 7-1 lead headed to the 8th.
While it then seemed that the Cubs would cruise to a series-opening victory, the wheels quickly fell off for the team’s fledgling bullpen.
Jordan Wicks, in his first appearance of the season, surrendered three hits on just five pitches before being removed from the game without recording an out.
Wicks was replaced by Porter Hodge, who promptly allowed a grand slam to Eugenio Suarez, the current active leader for home runs against the Cubs.
The grand slam was simply the beginning of a remarkable offensive onslaught for the Diamondbacks, aided by costly defensive miscues from the Cubs.
A Geraldo Perdomo single brought the Snakes back within one run before a Randal Grichuk double scored two runs to give the D-Backs a lead.
Then, with two outs in the inning, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. slugged a three-run blast off Ethan Roberts, who replaced the struggling Hodge, giving Arizona an 11-7 advantage.
The Cubs quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning, with catcher Carson Kelly slugging his second home run of the day with two runners on and nobody out, instantly putting the Cubs back within a run.
Following an Ian Happ base hit, Cubs superstar Kyle Tucker connected on the game-winning shot, a two-run homer that put the Cubs up 12-11.
Seiya Suzuki followed Tucker with a solo shot of his own, giving the Cubs a 13-11 win that would hold for the contest’s final score.
There have been 21 runs scored in the last 1 1/2 innings at Wrigley today between the Diamondbacks and Cubs, including six homers and two grand slams.Cubs go up 7-1 after 7th.Cubs trail 11-7 after 7 1/2Cubs lead 13-11 after 8.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 18, 2025The furious Cubs comeback led to a combined total of 16 runs in the eighth inning, the most in a single inning in the history of Wrigley Field, which first opened in 1914 and has served as the home of the Cubs since 1916.
In coming back to win, the Cubs became the first team since June 8, 1989 to win a nine-inning game in which they had allowed 10 runs in an inning.
Last such game was the 2006 Royals, August 23. Lost 15-13 in 10. Last 9-inning game: June 8, 1989. Pirates lost 15-11 to Philly, the Jim Rooker walk-home game. Both were 1st innings.#Cubs have won one such game since 1912: 9/26/1912 Game 1. 10 allowed in the 9th, won 11-10. t.co/A0nlCZwuef pic.twitter.com/ml7y7XyVUp
— Jessica Brand (@JessicaDBrand) April 18, 2025With Friday’s win, the Cubs also become just the fifth team in the past 125 seasons to score at least six runs and allow at least 10 runs in the same inning, with the last occurrence happening on May 8, 2004 with the Detroit Tigers.
The Cubs are the fifth team in the last 125 seasons to score 6+ runs and allow 10+ runs in the same inning, joining:5/8/2004 DET8/3/1986 CLE4/10/1977 BOS6/20/1912 NYG t.co/ef8waVwjOJ
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 18, 2025The Cubs will look to secure the series victory against the Diamondbacks Saturday afternoon, with first pitch at 1:20 p.m. at Wrigley Field.
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