Cubs rallied in the sixth inning to beat the Cardinals and halt their biggest rival's surge
The Chicago Cubs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-4 on Sunday, July 5, 2026, at Wrigley Field in Chicago in an MLB regular-season game, thereby avoiding a series defeat that would have carried more weight than a single result on the calendar. According to MLB's official scoreboard, the Cardinals had seven hits and two defensive errors, while the Cubs also finished with seven hits, but without a defensive error. The decisive moment was the sixth inning, in which St. Louis first turned the game around with Jordan Walker's three-run homer, and then Chicago came back with four runs of its own and regained control. The Associated Press reported that Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong were among the key players for the home team, while Walker almost single-handedly carried the Cardinals' offense in the final part of the contest. For the Cubs, it was a victory that brought scoreboard relief after two difficult games against a division rival.
The game began at 1:30 p.m. local time in Chicago and ended as a typical example of a matchup in which an early lead does not guarantee a calm conclusion. Chicago took a 2-0 lead already in the first inning, then held St. Louis scoreless for several innings, but the sixth inning completely changed the rhythm of the game. According to MLB's summary of key plays, Alex Bregman brought in the first run for the hosts with a double, and Nico Hoerner soon added a sacrifice fly for 2-0. The Cubs then waited a long time for another offensive sequence, while St. Louis threatened but could not break through starting pitcher Javier Assad. When it seemed Chicago might pay the price for missed chances, the Cardinals' defense opened the door for the home team's comeback.
The sixth inning changed the entire direction of the game
The first five innings belonged to Chicago primarily because of control of the rhythm on the mound and early efficiency on offense. According to the Associated Press report, Javier Assad worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings for the Cubs, allowing two singles, two walks and recording two strikeouts. That performance was especially important because Chicago had remained under pressure in the previous two games of the series from the Cardinals' offense and from its own insufficiently effective finishing. Assad did not receive the decision, but his outing kept the game within a framework in which the Cubs could manage the innings and the bullpen. St. Louis loaded the bases in the second inning, according to the Daily Herald report, but Assad escaped trouble and then put together a string of outs that temporarily calmed the visiting attack.
The Cardinals' comeback arrived in the top of the sixth inning. According to MLB's play review, Jordan Walker hit a three-run home run off Tyler Ferguson, his 20th of the season, giving St. Louis a 3-2 lead. It was a moment that could have completely broken the contest open, especially because the Cardinals had entered the series with a very strong record against Chicago and a clear opportunity to complete the sweep. Walker's drive to left field changed the mood in the stadium and put the Cubs in a position in which they had to respond immediately, because another failure against a division opponent would have had a psychological effect as well. But the bottom half of the same inning showed exactly how quickly a baseball game can shift from one story to another.
Chicago began its response by putting pressure on St. Louis' pitchers and defense. According to MLB's summary, Nico Hoerner tied the game with a hit that made it 3-3, and the Associated Press states that Michael Busch then scored for 4-3 after an errant throw by third baseman José Fermín toward second base. Another blow to the Cardinals came when pinch-hitter Pedro Ramírez sent a sacrifice fly, after which Hoerner crossed home plate, and Dansby Swanson took advantage of another poor throw from right field and scored Chicago's sixth run. The two unearned runs in that inning clearly showed why St. Louis' defensive performance was just as important as the Cubs' offensive response. Instead of holding the lead gained through Walker's home run, the Cardinals lost their advantage in only a few minutes and entered the final stretch trailing by three runs.
Hoerner, Crow-Armstrong and Bregman carried Chicago's offense
Nico Hoerner finished the game with two RBIs, and his role was important in both key parts of the contest. According to the Associated Press, Hoerner helped increase Chicago's lead to 2-0 in the first inning, and in the sixth he brought in the tying run after Walker's home run. MLB's summary additionally emphasizes that Hoerner had a hit in all three games of the series against St. Louis, which was important for the Cubs during a weekend in which the offense swung from complete helplessness to decisive efficiency. Hoerner's contribution was not only statistical, because his hit for 3-3 stopped the Cardinals' momentum at the most dangerous moment of the game. Situations like that often decide series within the division.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, according to the Associated Press, recorded two hits, and the Daily Herald emphasized the broader context of his progress against left-handed pitchers. Chicago manager Craig Counsell said, according to the Daily Herald, that Crow-Armstrong's improvement against left-handed pitchers was one of the important reasons for the team's better performance in such matchups. The Daily Herald states that the Cubs had a .776 OPS against left-handed pitchers at the time of reporting, the second-best mark in MLB. Crow-Armstrong was directly involved in Sunday's early offense against Matthew Liberatore, and he was also hit by a pitch in the second inning. His presence on the bases gave Chicago more depth in a lineup that had been looking in previous days for a steadier answer to St. Louis pitching.
Alex Bregman, according to MLB's review, opened the scoring portion of the game with an RBI double in the first inning. That early hit was important because it immediately put the Cubs ahead and created the impression that the home team might control the contest much more easily than ultimately proved to be the case. The Associated Press also states that pinch-hitter Pedro Ramírez had an RBI, further confirming the value of a deeper bench in a game decided by one inning and several tactical moves. Chicago did not win through convincing pressure across all nine innings, but through a combination of early execution, patience and capitalizing on the opponent's mistakes.
Walker dominated for St. Louis, but the defense did not hold up
Jordan Walker was the most dangerous player for St. Louis and finished the game with four RBIs. According to the Associated Press, his three-run home run in the sixth inning was his 20th of the season, and his sacrifice fly in the eighth raised his total RBI count to 67, which at the time was tied for the most in MLB. MLB's summary also highlighted that Walker became the third Cardinals player with at least 20 home runs and 10 stolen bases in the team's first 87 games, after Albert Pujols in 2009 and Rogers Hornsby in 1922. That detail shows why Walker was at the center of attention even in defeat.
The Cardinals had enough offensive signals to suggest they could finish the job. According to the Associated Press, rookie JJ Wetherholt and Alec Burleson each had two hits, giving St. Louis additional options around Walker's powerful day. The visitors took the lead in the sixth inning, and in the eighth they cut the deficit to 6-4, leaving enough room to apply pressure in the final stretch. Still, MLB's official scoreboard recorded two St. Louis errors, and both had a direct effect on the outcome of the sixth inning. In a game in which both teams had seven hits each, the difference in defense was decisive.
For St. Louis, the defeat was especially unpleasant because the team had been close to taking the entire series at Wrigley Field. The Cardinals beat the Cubs 17-1 on Friday, July 3, according to ESPN's recap and MLB's official game display, and won 3-0 on Saturday, July 4, according to ESPN, in a game marked by rain and fog. Sunday's contest therefore carried additional weight, because St. Louis could have left Chicago with three victories and a strong message to a division rival. Instead, the Cardinals missed out on the sweep because of one poor defensive inning and failed to turn Walker's big hit into a win. That contrast also describes the broader lesson for St. Louis well: offensive strength is not worth enough without a stable finish.
Chicago's bullpen survived late pressure
After Assad left the game without allowing a run, Chicago's bullpen went through a difficult test. Tyler Ferguson allowed Walker's home run that turned the score around, but the Cubs did not allow that moment to become a complete collapse. The Associated Press states that Drew Pomeranz worked one inning and recorded his first win for the Cubs after rejoining the team on Friday. That detail gives the game additional value for Chicago, because the bullpen had to cover a large part of the contest and protect the lead after the turbulent sixth inning. In the summer portion of the MLB season, such relief-pitching performances often carry broader significance than the box score alone.
Jacob Webb pitched the final two innings and, according to the Associated Press, recorded his third save of the season. His task was not simple because Walker's sacrifice fly in the eighth reduced the score to 6-4, and St. Louis remained close enough in the final stretch that every baserunner could change the pressure. MLB's summary described the final play of the game through Dansby Swanson's excellent defensive reaction, whose catch sealed the Cubs' victory. In a game in which errors opened the door to a comeback, Chicago's clean final defensive play had symbolic weight. The Cubs thus closed the contest without an error of their own and showed the difference that ultimately stood between 6-4 and a possible new disappointment.
Matthew Liberatore, the Cardinals' starting pitcher, according to the Associated Press, allowed four earned runs on four hits in five-plus innings, with two walks, three hit batters and two strikeouts. Although St. Louis briefly returned to the lead after he had left following the early deficit, the bottom of the sixth inning exposed problems in communication between the bullpen and the defense. Matt Svanson found himself at the center of the game's key section, and poorly executed defensive plays further burdened the situation. The loss was officially charged to Liberatore, according to MLB's scoreboard, while Pomeranz received the win and Webb the save. That distribution of decisions does not explain the entire dynamic of the contest, but it shows how much the sixth inning changed the game.
The rivalry and the NL Central standings add extra weight to the result
Games between Chicago and St. Louis traditionally carry greater weight because of the long-standing rivalry within the National League Central, and this contest came at a moment when both teams were in a direct fight for the top of the division. According to MLB's official scoreboard, the Cubs were 50-40 after the victory, while the Cardinals fell to 47-40. MLB standings data for July 6, 2026, show that the Milwaukee Brewers led the NL Central with a 55-33 record, ahead of Chicago and St. Louis. That is why Sunday's victory meant more for the Cubs than ending a negative weekend stretch; it kept them ahead of the Cardinals and prevented the series from becoming a direct blow to their position. For St. Louis, on the other hand, the missed win meant a lost chance to put additional pressure on Chicago ahead of a new series against the division-leading team.
Wrigley Field was also an important part of the broader picture in this matchup. According to official Chicago Cubs information, the stadium was built in 1914 and has been the club's home for more than a century, which gives every game against the Cardinals an additional historical frame. That context is not visible directly in the statistics, but it adds weight to every series between these rivals. On Friday, the Cardinals celebrated there with a 17-1 win, on Saturday they silenced the Cubs' offense with a 3-0 victory, and on Sunday Chicago finally found an answer. Such a shift in tone within three days shows how quickly the balance can change.
The schedule after the game further emphasizes the importance of the result. The Associated Press states that St. Louis hosts Milwaukee already on Monday, July 6, with a matchup between Dustin May and Shane Drohan announced. The Cubs, according to the same report, continue their season on Tuesday, July 7, with a road game against the Baltimore Orioles, where Matthew Boyd against Shane Baz has been announced. Both teams thus quickly move on from their head-to-head series and enter games that can further reshape the standings ahead of the All-Star break.
What the victory says about the Cubs, and what the defeat says about the Cardinals
For the Cubs, the most important message of the game was resilience. After 17-1 and 3-0 defeats, another failure against the Cardinals would have raised questions about the team's stability in direct divisional series. Instead, Chicago turned the game around at a moment when St. Louis had both the score and the momentum. According to the Associated Press, the Cubs reached their tenth win in their last 13 games with the victory, showing that the broader trend remained positive despite the difficult start to the weekend. Such victories are often worth more than lopsided results because they confirm the ability to respond under pressure.
For the Cardinals, the impression remains one of a missed opportunity. Walker played a game that, in a different outcome, would have been the main story of a victory, Wetherholt and Burleson added offensive support, and the team turned around its early deficit in the sixth inning. Still, two errors and an unstable defensive sequence in the bottom half of the same inning were enough to turn the lead into a defeat. In a 162-game MLB season, one loss rarely decides everything, but matchups like this remain important because they come against a direct rival and affect both the standings and confidence.
Chicago ultimately earned exactly the kind of victory that can stabilize a team after an unpleasant weekend. It was not a game without problems, because the bullpen briefly lost the lead and the offense was quiet between the first and sixth innings. But the Cubs exploited the opponent's weaknesses, completed the final stretch without an error and protected the lead after regaining it. According to MLB's official result, 6-4 will be recorded as a Chicago victory, but the substance of the game says more than the simple sum of runs.
Sources:
- MLB.com – official Gameday score, inning-by-inning line, team records and pitcher decisions (link)
- MLB.com – official summary of key plays from the St. Louis Cardinals – Chicago Cubs game on July 5, 2026 (link)
- Associated Press – game report, player statistics, reactions and preview of the next matchups (link)
- Daily Herald – report from Chicago and context on Pete Crow-Armstrong's performance against left-handed pitchers (link)
- ESPN – recap of the previous game in the series on July 4, 2026, St. Louis Cardinals – Chicago Cubs 3-0 (link)
- ESPN – summary of the July 3, 2026 game, St. Louis Cardinals – Chicago Cubs 17-1 (link)
- Chicago Cubs / MLB.com – official information about Wrigley Field and the stadium's historical context (link)