Giants' Matt Chapman belts grand slam, homers again while piling up 8 RBI in 18-3 rout of Cubs
Wrigley Field had the feel of one big party on Thursday night after Pete Crow-Armstrong completed a mid-game redemption arc. Having partly made up for losing a fly ball in the lights with a solo shot earlier in the night, the standout center fielder fully flushed his defensive flub, which allowed an inside-the-park homer to the Athletics, with a walk-off single that capped a four-run, ninth-inning and a 7-6 comeback victory.
Less than 24 hours later, a suddenly power-charged San Francisco Giants lineup zapped the energy of Cubs fans at the Friendly Confines.
San Francisco bombarded Chicago with a whopping seven home runs during an 18-3 victory in the series opener on Friday afternoon. Big flies have given the Cubs (33-31) fits all season. They’ve now allowed the most homers (95) of any MLB team during the 2025 campaign.
The Giants (26-38) capitalized, continuing a recent offensive resurgence of sorts. They scored 12-plus runs for the second game in a row and the third time in their past six outings. Matt Chapman headlined the explosion with eight RBI. The 33-year-old mashed a grand slam in the fourth inning and eventually lashed a three-run homer in the sixth that staked the Giants to a 16-0 advantage. He sprinkled in a sac fly in the fifth.
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The Cubs avoided a shutout, thanks to a Carson Kelly RBI single in the sixth. Then in the eighth, Seiya Suzuki went deep, and Miguel Amaya drove home Pedro Ramírez with a double.
This story is being updated.