Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/4/26): Cardinals 3, Cubs 0 – Home Team Blanked at Foggy Wrigley

The Cubs and Cardinals met in a bizarre Fourth of July contest that was delayed by rain and then fog. The weather turned out to be more interesting than the game action, as the road squad pitched a shutout to take the series.

After an hourlong rain delay, JJ Wetherholt gave St. Louis the lead with a solo home run on the first pitch of the game from Shōta Imanaga. They would add another run on an RBI single by Iván Herrera in the top of the 3rd to make it a 2-0 score.

Cubs hitters could not figure out opposing starter Kyle Leahy, failing to score on him in five frames. A thick fog blanketed Wrigley Field in the middle innings and even caused a 15-minute delay between the 6th and 7th innings.

When play resumed, the Cards tacked on an insurance run via an Alec Burleson RBI single off of reliever Trent Thornton in the top of the 8th. The North Siders had a couple of scoring chances late, but did not come through and went down 3-0. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs got the first two runners on base in the bottom of the 8th and moved them to second and third with one out. Cardinals reliever JoJo Romero then struck out the next two hitters to end the threat and keep the score 3-0.

Why the Cubs Lost

The offense has suddenly gone cold after tearing it up the past few weeks. They failed to get any hits with runners in scoring position, stranding eight runners.

Stats That Matter

• Imanaga did a good job and could’ve easily won with some run support: 4.2 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 8 K, and 3 BB.
• Pete Crow-Armstrong got on base four times.
• Michael Conforto had two hits and a walk.

Bottom Line

This Cubs team has been so streaky this year that even when they go to consecutive games without hitting it’s a bit concerning. It would be encouraging if they could produce some offense in the finale of the series, just to ease the tension a notch. Finding someone to hit behind PCA and force opposing pitching staffs to challenge him more would also help.

On Deck

Chicago tries to avoid the sweep Sunday afternoon at 1:20pm CT. Javier Assad takes the mound against Matthew Liberatore in a game televised exclusively on Peacock with a radio feed on The Score.