The Chicago Cubs kicked off their Fourth of July celebrations early with an explosive performance against the St. Louis Cardinals, achieving a franchise-record eight home runs in their impressive 11-3 victory. The game showcased the Cubs’ power-hitting prowess, particularly against Cardinals pitchers Miles Mikolas and John King.
Mikolas faced a challenging outing, yielding six home runs, with Seiya Suzuki and Pete Crow-Armstrong igniting the fireworks by hitting back-to-back shots in the first inning. The Cubs quickly widened their lead in the second inning with more back-to-back homers from Michael Busch and Carson Kelly, solidifying a 4-0 advantage.
Crow-Armstrong, who has been recognized as a 2025 All-Star Game starter, and Busch continued their powerful display by both hitting their second home runs of the game in the third inning, moving the Cubs ahead 7-0. Remarkably, the six long balls hit in the first three innings marked the most in Cubs history to open a game, as noted by MLB’s Sarah Langs.
Busch added to his tally with a third home run, following Dansby Swanson’s 15th of the season off King, bringing the score to 11-1 and setting a new franchise record for eight home runs in a single game. Despite his struggles, Mikolas persevered through six innings, allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits. His matchup was historic for the Cardinals, as he set a franchise record by allowing six home runs in a single game, joining a list of only 10 other MLB pitchers to have allowed that many in a game.
Throughout the 2023 season, Mikolas has shown a vulnerability to home runs, having given up 26 in both of the previous two seasons. This year alone, he has already allowed 15 home runs in 87 1/3 innings.
The Cubs’ fireworks display fell just short of the all-time MLB record, which remains with the 1987 Toronto Blue Jays, who hit 10 homers in an 18-3 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. The dynamic performance of the Cubs not only marked a historic day for the franchise but also highlighted their potential as a formidable offensive team as they continue the season.