Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (3/25/24): Cardinals 6, Cubs 3 – Cubs Lose Despite Suzuki Homers

The Cubs welcomed the rival Cardinals to Sloan Park for a very rare exhibition matchup Monday afternoon. Chicago built up a lead thanks to the red-hot Seiya Suzuki, but the bullpen melted down in the middle innings and St. Louis went on to win.

Suzuki started the scoring with a solo homer off of Steven Matz in the bottom of the 1st inning. Cubs starter Jordan Wicks gave up an RBI single to Masyn Winn in the 2nd to tie the game. That was the only run Wicks surrendered in four frames on Monday.

Michael Busch put Chicago back on top with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 2nd and Suzuki added his second home run of the afternoon in the 5th to make it 3-1. It was at that point that the relief corps sprung a leak.

Old friend Willson Contreras hit a game-tying two-run dinger against José Cuas in the 6th inning. Héctor Neris struggled again, allowing three runs in the 7th as the Cardinals grabbed a 6-3 advantage. That’s how things ended as the Cubs lost by that same score. (Box score)

Why the Cubs Lost

The bullpen gave up five runs late and it cost them the game.

Stats That Matter

• Suzuki finishes the spring with six home runs and a .459 batting average.
• Neris has been the exact opposite of Seiya, with an 11.74 ERA in Arizona.
• Cody Bellinger had two hits and a walk in a perfect day at the plate.

Bottom Line

The Cubs roster is set and Monday’s lineup is very likely to be the same as opening day Thursday. This was the dress rehearsal, there is one last exhibition game left but the starters will see little if any action in that one. The regular season marathon is set to begin.

On Deck

The Cubs’ final tuneup against the Cardinals is at Sloan Park Tuesday at 2:05pm CT. Shōta Imanaga gets the start and television coverage is available on Marquee.