BOX SCORE

The Chicago Cubs have played some very wild games in 2025. Tuesday night’s 14-5, 11-inning loss to the Giants was not one of those up until the bottom of the ninth.

That final score may not make it seem very wild, either.

The Giants jumped out to a 4-0 lead early, and at 5-3 in the ninth inning, the game looked to be theirs for the taking. The Cubs got their golden opportunity and did what they do best to send the game to extras.

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But while it could have been a fairytale, Ryan Pressly had a nightmare outing in the bottom of the 11th, allowing eight runs on five hits without recording an out.

Here are three takeaways as the Cubs (22-15) ultimately fell to the Giants (23-14).

Cardiac Cubs

Crazy comebacks have started to become the norm for this Cubs team.

At first, Tuesday night looked to be a standard loss as the Cubs trailed the Giants 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. 

Then, everything changed. 

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Pete Crow-Armstrong and Carson Kelly drew walks, bringing pinch hitter Justin Turner up with one out. Turner, perhaps best known for his walk-off against the Cubs in the 2017 NLCS, activated his clutch gene to bring the Cubs within one with an RBI single.

Ian Happ then struck out, leaving the Cubs down to their last out.

Enter Kyle Tucker, who they call “King” for a reason. Tucker punched the first pitch he saw into the outfield to tie the game. The Cubs had staged another comeback. 

Porter Hodge shut down the heart of the Giants’ order in the top of the 10th, but the Cubs could not come through in the bottom half of the frame.

Pressly’s outing in the 11th highlighted the Cubs’ need for more high-leverage arms to step up. As much as the offense tries, coming back from nine runs down in one inning is a mountain that not even the Cardiac Cubs can climb.

E5 E5 E5 E5 E5 E5 E5 E5

The Cubs entered Tuesday’s game with seven errors committed at third base, a number tied with four other teams for the league lead. They added an eighth early in the game.

In the second inning, the Giants’ Heliot Ramos hit a squibbler down the third base line with Jon Berti at the hot corner for the Cubs. As Matt Chapman charged towards home, Berti could not transfer the ball to his throwing hand fast enough before making an errant throw to Michael Busch at first base.

Lamonte Wade Jr. advanced to third on the error and eventually scored to put the Giants up 2-0 early. 

The Cubs have had a rotating list of names taking the field at third after Matt Shaw’s demotion to Triple-A. Nicky Lopez has looked solid at the position, making a diving stop in each of his past two starts. However, like his current counterparts, Lopez is not the power-hitting archetype that is commonplace for third basemen in MLB. 

Currently, Berti, Lopez and Vidal Bruján have shared that responsibility at the hot corner, but the lack of a consistent option out there every day is becoming more and more of a problem for Chicago. On a positive note, Shaw is enjoying success in Iowa and there is reason to believe he could be back with the Cubs sooner rather than later.

Kneeling under the radar

Miguel Amaya and Kelly have shared the spotlight behind the plate this season, and for good reason — both have been producing consistently on offense.

Kelly continued his hot streak as he hit his eighth home run of the season in Monday’s 9-2 win, and then Amaya picked up right where his tandem partner left off on Tuesday by adding a two-run jack in the third inning — his third of the season. Amaya is now slashing .257/.284/.471 (.755 OPS) in 70 at-bats this year. 

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Aside from his offense, Amaya has been very trustworthy behind the dish. The Cubs have only allowed 13 stolen bases this season, good enough for the second-fewest in the league. Amaya has also caught three of the five stolen base attempts on him this year, and his caught stealing above average number (2) is sixth-best among qualified catchers in MLB. 

Wednesday’s series finale will be a quick turnaround at 1:20 p.m. CT. The Cubs will look to take the rubber match with Ben Brown (3-2, 4.88 ERA) taking the mound opposite 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray (4-0, 3.05 ERA).