After homer flips script, fielding errors wipe away lead in Cardinals' loss to Cubs

Daniel Guerrero, St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Jul 5, 2026

Published in Baseball

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CHICAGO — Holding a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth inning thanks to a three-run homer by All-Star Jordan Walker that erased the Chicago Cubs’ 2-0 lead, shaky fielding cost the St. Louis Cardinals their chance to compete a sweep Sunday at Wrigley Field.

Trouble in the bottom of the sixth began brewing for the Cardinals two batters into the frame and boiled over once the fifth batter stepped up to the plate. On a ground ball that could have resulted in an inning-ending double play that would’ve kept the game tied 3-3, third baseman Jose Fermin’s throw to second base missed wide of JJ Wetherholt and the second base bag, prolonging the inning long enough for the Cubs to score three more runs and leave the Cardinals with a 6-4 loss.

Fermin’s wide throw allowed one run to score. In the next at-bat, a throw to third base from Walker on a sacrifice fly from Pedro Ramirez was not knocked down by Fermin and instead bounced into the dugout, allowing two runs to score on the play.

The Cardinals (47-40) opened the bottom half of the sixth inning with starter Matthew Liberatore on the mound after he settled in to complete four scoreless innings following a two-run first frame. He could not record an out, leading manager Oli Marmol to turn to Matt Svanson with no outs and runners on first and second base.

Svanson began his outing by allowing Nico Hoerner to single. The hit scored the game-tying run but kept runners on first and second base, which, after a pop out from Ian Happ in the following at-bat, put the Cardinals a double-play ball away from exiting the inning with limited damage.

The Cardinals got the contact they were looking for but could not capitalize on the chance.

The inability to leave the inning tied left the Cardinals one game shy of completing a sweep of the Cubs after Walker powered them to a lead with his 20th homer of the season and his 64th, 65th and 66th RBIs of his All-Star campaign.

The Cardinals scored a run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Walker but could not string together enough offense to overcome the four-run inning that saw three runs score after Fermin’s throw that sailed out of Wetherholt’s reach.

Walker counters Counsell’s call to ’pen

With two Cardinals on base, Chicago holding a 2-0 lead and the Cardinals’ All-Star right fielder due up, Cubs manager Craig Counsell made his second call to the bullpen to play the matchup vs. the righty Walker.

Counsell lifted left-hander Ryan Rolison, who replaced starter Javier Assad with two outs in the fifth inning, and brought in right-hander Tyler Ferguson. Ferguson had completed five scoreless innings in his previous five outings and kept right-handed hitters to one hit in 19 at-bats this season.

Walker collected the second.

The 23-year-old right fielder took a fastball for Strike 1, then pulled an elevated sweeper to right field for a three-run homer that traveled 409 feet.

Walker’s homer flipped Sunday’s finale by giving the Cardinals a 3-2 lead that was eventually erased and marked the 20th of his season. The homer made Walker the second Cardinal in team history with 20 or more plus 10 or more stolen bases before the All-Star break. He joined Albert Pujols (2009) as the only players in team history to accomplish the feat.

Libby's laboring inning

It took Liberatore 26 pitches to collect the first three outs of his outing.

Over that stretch, the lefty surrendered two hits, hit two batters and issued a walk. The shaky command forced him to face eight batters and led to two runs that gave the Cubs their first lead of the weekend series.

The lengthy inning began quickly with Liberatore allowing Pete Crow-Armstrong to single on a cutter left over the middle of the plate on the second pitch of that at-bat. It began to lengthen with a seven-pitch sequence to Alex Bregman that ended with Bregman driving a slider to the right-center field gap for the Cubs’ first run since the seventh inning on Friday.

Although a ball was not put in play by any of the next three hitters, Liberatore found himself in a bases-loaded situation once Hoerner, the Cubs’ No. 6 hitter, stepped in to face him.

Liberatore limited the damage in the sticky situation created by a walk to Carson Kelly and a sinker that hit Michael Busch to one run. That came on a sacrifice fly by Hoerner.

Leaving them loaded

The Cardinals created a scoring chance that could have responded the Cubs’ two-run first inning.

The Cardinals had Walker reach base with a walk to open the frame, followed by two hits and a walk from three of the next four hitters. However, a base running error limited the Cardinals' chances to scratch across a run.

During Lars Nootbaar’s at-bat with Walker on first base and no outs in the inning, Walker broke early on a steal attempt and was tagged out at second base after Assad stepped off the rubber and down to second base.

Following a flyout from Nootbaar, the Cardinals received back-to-back singles from Masyn Winn and Nathan Church, then loaded the bases with a walk from Fermin that brought Bryan Torres to the plate.

The threat ended with Torres popping out.

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