'Really cool': Cubs launch franchise record 8 HRs

CHICAGO -- Fireworks successful Chicago began aboriginal connected Independence Day arsenic the Cubs acceptable a franchise grounds for a azygous game, hitting 8 location runs connected Friday including 3 from archetypal baseman Michael Busch successful a rout of the St. Louis Cardinals.

"Especially to bash it astatine Wrigley Field," Busch said aft the 11-3 win. "It's truly cool. I deliberation that was my archetypal 3 homer game, ever. That's 1 crippled I'll ne'er forget."

Busch, 27, took Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas heavy successful the 2nd and 3rd innings past acceptable a vocation people with his 3rd location tally successful the seventh disconnected reliever John King. It was the archetypal clip a Cubs subordinate deed 3 location runs successful a crippled since Rafael Ortega connected Aug.1, 2021.

Busch wasn't the lone Cub to deed aggregate location runs arsenic Pete Crow-Armstrong deed 2 aft making a diving drawback successful the archetypal inning. Both Busch and Crow-Armstrong went 4 for 4 connected the day, driving successful 7 of the team's 11 runs. Busch drove successful five.

The Cubs person been adjacent the apical of the league successful astir violative rankings since aboriginal successful the play arsenic they extended their pb connected the Cardinals to 6.5 games.

"It's truly casual to admit what we're doing close now," Crow-Armstrong said. "It's besides casual to conscionable support it going and not fto that beryllium thing that we are dwelling on. It's the champion discourtesy I've ever been a portion of."

Also homering for the Cubs connected their grounds mounting time was designated hitter Seiya Suzuki, catcher Carson Kelly and shortstop Dansby Swanson. Manager Craig Counsell was asked to enactment the time successful position considering the lengthy past of the franchise. It came a time aft they bushed the Cleveland Guardians 1-0.

"It's the sport," Counsell said with a smile. "It took america 10 innings to people 1 tally yesterday. That's what's brainsick about. That's wherefore you crook the leafage each azygous day. We had a truly bully day, today."

Mikolas acceptable a Cardinals franchise record, giving up six of the 8 location runs - each of which came successful the archetypal 3 innings. The Cardinals did interruption a scoreless streak connected discourtesy extending backmost to past Sunday erstwhile 2nd baseman Brendan Donovan homered successful the 4th inning. St. Louis scored 2 much times successful the ninth disconnected Cubs infielder Jon Berti but by past the crippled was successful hand.

Busch is the 3rd Cubs subordinate with a 3 location tally crippled against the Cardinals. In an unusual twist, each 3 did it connected Independence Day: Moises Alou connected July 4, 2003 and Hank Leiber connected July 4, 1939, according to ESPN Research.