Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishCHICAGO — What occurred at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon was the type of game that leaves jaws on the floor. The Cubs’ wild and unforgettable 13-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks was anything but your run-of-the-mill April game.“If you’ve seen that one,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said, “you’ve been around for a while.”A windy day at Wrigley oddly played like a pitchers’ duel for six and a half innings. Colin Rea and a trio of Cubs relievers had held a potent Diamondbacks lineup to just one run for seven frames. The Cubs, led by a two-run homer by Carson Kelly, clung to a one-run lead heading into the bottom half of the frame.
Cruise around the bases, Carson Kelly 😎 pic.twitter.com/Oun3TFB1my
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 18, 2025What happened over the next inning and a half was nearly impossible to describe. In less than an hour of baseball, the two teams traded blows, combining for 21 runs on 20 hits, including six home runs. The Cubs got punched in the jaw, blowing a six-run lead, only to counter, forcing Arizona to blow a four-run lead of its own.“It was crazy,” Counsell said. “We gave up 10 runs in an inning and won. It was a wild game. But we kept going. There’s 27 outs in a game, and this kind of proves it. You’re happy to just get out with a win.”The whiplash of emotions the Cubs and their fans experienced had to be unlike anything they’ve felt in recent memory. The Cubs tied a team record for combined runs scored in two innings (21), something they accomplished on September 4, 1893, against Baltimore at the West Side Grounds. That game was also one of two times, before Friday, that the Cubs allowed 10 runs in an inning and won. The other also occurred at the West Side Grounds in September of 1912.Wrigley Field has quite literally never seen a game like this.Rea started the game for the Cubs and held the Diamondbacks to just one run over 4 2/3 innings. It was his second consecutive impressive outing after entering the rotation following Justin Steele’s season-ending elbow injury. Caleb Thielbar, Brad Keller and Julian Merryweather held the Cubs’ tenuous lead through seven, and the Cubs’ bats extended the lead to 7-1 in the seventh, an inning that included an Ian Happ grand slam.
GRAND SLAM IAN HAPP. pic.twitter.com/wVnwyRHB6R
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 18, 2025“It was somewhat of a normal game until that bottom of the seventh,” Rea said. “Just kind of a roller coaster, but glad we could come out on top. Offensively we stuck with it and scratched off just enough runs to end the game with a W.”It seemed as though the Cubs would coast to an easy victory, but on a day like this at Wrigley against an offense like the Diamondbacks’ — a group that led baseball in runs last season and is second so far in 2025 — no assumptions should have been made.“They’re clearly a very nice offense,” Counsell said. “They proved it last year, and they’ve proven it the first 20-something games this year. It’s tough to get outs against them.”Chaos broke out in the eighth. Jordan Wicks, called up earlier in the day, gave up three straight singles to start the frame, and Counsell quickly pulled him in favor of Porter Hodge. Hodge has been brilliant this season, but had his worst outing of the year.The righty gave up a grand slam to Eugenio Suárez, the third baseman’s sixth homer of the year and fifth against the Cubs. He then got an out, gave up a walk, a single, struck out a batter and allowed an RBI single that reduced the Cubs’ lead to one. Hodge seemed to be out of the inning when he induced a grounder to third, but the high-hopper went under Gage Workman’s glove and into left field for a what was ruled a double that scored the tying and go-ahead runs for the Diamondbacks.Ethan Roberts would eventually relieve Hodge and give up a three-run shot of his own, seemingly sinking the Cubs.“We didn’t pitch well in the eighth,” Counsell said. “We didn’t play good defense in the eighth. I can’t blame the weather, frankly. It was a lot of hard-hit baseballs. They did a nice job, and we couldn’t stop the damage.”The game felt eerily similar to one earlier in the season in Phoenix when the Cubs’ bullpen turned a 6-2 lead into a 10-6 deficit in a disastrous eighth inning. This time, though, the Cubs’ offense did not stop.It helped that a wind blowing out at 11 mph at first pitch picked up throughout the game. The Cubs quickly got two batters on and up came Kelly, who slugged his second homer of the day — his sixth of the season — and pulled the Cubs to within one. Three batters later, Kyle Tucker rocketed a 107.3 mph laser to right that put the Cubs up a run. Seiya Suzuki followed with another long ball, and Ryan Pressly came in for the ninth to close out the victory.
KING IN THE NORTH! KING IN THE NORTH! KING IN THE NORTH! pic.twitter.com/tuSE7joL0I
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 18, 2025Tucker, not one to delve too deeply into his feelings with the media, provided the understatement of the year by suggesting the game was “a little wild” and that “it’s baseball.” Others felt more emotional about it all.“Awesome,” Kelly said of the feeling in the dugout when they got the lead. “It really is. We’ve done it a few times this year where we’ve been down and come out with a big inning. That’s the name of the game: Score more than they do.”As good as Tucker (1.3) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (1.2) have been this season, it’s Kelly who leads the team in WAR (1.4, FanGraphs). The trio is in the top 10 in baseball, with Kelly and Crow-Armstrong almost certainly proving to be the most potent 8-9 hitters in the game.“Incredible production at the bottom of the lineup,” Counsell said. “We’ve been so good with Pete and Carson at the bottom of the lineup. They’ve really impacted us offensively for sure.”Happ has played at Wrigley Field long enough to know that the two runs the Cubs had through six innings wouldn’t be enough. He’s seen those flags blown taut toward the lake before. Even breathing easy with a six-run lead wasn’t in the cards. But he also trusted this team not to quit and to put up a fight.That the Diamondbacks’ bullpen was taxed and their best relievers down for the day was to the Cubs’ benefit. It’s unlikely Hodge has many days like Friday down the road, so perhaps Counsell can feel some semblance of calm regarding his bullpen. Wicks’ quick hook and issues can be discussed another day. Against a top lineup, Wrigley Field played like an offensive haven Friday.“I can’t imagine any other team is coming to their home park checking Lake Shore Drive on the way up,” Happ said. “Seeing whether the waves are crashing or calm. It can play two different ways. We’ll see what she brings tomorrow.”Who knows what happens the rest of the way, but the Cubs won a game few will forget. Despite some obvious flaws, they continue to stack wins and remain in first place while going toe-to-toe with the very best in the National League. Had the Cubs lost this game, it certainly would have felt like one they could be looking back at in September and kicking themselves. Instead, it could turn into the type of win that helps propel them in a fun and exciting summer that leads to fall baseball once again at Wrigley Field.(Photo of Kyle Tucker: Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
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