Cardinals Crush Cubs 17-1 at Wrigley for 3rd-Biggest Rout in 125 Years

Q: Does this 16-run blowout signal a major power shift in the historic Cardinals-Cubs rivalry?

Not by itself. The 17-1 rout is a striking data point, but one game—even the Cardinals’ third-largest win margin in the rivalry—does not prove a lasting transfer of power. What it does show is that St. Louis is the better club right now. The Cardinals are 54-32, sit atop the NL Central, and have paired a young, improving lineup with strong defense and enough pitching to win consistently. Friday’s game reflected real strengths, not fluke sequencing alone: St. Louis drew walks, set a franchise record with 13 two-out RBIs, got production throughout the order, and received 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Andre Pallante, whose season has strengthened his All-Star case. It also exposed how badly the Cubs are struggling. Chicago is 7-21 over its last 28 games, has lost 10 games in the standings during that slide, and has been weak on both sides of the ball, with a .213/.304/.334 team slash line and a 5.17 staff ERA in that stretch. Friday looked as much like a snapshot of a Cubs collapse as a Cardinals takeover. The broader rivalry still resists a one-day verdict. The Cubs retain the narrow all-time regular-season edge, and the Cardinals entered 2026 in what was supposed to be a rebuild, making their rise more surprising than preordained. If St. Louis sustains this over the second half and turns it into a division title while Chicago continues to fade, then the conversation about a genuine shift becomes much stronger.

3 articles · Updated · St. Louis Post-Dispatch · Jul 3

St. Louis built an 11-0 lead by the fourth inning and stretched it to 17-0, scoring in every inning from the second through the seventh before Chicago finally got on the board.
David Peterson, making his first start for the Cubs after a recent trade, gave up 10 runs as Nathan Church and Masyn Winn launched early home runs that broke the game open.
Andre Pallante carried the shutout for 5 2/3 innings, allowing five hits to earn his 10th win before the All-Star break—the first Cardinals starter to do that since 2018.
The Cardinals finished with 13 two-out RBIs, their most in a game since at least 1961, while rookie Blaze Jordan logged his first three-hit game in the majors.
The 16-run margin was St. Louis' third-largest over Chicago in at least 125 years and came one game after the Cubs had crushed San Diego 22-3.