CHICAGO (AP) — Michael Busch hit three home runs, Pete Crow-Armstrong connected twice and the Chicago Cubs went deep a franchise-record eight times in pounding the St. Louis Cardinals 11-3 on Friday for their fourth straight victory.
Busch finished 4 for 4 with five RBIs. Crow-Armstrong also went 4 for 4 and Dansby Swanson launched a two-run homer during a Cubs power barrage that had the crowd of 40,038 at Wrigley Field roaring.
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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas throws the ball against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch, right, is greeted by Dansby Swanson (7) after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch hits a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly added solo shots as the NL Central leaders hit six homers in the first three innings off Miles Mikolas (4-6), a record for most home runs off a Cardinals pitcher in one game. The eight longballs allowed by St. Louis also broke a club mark.
Brendan Donovan led off the fourth with a home run against Colin Rea, ending a 31-inning scoreless streak for the Cardinals. St. Louis, which dropped its fourth straight, was shut out in its three previous losses.
That was the only hit Rea (6-3) allowed in 6 2/3 innings, matching his longest outing this season.
Mikolas (4-6) was tagged for eight runs and 10 hits over six innings in losing his fourth in a row.
Suzuki drilled his team-leading 24th homer and Crow-Armstrong followed with his first of the game in the first. Busch and Kelly hit consecutive drives in the second, giving Chicago nine sets of back-to-back homers this season and a 4-0 lead.
Crow-Armstrong launched his 23rd homer off Wrigley Field’s right-field video board in the third. After Swanson singled, Busch hit the board with a two-run shot that made it 7-0.
Cubs infielder Jon Berti pitched the ninth and allowed two runs.
Busch pumped his hands to the crowd as he circled the bases after going deep in the seventh for his first career three-homer game.
It was Crow-Armstrong's fourth multihomer game this season and the fifth of his career. The 23-year-old center fielder was elected this week to start the All-Star Game.
LHP Matthew Liberatore (6-6, 3.70 ERA) pitches Saturday for the Cardinals. LHP Drew Pomeranz (2-1, 0.00) starts a bullpen game for the Cubs.
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St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas throws the ball against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch, right, is greeted by Dansby Swanson (7) after hitting a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong hits a home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
Chicago Cubs' Michael Busch hits a two-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the third inning of a baseball game Friday, July 4, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard around 2 a.m. local time Saturday in the capital, Caracas.
The Pentagon and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.
People in various neighborhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.
“The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes,” said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling. She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party. “We felt like the air was hitting us.”
Venezuela’s government, in the statement, called on its supporters to take to the streets.
“People to the streets!” the statement said. “The Bolivarian Government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilization plans and repudiate this imperialist attack.”
The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had “ordered all national defense plans to be implemented” and declared “a state of external disturbance.”
This comes as the U.S. military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the U.S. to combat drug trafficking.
Maduro also said in a pretaped interview aired Thursday that the U.S. wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.
Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the U.S. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes on boats in September.
U.S. President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The U.S. has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country’s economy.
The U.S. military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes is 35 and the number of people killed is at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.
They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation’s most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.
Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the U.S. and asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported on the explosions in Caracas on Saturday, showing images of the Venezuelan capital. Iran has been close to Venezuela for years, in part due to their shared enmity of the U.S.
A scorched area is seen at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro embrace in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Supporters display a poster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Pedestrians walk past the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Residents evacuate a building near the Miraflores presidential palace after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Smoke raises at La Carlota airport after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Pedestrians run after explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
