TAMPA, Fla. — The margins for the Cubs are thin.
Given the rash of pitching injuries to rotation starters Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton, combined with the offense getting off to a slow start, the Cubs’ pitching staff is stretched especially thin, and they just don’t have much room for error.
The Cubs’ offense was more productive than it had been in Monday’s 6-4 loss to the Rays, but it still left some runs on the table. In the second inning, the Cubs put runners on first and second after back-to-back walks by Michael Busch and Dansby Swanson.
But instead of a big inning, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Matt Shaw proceeded to strike out. Miguel Amaya drew a walk to load the bases and keep the inning alive, and then Nico Hoerner delivered with a two-run scoring single.
Instead of piling on, Alex Bregman popped out to end the inning. The Cubs had Rays starter Shane McClanahan on the ropes but were unable to knock him out of the game. He went four innings, allowing two runs on one hit with five strikeouts and four walks.
“We needed to win one more at-bat,” manager Craig Counsell said. “The next inning we hit three balls really good and got nothing for it. [McClanahan] got through it, and then we just didn’t do much against their bullpen.”
The Cubs’ offense finished with four hits and four walks.
“I thought a lot of the guys put together good at-bats,” Bregman told the Sun-Times. “We haven’t really played our best baseball early, but we got to flip a switch and start playing better.”
The Cubs are 4-6 and dealing with injuries to their top two rotation starters. It’s still April, so it’s too early to panic, but some consternation is warranted and the Cubs have show a sense of urgency soon.
The Cubs were also unlucky on Monday; they had some well-struck balls that didn’t fall for hits. In the third, Ian Happ and Carson Kelly both had hard-hit flyouts with expected batting averages of .370 and .540, respectively.
Luck is not in the Cubs’ favor. Already reeling due to injuries, the offense can’t seem to get any good fortune, but they must find a way to produce more runs to support its depleted pitching staff.
“We have very good hitters,” Counsell said. “Some of them are not succeeding right now, [but] they will … in a big way. And on top of that, we’re light on some breaks. But you got to put more runs on the board to win baseball games.”
Horton update
Horton got imaging done on his forearm on Monday in Chicago. From there, the Cubs and Horton can assess the next steps.
The club will know more about the results over the next couple of days. Horton was arguably the team’s best pitcher in the second half of the 2025 season, posting a 1.03 ERA in the second half.
Welcome back, Tropicana Field
For the first time in 561 days, the Rays hosted a proper home game after Hurricane Milton destroyed the roof at Tropicana Field.
The city of St. Petersburg invested $60 million not only to repair the stadium but also to refurbish it. The stadium now sports artificial turf, an upgraded video board and refreshed clubhouse carpets.
