Starting Lineups:

Chicago (5-6):

1) Nico Hoerner (R) 2B
2) Michael Busch (L) 1B
3) Alex Bregman (R) 3B
4) Pete Crow-Armstrong (L) CF
5) Miguel Amaya (R) C
6) Moisés Ballesteros (L) DH
7) Dansby Swanson (R) SS
8) Michael Conforto (L) LF
9) Matt Shaw (R) RF

SP: Javier Assad (0-0)

Tampa Bay (5-6):

1) Yandy Díaz (R) DH
2) Jonathan Aranda (L) 1B
3) Jake Fraley (L) RF
4) Junior Caminero (R) 3B
5) Chandler Simpson (L) LF
6) Cedric Mullins (L) CF
7) Nick Fortes (R) C
8) Richie Palacios (L) 2B
9) Taylor Walls (S) SS

SP: Mason Englert (0-0, 12.00 ERA)

St. Petersburg, FL — In the first series (Game 2 against the Cubs) at Tropicana Field since Hurricane Milton damaged the roof in 2024, Chicago used relentless offense and strong starting pitching to win the game, 9-2 over Tampa Bay.

Javier Assad – photo courtesy of MLB.com.

The Cubs opened the scoring in the top of the second inning with a double by Dansby Swanson. One batter later, an RBI single was ripped into right field by Michael Conforto, making it 1-0. Matt Shaw kept the line moving with an RBI double into left field, making it 2-0 Cubs.

Worth noting: the Cubs had two ABS challenges in the second frame, both of which were successfully overturned, keeping the inning alive.

The offense continued to fire on all cylinders in the top of the 3rd.

Alex Bregman led off the inning with a double, his second hit of the day. The next batter, Pete Crow Armstrong, followed up with a single. PCA attempted to steal second, did so successfully, and an E-2 allowed Bregman to score, making it 3-0 Cubs. On the Error, PCA advanced to third. One batter later, Moisés Ballestersos hit a sac fly to center field, making it 4-0 Chicago.

Chicago scored again on a fielder’s choice in the top of the sixth, with the ball batted by Nico Hoerner, to take a 5-0 lead.

PCA added another run at the top of the seventh with a scorching home run to right field, his first of the year, making it 6-0 Chicago.

The Cubs kept piling on, adding another run in the top of the eighth with an RBI single from Nico Hoerner, making it 7-0.

The Cubs ended their scoring with a two-run blast from Ballesteros, his first of the season (1 HR), to make it a rout, 9-2, in the top of the 9th inning.

Tampa got on the board in the bottom of the 8th inning, after Maton surrendered an RBI double to Jonathan Aranda, making it 7-1. Pinch hitter Ryan Vilade smoked a ball off Maton’s arm to plate another run, bringing the game to 7-2 Chicago.

Chicago chased Ray’s starter, Englert, from the game in 3 and two-thirds innings after he gave up 3 earned runs on 7 hits. He was replaced by reliever RHP Cole Sulser from the bullpen.

Chicago’s starter, Javier Assad (1-0, 0.00 ERA), pitched 5 and two-thirds scoreless innings, striking out 3 and only surrendering 1 hit on his way to earning his first win of the season. He was called up to the Majors after starter Cade Horton hit the IL with a season-ending elbow injury.

Assad was replaced by LHP Hoby Milner. Milner tossed an inning and a third scoreless, giving up just two hits before giving way to RHP Phil Maton. Maton gave up two runs over two-thirds of an inning. Lefty Caleb Theilbar came into the game and pitched a third of an inning. RHP Jacob Webb finished the game off, pitching a scoreless 9th inning.

The Good: The Cubs’ hitting. Regarding hitting, they were consistent with their approach at the plate, picking each other up across the batting order and hitting the ball hard to the gaps. The team had 16 hits.

Worth noting — there were five different Cubs with at least two hits in the game. Alex Bregman and Pete Crow Armstrong led the team with 3 hits apiece.

The Bad/The Ugly: Tampa Bay’s starting pitching — the Rays starter, Mason Englert, didn’t make it out of the fourth inning after giving up 4 runs, 3 of them earned. That said, he did lower his ERA from 12.00 to 9.45.

Chicago and Tampa conclude their 3-game series on 4/8 with a 5:40 PM first pitch.

-Matt Koper

Founder of Koper’s Korner