Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/6/26): Rays 6, Cubs 4 – Tampa Powers Way to Victory
The Cubs’ recent struggles continued as they lost the first game of the series against the Rays on Monday afternoon. The pitching staff was once again victimized by the home run ball, giving up three more and getting only one from their own lineup.
Chicago went up in the top of the 2nd after Tampa starter Shane McClanahan walked the bases loaded and Nico Hoerner hit a two-run single. Jameson Taillon gave that advantage right back in the bottom of the frame, allowing a two-run homer to Cedric Mullins, followed by a Dansby Swanson throwing error that brought in the go-ahead tally and gave the home team a 3-2 edge.
Junior Caminero increased the Rays’ margin to 4-2 with a long homer off of Taillon in the bottom of the 3rd. The North Siders cut the deficit down to 4-3 with a sacrifice fly by Michael Busch in the top of the 6th.
Tampa got critical insurance in the 7th inning when Jonathan Aranda hit a two-run shot against Phil Maton to make the score 6-3. Matt Shaw hit a solo homer in the 9th, but it was not enough as Chicago went down to a 6-4 defeat. (Box score)
Key Moment
The home run in the 7th turned out to be the winning margin in the game.
Why the Cubs Lost
The hitters continued to struggle and the home run ball proved very costly.
Stats That Matter
- Not a bad effort for Taillon, who gave his team some innings: 6 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 K, and 0 BB.
- Ian Happ doubled and walked on Monday.
Bottom Line
Now dealing with a pair of key pitching injuries, the Cubs need to step up offensively to pick up the slack. If they don’t, this mediocre start may begin going downhill at a more rapid rate.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Tuesday night at 5:40pm CT. Javier Assad takes on Drew Rasmussen in a matchup available on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
