Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/7/26): Cubs 9, Rays 2 – Assad, Offense Have Big Night at Trop

The Cubs finally got their offense going on Tuesday night in Tampa Bay after a very slow start to 2026. That hitting prowess combined with a very good starting pitching effort to hand the Rays a defeat and even the series.

Chicago got the scoring underway against spot-starter Mason Englert in the top of the 2nd with an RBI single by Michael Conforto, followed by a double off the bat of Matt Shaw that brought home another run. A throwing error on a Pete Crow-Armstrong stolen base and a Moisés Ballesteros sacrifice fly gave the road team a 4-0 advantage in the top of the 3rd.

Javier Assad made his first appearance of the season for the North Siders and did an outstanding job, not allowing any runs into the 6th inning. After a Nico Hoerner RBI groundout in the top of that inning, PCA connected on his first home run of the season when he had a solo shot in the 7th to increase the lead to 6-0.

Hoerner singled home another run in the 8th inning, but Tampa got two back in the bottom of the frame against Phil Maton to cut the deficit down to 7-2. Ballesteros increased the margin back to seven with a two-run homer in the 9th as the Cubs won 9-2. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs kept adding on throughout the game to make sure there was no comeback possibility in the final innings.

Why the Cubs Won

Pitching was excellent and they got more than enough from the lineup to make it an easy victory.

Stats That Matter

• Assad retired the first 12 hitters he faced and was very sharp: 5.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 K, and 2 BB.
• Alex Bregman had three hits, including a double, after a pretty slow start.
• Conforto reached base four times.
• PCA had three hits and a couple of stolen bases.

Bottom Line

Tuesday looked like the offense Chicago was hoping for before the season, and they are very capable of doing that on a consistent basis. With Cade Horton going down for the year, the Cubs could definitely use this version of Assad the rest of the season.

On Deck

The rubber match of the series is Wednesday night at 5:40pm CT. Colin Rea goes up against Joe Boyle in a game broadcast on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.