ST. PETERSBURGH, Fla. (AP) — Alex Bregman broke out of an 0-for13 slump with three hits and Javier Assad worked 5 2/3 shutout innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
The Cubs (5-6) banged out a season-best 16 hits and snapped a two-game skid. The Rays had their three-game winning streak halted in front of an announced crowd of 21,377 .
Both teams had some rotation chaos.
The Rays (5-6) were without scheduled starter Drew Rasmussen, whose wife went into labor with the couple’s second child hours before first pitch. Mason Englert (0-1) got the start and allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.
The Cubs announced before the game that after an MRI revealed UCL damage in his right elbow.
Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong had his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh inning, among his three hits. in the ninth was his first of the season.
Bregman’s last hit before Tuesday came Friday night. The 32-year-old Bregman, who signed a five-year contract with Chicago last winter, lined a single to left field in the first inning, led off the third with a double and started the fifth with a single.
Assad (1-0), stepping into the rotation for the injured Matthew Boyd, held the Rays to one hit and two walks into the sixth inning. Assad was recalled on Monday when with a left biceps strain. The Cubs have won six of Assad’s last seven starts dating to Aug. 17, 2025.
Up next
Cubs RHP Colin Rea (0-0, 4.26 ERA) will make his first start of the season Wednesday, stepping into Horton’s spot, in the series finale against Tampa Bay’s RHP Joe Boyle (0-0, 3.18 ERA).
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