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The Rays dropped the final two games of their first home series back at the Trop against the Cubs, undone by a quiet offense and some uncharacteristically poor defense. An off day gives the position player group a chance to reset – both cleaning up defensive miscues and settling back in at the plate – […]
Hey Moon Man! That was hella funny. The Cubs played the rubber game against the Rays, hoping to help themselves to the meatloaf. Everyone (except Injured List residents) was in the best shape of their lives, tanned, rested, ready, with the redoubtable Seiya Suzuki due to return for Friday’s home game. Ian Happ stayed out […]
Through four innings, this was an enjoyable game. Joe Boyle and Colin Rea took two different approaches attacking hitters as each limited the other side to just one run. Boyle made an early mistake missing his location on a putaway sweeper that Nico Hoerner converted into a leadoff home run, but then Boyle quickly rebounded […]
Go get ‘em, Colin.
Go Rays!
Wednesday notes… Cubs lineup: Rays lineup: Colin Rea, RHP vs. Joe Boyle, RHP For the second year in a row, Colin Rea is being asked to step into the rotation to replace an injured starter. Last year in place of Justin Steele, Rea was really good. Over his first seven starts after taking Steele’s rotation […]
Cubs 6, Rays 2: Nico Hoerner’s three hits and first homer lead the way 2026 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 12 Cubs vs. Rays, Wednesday 4/8, 5:40 CT live! Chicago Cubs vs. Tampa Bay Rays preview, Wednesday 4/8, 5:40 CT
Up until Monday afternoon, Rays RHP Drew Rasmussen was the probable starter for tonight’s matchup against the Cubs — probable. His wife Stevie went into labor early with their second child and the Rays had a bullpen game. A 16-hit day and 9-2 drubbing was the result. Mason Englert, Cole Sulser, and Yoendrys Gomez got […]
Coming into Tuesday night’s game, the Cubs were third in all of MLB in hard-hit rate, trailing only the Dodgers and Rangers. Here’s what it looked like before the game: You knew that eventually some of those hard hit balls would start falling in for hits, and that’s what happened Tuesday in Tropicana Field. The […]
Go get ‘em, Javier.
Go Rays!
In action, Kevin Cash appears to have finally cemented what we have been championing since January on the site. Forget what the team says about Closer by Committee, there is one closer and his name is Bryan Baker. Baker earned his first save in a Rays uniform yesterday, at the home opener for Tropicana Field’s […]
Tuesday notes… Cubs lineup: Rays lineup: Javier Assad, RHP vs. Mason Englert, RHP Today was supposed to be Matthew Boyd’s rotation turn, but as you likely know, he went in the injured list yesterday with a bicep strain. Hopefully he won’t be out too long. With Javier Assad, you know what you’re getting — five, […]
Cubs 9, Rays 2: At last, some hard-hit baseballs go for Cubs hits Cubs vs. Rays, Tuesday 4/7, 5:40 CT live! Chicago Cubs vs. Tampa Bay Rays preview, Tuesday 4/7, 5:40 CT
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The Cubs took advantage of a wild inning from Shane McClanahan in the second inning and plated two runs. It felt like it could have been more and they let the Rays off of the hook. Then in the bottom of the inning, a single and a couple of steals were followed by a batting […]
The Rays played all last season in the home run prone Steinbrenner Field, and made their return to the pitcher-friendly Tropicana Field by….hitting three home runs. They won their home opener against the Chicago Cubs 6-4. Let’s start with the bad news. Anyone who had the wild fantasy that Shane McClanahan would return after over […]
Remember last year, when the Cubs bats were on fire for most of the first half? Yeah, me too. Remember last year, when the Cubs bullpen was solid for most of the year? Yeah, me too. Neither of those things is going well for the Cubs so far in 2026, and those were the primary […]
Go get ‘em, Jamo.
We made it home! Go Rays!
Monday notes… Cubs lineup: Rays lineup: Jameson Taillon, RHP vs. Shane McClanahan, RHP Jameson Taillon’s ERA shows 0.00, which is good! I wouldn’t exactly call his first 2026 start “good,” though. He walked four and threw 85 pitches and didn’t complete the fifth inning. Still, it was better than his awful Spring Training. So that’s […]
2026 Cubs Heroes and Goats: Game 10 Rays 6, Cubs 4: Not enough hitting or relief pitching Cubs vs. Rays, Monday 4/6, 3:10 CT live! Chicago Cubs vs. Tampa Bay Rays preview, Monday 4/6, 3:10 CT
The Cubs continue their early-season interleague tour through American League divisions. They began with an AL West club (Angels), played an AL Central team (Guardians) over the weekend, and now it’s an AL East matchup with the Rays, who come into this series with the same record as the Cubs — 4-5. But Tampa Bay […]
There has been plenty of discussion surrounding Kevin Cash’s lineup decisions. Cash addressed those concerns recently, noting that the team expects to experiment with different lineups throughout the season. Much of the focus has centered on Chandler Simpson’s place in the order and Junior Caminero’s lack of traditional lineup protection. It’s not a matter of […]
Welcome to week 2 of our 2026 NL Central Power Rankings — let’s rank some teams! 1. Milwaukee Brewers (7-2); 4-2 this week; 57.2% chance to make postseason (FanGraphs) The Brewers stayed hot with two more series wins against interleague opponents this week, taking two of three from both the Rays and Royals to improve […]