Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/22/26): Marlins 8, Cubs 2 F/12 – Failure to Execute Leads to Extras Loss
The Cubs had a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Marlins at Wrigley Field Tuesday night. The home team had countless scoring opportunities through 11 innings, but repeatedly came up short before the bullpen imploded in the final frame for a frustrating defeat.
Shōta Imanaga was good early before running into a jam in the top of the 4th, as Agustin Ramirez came through with an RBI single to give Miami a 1-0 lead. The road squad added another when Kyle Stowers hit a solo homer through the teeth of the wind off Aaron Civale in the top of the 6th.
Chicago could do nothing against starter Janson Junk but rallied against reliever Cade Gibson in the bottom of the 6th, putting runners on first and third with nobody out. Michael Busch hit a ground ball to first base with the infield in, then disaster struck for the Fish when catcher Joe Mack dropped the throw to the plate, allowing Pete Crow-Armstrong to score.
The Marlins switched pitchers at that point, and Ian Happ tied the game on an RBI single against Calvin Faucher. Neither team could score in the next three innings and the game moved to extra innings. The North Siders had the winning run in scoring position with a chance to walk off in the 9th, 10th, and 11th but failed to bring any of them home.
Miami finally broke through against Caleb Thielbar in the top of the 12th with RBI singles by Griffin Conine and Jakob Marsee. Edward Cabrera took over at that point and melted down, allowing four more runs as the Cubs lost 8-2. (Box score)
Key Moment
Chicago had runners on first and second with nobody out in the bottom of the 10th. Matt Shaw was asked to sacrifice and, for some reason, bunted at a pitch over his head that he weakly popped into the air. The next hitter, Happ, hit a fly ball to left field that would have been deep enough to bring home a runner from third.
Why the Cubs Lost
They went a staggering 1-for-18 with men in scoring position on Tuesday when even a single run would have won the game.
Stats That Matter
- Imanaga did a pretty good job, but the pitch count forced him out early: 5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 7 K, and 0 BB.
- Crow-Armstrong got on three times and stole base number 39.
- Seiya Suzuki had a double and a single.
Bottom Line
Even though they did not clinch Tuesday, the Cubs are going to make the playoffs and those games often come down to execution in the late innings. They are going to need to be better than they were in this one if they want to go on a run.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Wednesday night at 6:40pm CT. Kevin Gausman takes the hill against Ryan Gusto in a matchup broadcast on Marquee with radio coverage on The Score.
