Rangers Drop Series Finale to Cubs

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

March 31, 2024

Cubs 9, Rangers 5

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Mar 31) — The Texas Rangers did not find a series sweep in their baskets, as they lost to the Chicago Cubs, 9–5, on Easter Sunday. A three-run homer by Christopher Morel, plus several walks at the hand of Rangers closer Jose Leclerc in the ninth, helped the Cubs avoid the sweep. From here, the Rangers head to St. Petersburg, Florida to begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The first game of that set will be on Monday at Tropicana Field, with first pitch scheduled for 5:50 pm Central. It will be a matchup of righties as Ryan Pepiot will start for the Rays, and Dane Dunning will get the ball for the Rangers.

Another Quick Start for Cubs

The Cubs came out swinging on getaway day at Globe Life Field. After a leadoff 4–3 groundout by Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki singled to center off Rangers starter Jon Gray. Cody Bellinger followed that up with a walk. On deck was Morel, who gave the Cubs an early 3–0 lead with his home run to left-center.

The Rangers chipped away in the bottom of the second off Cubs starter Jordan Wicks. Rangers catcher Andrew Knizner reached on an error by the shortstop. Two batters later, Evan Carter and Leody Taveras were both issued free passes by Wicks. Up next was Marcus Semien, who scored Knizner and Carter with a single to left.

The Cubs made it 5–2 in the top of the fourth. Gray walked Mike Tauchman, who advanced to second on a single to center by Miguel Amaya. Moments later, Happ drove both of them home with a double to center.

The Rangers answered back in the bottom of the fourth. After a leadoff single by Jared Walsh, Carter reached base on a fielder’s choice. Two batters later, a double to left by Semien sent Walsh home to make it 5–3 in favor of the Cubs. Wyatt Langford was due up next, and he did not disappoint his growing fan base. He tied the game with a triple to center that scored both Carter and Semien.

Late Inning Struggles for Leclerc

The Rangers brought in Leclerc to start the ninth in hopes that he could keep it tied. He seemed to be on the right track, as he got Dansby Swanson to fly out to center to start the inning. On deck was Michael Busch, who drew a walk. Busch advanced to second on an infield single to third by Nico Hoerner. Leclerc issued another free pass to Tauchman. On the next play, Miles Mastrobuoni grounded into a force out in which Semien threw Busch out at home.

Hoerner scored on the next play, as Happ walked. At that point, manager Bruce Bochy had seen enough. He brought in Jacob Latz from the bullpen. The score quickly became 8–5 as Suzuki drove in Tauchman and Mastrobuoni with a single to left.

Cody Bellinger was responsible for the Cubs’ final run of the afternoon. He plated Happ with an infield single to second, thus foiling the Rangers’ bid for a perfect record of 162–0.

What Went Right for the Cubs

The Cubs never really stopped scoring the entire game, and it started with the home run by Morel in the first. They also kept the ball on the ground and were able to score on several base hits. The late-inning walks helped as well. It also helped that they didn’t have to deal with shortstop Corey Seager, who had four hits the night before. Seager was given the afternoon off to rest, as he is still healing from the offseason surgery he had for a sports hernia. Bochy most likely didn’t want to rush him along.

What Went Wrong for the Cubs

The Rangers scored just as easily as the Cubs did in the early innings. Marcus Semien drove in several of those runs. There was also the two-run triple by Langford that hurt the Cubs’ cause.

Gray’s Afternoon

Rangers right-hander Jon Gray avoided the loss in his season debut despite exiting with two outs in the fourth and the Rangers trailing, 5–2. His final line was 3 2/3 IP, 7 H, 5 R-4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 67 pitches/34 strikes. Gray threw 34 of 67 (50.75%) pitches for strikes, easily the lowest strike percentage of any outing in his Rangers career (min. 50 pitches). His previous low was 56.52% on 4/21/23 against the Oakland Athletics (92 pitches/52 strikes).

The relief duo of José Ureña (2 1/3 IP) and Yerry Rodríguez (2 IP) combined to fire 4 1/3 scoreless frames in their respective season debuts. The Rangers had four games in which multiple relievers logged 2+ IP in 2023 (last 6/14/23 against the Los Angeles Angels — Grant Anderson and Josh Sborz). The four runs (all earned) charged to Leclerc in the top of the ninth snapped a streak of 9 1/3 consecutive scoreless frames by Rangers relievers. That streak dated back to the 10th inning of the Rangers’ 4–3 victory on Opening Day.

Wicks’ Tricks

Cubs lefty Jordan Wicks made his first start of the 2024 campaign on Sunday. It was the eighth start/appearance of his career. At 24 years, 212 days, the southpaw became the youngest Cubs hurler to start one of the club’s first three games of a season since Carlos Zambrano (23–307) on 4/4/05 against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Opening Day. He’s also the youngest such lefty since Ken Holtzman (24-157) on 4/9/70 against the Philadelphia Phillies. Wicks did not factor in the decision of Sunday’s contest, exiting after four innings. His line was 5 H, 5 R-2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. In 2023, he finished five or more innings in five of his seven outings and only walked 3+ batters twice. Reliever Hector Neris got the win for the Cubs after pitching the eighth inning in which he gave up one hit and struck out two.

Counsell’s Moment

Craig Counsell earned his first win as the Cubs skipper Sunday, marking the 708th managerial win of his career. Entering play on Sunday, Counsell ranked 100th on Major League Baseball’s all-time managerial wins list and seventh among active skippers. Counsell, who was named the 56th manager in Cubs history on November 6, 2023, managed the Milwaukee Brewers from 2015-23, going 707–625 (.531) in 1,332 regular season games.

Postgame Comments

Since everyone else has been talking about him for months, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy decided to take his turn to gush over outfielder Wyatt Langford. “He smoked that triple, showed his speed on that,” Bochy said. “He’s just doing a real nice job. I compare him to [fellow rookie Evan Carter]. The both of them, they’re just mature beyond their years. It’s pretty impressive really at their age to have a discipline [that] they do at the plate. Wyatt, he just has that sense of belonging up there and that’s what you love about him. He’s getting a lot of attention, but he’s handling everything so well.”