The Cubs and the Rays played the second game of their series Saturday afternoon as the retiring Anthony Rizzo was being honored at Wrigley Field. The roles were reversed from the outcome on Friday, with Chicago building a 3-0 lead and Tampa rallying back to win.
Moisés Ballesteros hit his first career home run against Drew Rasmussen to give the North Siders a 1-0 advantage in the 2nd inning. Dansby Swanson expanded on the lead with a two-run double in the bottom of the 4th to make it 3-0.
Colin Rea pitched well early but allowed a triple to Bob Seymour in the top of the 5th that became Tampa’s first run on a ground out by Richie Palacios. Rea gave up an RBI double to Brandon Lowe and came out of the game with one out and a man on second in the 6th. Drew Pomeranz replaced the starter and surrendered a game-tying single to Jake Mangum, and it was 3-3.
Michael Busch put the Cubs back on top with a solo home run off Garrett Cleavinger to bring the score to 4-3 in the 7th. The Rays responded immediately when Junior Caminero took Porter Hodge deep in the 8th to even things 4-4.
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Brad Keller made his first mistake in over a month, surrendering a go-ahead solo homer to Nick Fortes in the top of the 9th. Chicago got the tying run on third base with nobody out in the bottom of the frame, but Tampa closer Pete Fairbanks retired the next three to preserve the 5-4 victory. (Box score)
Key Moment
Matt Shaw hit a ground ball to third base with runners on the corners and nobody out in the bottom of the 9th. Caminero threw home from third to nail Swanson at the plate and keep Tampa Bay in front 5-4.
Why the Cubs Lost
The bullpen finally faltered a bit, and the offense could not get a hit with runners in scoring position in their last at-bat.
Stats That Matter
- Rea was his usual solid self Saturday afternoon: 5.1 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 5 K, 0 BB.
- Ballesteros singled and hit his first home run, which hilariously bounced off Rizzo’s hand in the bleachers.
- Nico Hoerner stayed hot with two more hits, including a double.
Bottom Line
Unfortunately, the bullpen was due to have an off-game for the North Siders eventually, and Saturday was that day. The final inning shows how important being able to manufacture runs is when you get to high-stakes contests. Despite the outcome of the game, it was awesome to see Rizzo back at Wrigley Field.
On Deck
The deciding game of the series is Sunday at 1:20pm CT. Shōta Imanaga gets the nod against Adrian Houser in a matchup broadcast on Marquee with a radio feed on 670 The Score.
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The post Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/13/25): Rays 5, Cubs 4 – Home Team Comes Up Short On Rizzo Day appeared first on .