CHICAGO — A night after rolling the Angels 7-2 behind Edward Cabrera's dominant debut, the Cubs ran into another pitcher who was just as good — and didn't have an answer.
José Soriano held Chicago to two hits over six scoreless innings, Logan O'Hoppe's two-out infield single off Alex Bregman's glove in the sixth drove in the game's only runs, and the Angels shut out the Cubs 2-0 on a cold, windy Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. The series is tied at one game apiece heading into Wednesday's finale.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| CHC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Soriano Was Untouchable
The Angels' right-hander has been the best pitcher in baseball through two starts and it's not particularly close. Soriano allowed two hits over six scoreless innings for the second consecutive outing — he did the same thing in LA's 3-0 Opening Day win at Houston — and has now thrown 12 innings to start the season without allowing a run. He posted a Game Score of 70, struck out four, walked two, and kept the Cubs off balance all night. Chicago didn't manage a hit until the fourth inning.
The Angels' bullpen was just as stingy. Chase Silseth, Drew Pomeranz (facing his former team), and Jordan Romano combined for three scoreless innings to complete the shutout. Romano walked Dansby Swanson in the ninth before striking out pinch-hitter Michael Conforto to end it and pick up his second save.
Taillon Solid, Maton Stung
The frustrating part: Jameson Taillon was actually good in his season debut. He gave up just two hits and no runs over 4.2 innings with three strikeouts, but walked four batters and exited at 85 pitches after intentionally walking Mike Trout to load the bases in the fifth. Hoby Milner came in and got Nolan Schanuel on a grounder to escape the jam.
The damage came in the sixth against Phil Maton. Jorge Soler walked, Jeimer Candelario doubled, and with two outs and runners on second and third, O'Hoppe hit a one-hopper that bounced off Bregman's glove at third — scored as an infield single, two runs scored. That was all the Angels needed. Ben Brown was excellent after that, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts on just 50 pitches, but the offense gave him nothing to work with.
The Bats Went Missing
Four hits. Zero runs. Zero extra-base hits. The Cubs went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and grounded into two double plays — Bregman in the second, Matt Shaw in the eighth — killing whatever momentum they had. Ian Happ's three-game homer streak ended; he went 0-for-2 with two walks and a strikeout. The only Cubs with hits were Nico Hoerner, Moisés Ballesteros, Miguel Amaya, and pinch-hitter Carson Kelly. Chicago falls to 2-3, tied for last in the NL Central with Pittsburgh.
Up Next
The Cubs and Angels wrap up the series Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. Matthew Boyd (0-1, tagged for 6 runs in the Opening Day loss) gets the ball against left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. CT.