CLEVELAND — Two games in 44-degree weather on Easter Sunday. The first one took two hours and 37 minutes, produced three total hits between both teams, and ended with the Cubs winning 1-0 on a Miguel Amaya single in the eighth inning. It was one of the most dominant pitching performances in Progressive Field history. The second game took two hours and 57 minutes, produced 16 hits, six home runs, two blown saves, and ended with the bullpen handing away a three-run lead in a 6-5 loss.
Same building, same day, opposite outcomes. The Cubs split the Easter doubleheader with the Guardians — their first traditional Sunday twin bill since 2002, forced by Saturday's rainout — and lost the series 2-1 after Friday's 4-1 loss in Cleveland's home opener. They head to Tampa Bay at 4-5, last in the NL Central.
Game 1: Cubs 1, Guardians 0
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| CLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Edward Cabrera carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the Cubs held the Guardians to a single hit in one of the most dominant combined pitching performances in recent memory. The three combined hits between both teams were the fewest ever at Progressive Field, which opened in 1994.
Cabrera was brilliant and wild at the same time — 5.2 innings, one hit, zero runs, four strikeouts, but five walks. Command was an issue in the cold, but it didn't matter. Cleveland couldn't touch him. The only hit he allowed came in the sixth when CJ Kayfus lofted a ball to right that the wind carried over Michael Conforto's head for a double — Conforto initially stepped in before realizing too late the ball was going over him.
What followed was the biggest sequence of the game. Steven Kwan bunted Kayfus to third, and Chase DeLauter grounded to Nico Hoerner at second base. Kayfus broke for home and Hoerner threw a strike to catcher Miguel Amaya, who applied the tag. Out at the plate. The game stayed scoreless. Cabrera then walked two straight batters to load the bases with two outs, but Caleb Thielbar came on and retired Bo Naylor on a pop-up to end the threat.
Slade Cecconi was nearly as good on the other side — six innings, one hit, six strikeouts, one walk — making the Cubs' two-hit attack feel even more improbable. But Connor Brogdon couldn't match him. In the eighth, Conforto singled with one out, Dylan Carlson pinch-ran, and Amaya ripped a single to right-center that scored Carlson for the only run of the game. Hoby Milner and Daniel Palencia shut the door from there, with Palencia striking out one in a perfect ninth for his first career save.
It was the third time in Cubs history they won with two or fewer hits while allowing one or fewer. The other two: 1906 and 1964.
Game 2: Guardians 6, Cubs 5
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| CLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | 6 | 9 | 0 |
Game 2 was the opposite of everything Game 1 was. The Cubs had the lead, had the starter they wanted, and had every reason to sweep the doubleheader. Instead the bullpen gave it all away.
Shota Imanaga was sharp through five innings — three hits, one earned run, four strikeouts, one walk — a significant step forward from his rough season debut against the Nationals. Matt Shaw's solo homer to right in the third (355 feet) put the Cubs up 1-0, and Dansby Swanson's two-run shot to left-center in the sixth (380 feet) made it 3-0 with Imanaga in control. But that's where the good story ended.
The Bullpen Gave It Away — Twice
Ben Brown came on in the sixth with a 3-0 lead and promptly gave it back. Kwan doubled, Angel Martínez walked, and CJ Kayfus — who entered as a pinch-hitter — singled to right to score Kwan. DeLauter followed with a sacrifice fly, and Gabriel Arias singled to center to drive in Kayfus and tie it 3-3. Brown's two innings: two hits, two runs, two walks, zero strikeouts.
Ian Happ temporarily bailed the Cubs out. He led off the eighth with a solo homer to right (382 feet) off Shawn Armstrong to put Chicago back up 4-3. Happ had gone 0-for-11 with nine strikeouts in the series before connecting — the kind of swing that can change everything. It didn't.
Jacob Webb entered for the bottom of the eighth and lasted one batter past disaster. Kayfus homered to right (352 feet) to tie it 4-4. DeLauter singled. Rhys Hoskins walked. Arias singled to left to drive in DeLauter for the go-ahead run. Austin Hedges singled in Hoskins to make it 6-4. Webb's line: 0.1 innings, three hits, three earned runs, one homer. Ethan Roberts — the 27th-man call-up for the doubleheader — came on and stopped the bleeding.
Happ singled in a run in the ninth to make it 6-5, but Cade Smith stranded two runners for his third save.
CJ Kayfus Was the Story All Day
Kayfus went 3-for-4 across both games and was responsible for nearly every bit of offensive life Cleveland produced. His wind-aided double was the Guardians' only hit in Game 1. In Game 2, he entered as a pinch-hitter in the sixth, singled home the first run, then homered to tie the game in the eighth. He's quietly having a series.
The Bigger Picture
The split stings because the doubleheader sweep was right there. The Cubs were six outs away from winning both games and heading to Tampa Bay at 5-4 with some momentum after Friday's loss. Instead they're 4-5, sitting 3 games back in a division where Milwaukee (7-2), Pittsburgh (6-3), and Cincinnati (6-3) have all separated early.
The pitching tells two stories. The starters have been excellent — Cabrera hasn't allowed a run in 11.2 innings this season, and Imanaga bounced back with a quality five-inning outing after his shaky debut. But the bullpen gave up five runs in three innings in Game 2 after the staff threw a combined one-hitter in Game 1. The arms are there. The consistency isn't.
And the Horton injury still looms. With Cade Horton on the 15-day IL after Friday's early exit, the Cubs recalled LHP Riley Martin from Triple-A Iowa and added RHP Ethan Roberts as the 27th man for the doubleheader. Colin Rea is the leading candidate to step into Horton's rotation spot, likely starting Wednesday at Tampa Bay. The depth that Jed Hoyer built this winter is being tested early.
One more note: José Ramírez played in his 1,619th game on Sunday, tying Terry Turner for the most in Cleveland franchise history. He went 0-for-8 across the doubleheader, but the milestone stands.
Up Next
The Cubs (4-5) travel to Tampa Bay for a three-game series starting Monday. Jameson Taillon (0-0) faces Shane McClanahan (0-1, 3.86 ERA).