Cubs win fourth straight, best spring start since 2009

Rick Scuteri - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 4 hours ago

MESA - Even though it's only Spring Training, winning is not only fun, but it can be contagious. Through the first four games of the Chicago Cubs 2025 Spring Training schedule, not only have they done a ton of winning, but they have started their Spring with a perfect 4-0 record.

Their most recent win came against the Texas Rangers and it was the first time they had to deal with adversity most of the Spring. After dominating their opponents across the first three games, the Cubs not only had to play catchup, but fell behind the Rangers 5-0 in the early stages of this one. That was until the kids paved a late-game comeback, sparked by a three-run sixth as the Cubs scored six runs in their final three innings to secure a 6-5 victory.

Apart from Justin Steele's outing on Saturday, the rest of the starts thus far for Craig Counsell are players battling for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, and Colin Rea is no exception. Signed as a free agent this offseason, Rea is expected to have an impact on the team in some aspect, but with Javier Assad nursing an oblique injury, he has an opportunity to earn the final starting spot out of camp.

Rea was far from perfect and had to throw a ton of pitches to get through 1 2/3 innings. He walked two, struck out three, and scattered two hits, but all that matters is he was able to limit the damage as he allowed just one run in his outing. That run came in the first inning as Rea allowed the first three batters to reach, with Marcus Semien leading things off with a single ahead of the Corey Seager walk. Semien would come in to score on the Jake Burger single as Texas opened up a 1-0 lead three batters in.

That seemed as if it would be all the Rangers would need as starter Cody Bradford gave the Rangers a pair of scoreless innings to open the game, followed by two additional scoreless frames from Adrian Houser to keep the Cubs offense in check. The same couldn't be said about the Cubs pitching as Ryan Pressly entered the game in the third for his first outing of the Spring and wasn't as sharp as he would've liked to be.

Backed by a pair of singles from Seager and Tucker Barnhardt and mixed with a walk, the Rangers loaded the bases with just one out as Pressly was in a massive jam. Texas managed to push an additional run across on the Sam Haggerty grounder, but Pressly held them to just one run as the Rangers led 2-0 through three.

Texas continued to build up their lead in the fifth, with Trevor Hauver taking Keegan Thompson deep to push their lead to 3-0 before adding on in the sixth to extend their lead to 5-0. Daniel Palencia was the victim of the sixth-inning damage as he allowed a sacrifice fly to Alejandro Osuna before uncorking a wild pitch to put the Cubs in a massive hole.

After doing next to nothing offensively through five innings, the Cubs offense finally started to show signs of life in the sixth, and it came from several of their prospects who continue to steal the show this Spring. With Caleb Boushley retiring the first two batters he faced to start things off, the Dansby Swanson single kept the inning alive and was the beginning of a massive two-out rally.

A Pete Crow-Armstrong single followed that single before the Vidal Brujan walk loaded the bases. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of Jonathon Long as his single not only pushed across two runs to put the Cubs on the board, but an error on the play cleared the bases and had the Cubs within 5-3. That was the momentum swing the Cubs needed, as their pitching was lights out across the final three innings, allowing the offense to settle in.

One inning after getting on the board for the first time, it was the newest Cub in Greg Allen, starting off the seventh with a one-out single as the Cubs offense was threatening again. That single was followed by singles from Pablo Aliendo and Dixon Machado, with Machado making this a 5-4 game. Chicago was just getting started as Haydn McGeary kept the line moving with an RBI double, and suddenly, this was a 5-5 game with the Cubs having all the momentum.

Ivan Brethowr appeared to give the Cubs the lead with a single later in the seventh, but it was McGeary getting gunned down at the plate to keep things tied. No one would've been shocked if that play cost the Cubs the game, but after Parker Chavers and Hayden Cantrelle walked to lead the Cubs half of the eighth, the go-ahead run was on second with no one out.

What looked to be a crucial double play turned into a nightmare. Reese McGuire grounded and pushed home the winning run. His potential double play turned into a forceout with a throwing error, leading to the go-ahead run. Sam Armstrong took care of the rest. He made his first appearance of the Spring and retired the Rangers in order with three groundouts. The Cubs improved to 4-0 with a 6-5 win.

Chicago continues to pound the ball offensively as they picked up 11 hits from 11 different players and have had double-digit hits in all four games. The Cubs are back in action Monday as they hit the road to face the Padres.