Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Angels preview, Tuesday 3/31, 6:40 CT

There’s a pretty good chance of rain this evening in Chicago (weather forecast link below). Here’s the local radar to keep handy.

Tuesday notes…

TWO-OUT RUNS: The Cubs scored five of their seven runs last night with two outs, raising their season total to 14 such runs, which is 56 percent of all 25 runs they have tallied. Last season, they scored 36 percent with two down, 286 of 793. Those 286 were an average of 1.77 per game. So far this year, they are averaging 3.50. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

THAT OTHER LEAGUE: A win tonight will be the Cubs’ 300th against American League teams since interleague play began in 1997. They have lost 277, for a winning percentage of .519. Only the Dodgers have fared better in interleague play among National League teams, at .548 (326-269). The Braves (311-292) and Brewers (288-270) are tied for third, at .516. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)

CALLING ALL ANGELS: The Cubs are 17-10 all-time (since 2004) vs. the Angels, including 9-5 at Wrigley Field. They swept the Angels in Anaheim last season and took two of three games from them at Wrigley Field in July 2024.

EARLY STATS: The Cubs are third in MLB with six steals so far in 2026. No Cub has been caught stealing yet. They rank tied for sixth in runs with 24 (three teams with 24 or more have played one more game than the Cubs have). And, they rank fifth in walks with 21 (three of the four teams ahead of them have played one more game than the Cubs have).

Cubs lineup:

Angels lineup:

Jameson Taillon, RHP vs. José Soriano, RHP

Jameson Taillon had a horrid spring: 17.55 ERA, 10 (!) home runs allowed in 13.1 innings, also nine walks. Awful.

He also had one very good outing for Canada in the WBC during that time. So, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In any case, I don’t expect those spring results to carry over. His last start against the Angels was Aug. 24, 2025 in Anaheim — five innings, three hits, one run (a solo homer by Taylor Ward, who isn’t on the Angels anymore), no walks.

I’m expecting something more like that.

José Soriano was the Angels Opening Day starter. I daresay he wouldn’t have had that role for most other teams. He’s good, no question, but that good?

Soriano did throw six shutout innings vs. the Astros on Opening Day, so there’s that.

His last start against the Cubs was July 7, 2024 at Wrigley Field. He allowed three runs in five innings. No current Cub has more than three at-bats against him.

Soriano’s pitch selection chart below is from his one start this year. Taillon’s is from 2025.

Here is the weather forecast for the area around Wrigley Field.

Today’s game is on Marquee Sports Network.

Here is the complete MLB.com live streaming page for today.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com game preview

Please visit the Angels site Crashing The Pearly Gates. If you do go there to interact with Angels fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.

The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.

You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).

At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.

The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.

You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.

Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Angels preview, Tuesday 3/31, 6:40 CT

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