The Cubs played an exhibition game against Team Italy at Sloan Park Tuesday afternoon before the World Baseball Classic gets underway. The home side built an early advantage, but the pitchers from minor-league camp squandered the lead and the Italians won easily.
Cade Horton got the start for Chicago and tossed three scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Dansby Swanson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd to put his team in front 1-0.
The North Siders expanded their edge with three in the bottom of the 4th on a two-run single by Nico Hoerner, followed by an RBI knock off the bat of Ian Happ to make it a 4-0 score. Italy stormed back against reliever Jack Neely with a pair of two-run homers that evened the game in the top of the 6th.
Cardinals infielder Thomas Saggese put the Italians on top with a solo homer off of Jeff Brigham in the 7th. They added another four runs against Ben Heller in the 8th and sent the Cubs to a 9-4 defeat. (Box score)
Key Moment
Things quickly turned around in the 6th inning after Chicago removed their starting lineup.
Why the Cubs Lost
The bullpen completely imploded at the end of the game.
Stats That Matter
Hoerner got on base twice with a walk in addition to the single.Happ also drew a free pass to go along with a single.Swanson already has two home runs in limited action this spring.
Bottom Line
Horton looks like he hasn’t missed a beat from last season and hopefully will be a major factor in 2026. A big power season from Swanson would be a nice boost to the offense.
On Deck
The Cubs travel to Phoenix on Wednesday for a game against the rival Brewers at 2:10pm CT. Edward Cabrera makes his second start in a contest that will be televised on Marquee.
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