{"id":656229,"date":"2026-04-01T08:53:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T08:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/656229\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T08:53:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T08:53:19","slug":"angels-2-cubs-0-bats-go-cold-in-shutout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/656229\/","title":{"rendered":"Angels 2, Cubs 0 \u2013 Bats Go Cold in Shutout &#8211;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img width=\"600\" height=\"336\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1747291275_soxbeatcubs-e1532524124676.jpg\" class=\"attachment-jannah-image-post size-jannah-image-post wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" data-main-img=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>The conditions were drastically different at Wrigley Field on Tuesday when the Cubs battled the Angels in game two of the series. The temperature was over 30 degrees lower than Monday and the frigid conditions appeared to freeze the bats in the home dugout as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/counscr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Craig Counsell<\/a>\u2018s squad was shut out.<\/p>\n<p>Both starting pitchers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/soriajo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jos\u00e9 Soriano<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/taillja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jameson Taillon<\/a>, were sharp early to keep things scoreless through four innings. Taillon was lifted with two outs and the bases loaded in the 5th, but lefty <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/milneho01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Hoby Milner<\/a> retired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/schanno01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Nolan Schanuel<\/a> to keep Los Angeles off the board.<\/p>\n<p>Chicago was not as fortunate in the top of the 6th, when catcher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/o\/ohopplo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Logan O\u2019Hoppe<\/a> singled against reliever <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/matonph01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Phil Maton<\/a> with runners on second and third to give the Angels a 2-0 advantage. Soriano and the bullpen kept things in check the rest of the way and the North Siders went quietly by the same margin. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/gameday\/angels-vs-cubs\/2026\/03\/31\/824699\/live\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Box score<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Key Moment<\/p>\n<p>Los Angeles got runners on second and third with nobody out in the 6th, but Maton got the next two without a run crossing the plate. O\u2019Hoppe fell behind in the count before hitting a smash that deflected off the glove of third baseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bregmal01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Alex Bregman<\/a> and into left field for the game-winning hit.<\/p>\n<p>Why the Cubs Lost<\/p>\n<p>The lineup could get nothing going offensively the entire night.<\/p>\n<p>Stats That Matter<\/p>\n<p>Taillon did a decent job and certainly was not the problem in this one: 4.2\u00a0IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 K, and 4 BB.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/ballemo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros<\/a> had a single and a walk.Chicago had no extra-base hits on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Bottom Line<\/p>\n<p>The Cubs have been consistently inconsistent the first five games of the season, alternating wins and losses. Here\u2019s hoping they fall into a better rhythm as they settle into the routine of the 162 game schedule.<\/p>\n<p>On Deck<\/p>\n<p>The deciding game of the series will be Wednesday at 1:20pm CT. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=boydma01,boyd--002mat&amp;search=Matthew+Boyd&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Matthew Boyd<\/a> is on the mound for the second time against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kikucyu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=www.cubsinsider.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-03-31_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Yusei Kikuchi<\/a> in a matchup available on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Follow Us<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKggKIiRDQklTRlFnTWFoRUtEMk4xWW5OcGJuTnBaR1Z5TG1OdmJTZ0FQAQ?ceid=US:en&amp;oc=3\" title=\"Google News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"post-followus-btn google-new-btn\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cubsinsider.com\/wp-content\/themes\/jannah\/assets\/images\/google-news.svg\" alt=\"Google News\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"120\" height=\"22\"\/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/flipboard.com\/@CubsInsider?from=share&amp;utm_source=flipboard&amp;utm_medium=curator_share\" title=\"Flipboard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"post-followus-btn flipboard-btn\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cubsinsider.com\/wp-content\/themes\/jannah\/assets\/images\/flipboard.svg\" alt=\"Flipboard\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"152\" height=\"30\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The conditions were drastically different at Wrigley Field on Tuesday when the Cubs battled the Angels in game&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,5173,4,1896],"class_list":{"0":"post-656229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicagocubs","12":"tag-cubs","13":"tag-jameson-taillon","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-moises-ballesteros"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116328609888109269","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}