Steele tosses 7 innings as the Cubs pound the Rangers 7-0 on frigid night

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Cubs blow the game open in the 6th inning

Hits from Ian Happ, Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki drive in four runs and add to the Cubs' 7-0 lead.

Apr 7, 2026, 10:04 pm

CHICAGO -- — Justin Steele tossed three-hit ball over seven innings, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Texas Rangers 7-0 on a frigid Monday night.

Michael Busch doubled and scored in the second. He also chased Nathan Eovaldi with an RBI triple in the fifth that made it 3-0.

Ian Happ had three RBI. His two-run single highlighted a four-run sixth, and the Cubs won for the sixth time in seven games on a 34-degree night.

Steele (3-1) won his third straight start since a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo on March 19. The left-hander struck out eight and walked two.

Colin Rea worked two innings to finish Chicago's first shutout this year.

The Rangers had won five straight and eight of 10 to start the season.

Eovaldi (1-1) lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and four hits, after shutting out Cincinnati on Tuesday in the majors’ first complete game this season. The 35-year-old right-hander walked two and hit two batters.

Key moment

The Cubs had runners on second and third with two out in the sixth when Happ broke the game open with a two-run single against Gerson Garabito. He then stole second and scored on Kyle Tucker’s single. Tucker took second on the throw home and came around on Seiya Suzuki’s single.

Key stat

The 34-degree gametime temperature was the coldest at Wrigley Field since April 18, 2011, when it was 34 for the first pitch against San Diego. By comparison, it was 38 when the Blackhawks played the St. Louis Blues in the NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve. For Texas, the lowest gametime temperature was 33 at Milwaukee on April 10, 1989.

Up next

Veteran LHP Patrick Corbin makes his Rangers debut on Tuesday night, and RHP Jameson Taillon (1-1, 6.97 ERA) gets the ball for the Cubs.

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