Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/22/24): Cubs 10, Tigers 2 – Amaya Slam Leads to Series Win

The Cubs offense finally showed up in a big way in the series finale against the Tigers on Thursday afternoon. Their 10-run outburst was more than enough support for Justin Steele, who was terrific on the mound as Chicago won the game and the series.

The North Siders effectively ended the game after they loaded the bases against Kenta Maeda with two out in the 2nd inning. Miguel Amaya came to the plate and jumped on a first pitch fastball, crushing it to left for a grand slam to put the home team ahead 4-0. Steele was very sharp on Thursday and didn’t give up any runs through the first six frames while piling up strikeouts.

Please join us in waving buh-bye to this baseball 👋 pic.twitter.com/U6J9cdUBcP

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 22, 2024

The Cubs got an RBI groundout from Nico Hoerner in the 3rd and a run-scoring single from Cody Bellinger in the 4th to increase their margin to 6-0. Detroit did its only damage against the Cubs ace in the 7th when Spencer Torkelson had a two-run homer that cut the deficit to 6-2.

Chicago responded immediately with a four spot in the bottom of the frame to break the game wide open. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Amaya knocked back-to-back doubles to bring home three of the runs. Jack Neely fared much better in his second career outing, tossing a scoreless 9th inning to finish off the 10-2 victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs have been having offensive issues again lately and if they had not come through with the bags full in the 2nd inning things might have gotten tense. Luckily, Amaya delivered huge and they never looked back on Thursday.

Why the Cubs Won

They had seven hits with runners in scoring position Thursday and the pitching staff returned to its normal quality form.

Stats That Matter

• Steele was really on his game in this one: 7 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 10 K, and 0 BB.
• It’s been night and day at the plate for Amaya in the second half; he had three hits and five RBIs Thursday.
• The Cubs finished their stretch of 14 consecutive games against American League teams with an 8-6 record.

Bottom Line

PCA and Amaya becoming consistently productive hitters at the bottom of the lineup will be a huge development for 2025 and beyond. It certainly would solve multiple problems the Cubs had for most of this season.

On Deck

Chicago begins a 10-day road trip with three games against Miami starting Friday at 6:10pm CT. Kyle Hendricks faces Max Meyer in a matchup available on Marquee and 670 The Score.