Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/1/25): Cubs 7, Athletics 4 – Tucker Homers for Fourth Consecutive Game
The Cubs went into this one riding the momentum of Monday night’s 18-run outburst and they did not disappoint. While they didn’t quite match the output of the series opener, they got more than enough to take the game and the series.
The North Siders jumped ahead of the A’s in the 1st inning when Seiya Suzuki absolutely crushed a three-run homer to dead center off of Luis Severino. The home team responded immediately in the bottom of the frame when Brent Rooker took Justin Steele out of the park for a two-run shot to make it a 3-2 score.
Kyle Tucker stayed red-hot with a solo home run, his fourth consecutive contest with a dinger, in the 3rd inning. Dansby Swanson followed that with an RBI double to build the lead to 5-2. The Athletics answered back again in the bottom half when Shea Langeliers hit the second two-run homer of the night against Steele to cut the deficit to 5-4.
The Cubs added crucial insurance runs on an Ian Happ sacrifice fly in the 4th and a pinch-hit RBI single by Justin Turner in the 7th to increase their advantage to 7-4. Steele settled in nicely after a difficult beginning and pitched all the way into the 7th before turning it over to the bullpen.
Chicago’s relievers were much more effective Tuesday, with Porter Hodge and Ryan Pressly each rolling a double play to secure the 7-4 victory. (Box score)
Key Moment
Things could’ve gotten away from Steele when he struggled in the early innings, but he buckled down and gave his team crucial innings to help set up the bullpen to close it out.
Why the Cubs Won
The middle of the order delivered in a big way and the back-end relievers performed well.
Stats That Matter
- Steele got hit hard the first few frames but not much after that: 6.2 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 6 K, and 1 BB.
- Tucker also had a double and walked twice.
- Suzuki singled in addition to the homer and is coming around after a slow start.
Bottom Line
Tucker has been every bit as good as advertised so far and is a game-changer in the middle of the lineup. They should probably think about giving him a contract extension. It was encouraging to see a good performance from the bullpen on Tuesday, which is a trend that would be nice to see moving forward.
On Deck
Chicago goes for the sweep Wednesday afternoon at 2:35pm CT. Jameson Taillon is on the mound against Jeffrey Springs in a game broadcast on Marquee with radio coverage on 670 The Score.