Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (3/10/26): Rangers 8, Cubs 3 – Horton Hammered in Surprise
The Cubs made their second trip of the spring to Surprise on Tuesday, this time to take on the Rangers. Cade Horton got the start and the home team dinged him for three longballs as they rolled to victory.
Shortstop Corey Seager got the party going for Texas with a three-run blast in the bottom of the 1st inning. Josh Smith expanded the lead to 4-0 with a solo shot in the 2nd. Chicago’s offense did not do much of anything early in the contest against Jacob deGrom.
Horton surrendered his final homer in the bottom of the 4th when Ezequiel Duran launched a two-run dong. Andrew McCutchen added an RBI double off of Ryan Rolison that increased the Rangers’ advantage to 7-0 in the 5th.
The North Siders finally got on the board in the top half of the 6th when Matt Shaw hit a solo homer, and Chas McCormick had a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 7-2. Both squads added a run in the 8th inning as Texas won by a final of 8-3. (Box score)
Key Moment
The three-run homer in the 1st inning put the Rangers ahead for good.
Key Moment
They gave up four home runs in this one, which is hard to recover from.
Stats That Matter
- Just a tough day for Horton, who went 3.2 innings and allowed six runs.
- Kevin Alcantara was impressive with three singles.
- Shaw got the start in center field as he tries to become a utilityman this season.
Bottom Line
The Cubs are probably happy that Horton had one of his rough outings this season in an exhibition game. The young right-hander has been excellent all spring until Tuesday, and big things are expected of him in 2026.
On Deck
Chicago welcomes the Royals to Sloan Park on Wednesday afternoon at 3:05pm CT. Colin Rea takes the hill in a game that will not be televised.
