Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/7/26): Cubs 6, Royals 4 – Gausman Shines in Debut
The Cubs began a road trip against the Royals on a beautiful Friday night at Kauffman Stadium. They got an outstanding effort from their newest starting pitcher and the bullpen held on late to get the series started on a winning note.
It was a bit of an inauspicious beginning for Kevin Gausman as he took a Salvador Peréz comebacker off his ankle and then allowed an RBI double to Isaac Collins that gave Kansas City a 1-0 edge in the bottom of the 1st. Chicago went in front against Daniel Lynch IV in the 2nd when Pete Crow-Armstrong forced a bad throw on a groundball to first base with the bases loaded to bring home a pair of runs.
Old friend Jose Cuas came on at that point of the frame and surrendered a two-run single to Seiya Suzuki that gave the North Siders a 4-1 advantage. Gausman made his only other mistake on a solo home run by Carter Jensen that cut the Kansas City deficit to 4-2 in the 5th.
The Cubs added important insurance runs on an RBI single from Alex Bregman in the 7th and a solo home run by Pedro Ramírez in the 8th for a 6-2 lead. Caleb Thielbar ran into trouble in the bottom of the inning and the Royals scored twice to get within 6-4. Jacob Webb avoided any more shenanigans in the 9th with a perfect frame to seal the victory. (Box score)
Key Moment
Trent Thornton got Nick Loftin to ground out with the tying runs on base in the bottom of the 8th, ending the inning and keeping Chicago ahead 6-4.
Why the Cubs Won
They got an outstanding starting pitching effort and added late runs to protect the bullpen.
Stats That Matter
- Can’t really ask for more from Gausman in his first start: 7 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 4 K, and 1 BB.
- Suzuki had a pair of hits.
- Michael Busch reached base four times.
- Ramirez had a single in addition to the home run.
Bottom Line
The Cubs did a nice job taking care of business against a bad opponent. Getting consistent performances like Friday’s out of Gausman will make them a much scarier team come October.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Saturday night at 7:10pm CT. Clay Holmes makes his debut against Seth Lugo in a contest broadcast on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
