Cubs break out with 16 hits, beat Rays 9-2

Alex Bregman broke out of an 0-for13 slump with three hits and Javier Assad worked 5 2/3 shutout innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

The Cubs (5-6) banged out a season-best 16 hits and snapped a two-game skid. The Rays had their three-game winning streak halted in front of a crowd of 21,377 in the second game of their return to Tropicana Field.

Both teams had some rotation chaos.

The Rays (5-6) were without scheduled starter Drew Rasmussen, whose wife went into labor with the couple’s second child hours before first pitch. Mason Englert (0-1) got the start and allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong had his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh inning, among his three hits. Moises Ballesteros’ two-run homer in the ninth was his first of the season.

The Cubs announced before the game that ace Cade Horton would miss the rest of the season after an MRI revealed UCL damage in his right elbow.

Cubs RHP Colin Rea (0-0, 4.26 ERA) will make his first start of the season Wednesday, stepping into Horton’s spot, in the series finale against Tampa Bay’s RHP Joe Boyle (0-0, 3.18 ERA).


(AP Photo Chris O'Meara)