Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (3/26/24): Cardinals 7, Cubs 2 – Sloppy Cubs Drop Exhibition Finale

The Cubs finally ended their exhibition season against the Cardinals at Sloan Park Tuesday afternoon. Chicago played like they had a flight to catch with a very sloppy performance as St. Louis won rather easily.

Shōta Imanaga got the start and struggled, though several defensive misplays certainly didn’t help his cause. The Cardinals were ahead 4-0 by the top of the 3rd inning and never looked back from there.

Mike Tauchman hit a solo home run off of Kyle Gibson in the bottom of the frame to cut the deficit to three. St. Louis tacked on a couple more runs to go ahead 6-1 by the 7th inning.

Christian Franklin whacked a homer to make it a 6-2 contest but the Cardinals would eventually take the 7-2 victory. (Box score)

Why the Cubs Lost

They played sloppy defense and fell into a hole early that they couldn’t get out of later in the game.

Stats That Matter

• Imanaga continued to pile up strikeouts with six in three innings pitched Tuesday.
• Ian Happ had two hits and looks like he is ready to go.

Bottom Line

The regular season is here after a month and a half in Arizona and the Cubs will try to make the playoffs after coming up a single game short in 2023. The expectations are the highest they’ve been since the World Series core was broken up. They made it through the spring relatively healthy and it’s time to see what they’ve got. Let’s go!

On Deck

The Cubs begin the 2024 season in Texas against the defending World Series champion Rangers Thursday at 6:35pm CT. Justin Steele and Nathan Eovaldi are the opening day starters in a game telecast exclusively on ESPN with a radio feed on 670 The Score.