Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/6/26): Marlins 10, Cubs 3 – PCA Hits 40th Homer in Loss

The Cubs came up short in their attempt to sweep the Marlins at loanDepot Park Sunday afternoon. Clay Holmes, who had been excellent recently, had a clunker and the home team went on for an easy win.

Miami opened up the scoring with a pair in the bottom of the 2nd on a groundout by Joe Mack and an RBI single from Otto Lopez. Chicago evened up the game against Tyler Phillips with a sacrifice fly by Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 3rd and a double play off the bat of Nico Hoerner in the 4th.

Heriberto Hernández put the Fish back on top with a solo homer in the bottom of the frame. The North Siders tied it once more when PCA launched home run number 40 down the right-field line in the top of the 5th.

The wheels came off for Holmes in the bottom half of that inning as the Marlins scored five runs. Griffin Conine was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, then Owen Caissie followed with a two-run single to make it 6-3. Hernández singled home another to finally knock the Cubs’ starter out of the game.

Colin Rea took over and gave up one more tally in that inning, followed by two more on a home run by Javier Sanoja in the 7th. Chicago hitters did nothing after the 5th inning and went on to lose 10-3. (Box score)

Key Moment

The game went from a close contest to a blowout in the 5th. It’s very hard to recover from a five-run inning.

Why the Cubs Lost

A bad starting pitching performance put them in a big hole they couldn’t climb out.

Stats That Matter

• Holmes never had good control and it really cost him: 4.1 IP, 8 R, 6 H, 2 K, and 3 BB.
• Crow-Armstrong is the first Cubs player with 40 home runs in a season since Derrek Lee in 2005.
• PCA is also just the second left-handed hitter in Cubs history with 40+ homers after Billy Williams in 1970.
• At 24 years and 165, PCA passed Ernie Banks (24 years, 214 days) as the youngest Cub ever with 40+ homers.

Bottom Line

Chicago got the series victory, which makes this loss sting a little bit less. Holmes had been lights out recently, so this is probably just a blip. PCA continues to have one of the best seasons in Cubs history, and he’s getting closer to a 40/40 season.

On Deck

Next up is a trip to Milwaukee for a series with the Brewers that begins with a Labor Day matinee at 1:10pm CT. Matthew Boyd makes the start against Robert Gasser in a game broadcast on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.