Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/15/26): Braves 6, Cubs 3 – Webb, Bullpen Blow Another Lead
The Cubs could not hold on to an early lead against the Braves on Tuesday night. The road team hit a trio of two-run homers as they scored six unanswered runs to win the game.
Pedro Ramírez put Chicago in front with an RBI single against Martín Pérez in the bottom of the 2nd inning. A throwing error by Atlanta shortstop Mauricio Dubón on a Ramírez grounder in the 4th brought home another run and opened the door for a Miguel Amaya sacrifice fly that gave the home side a 3-0 advantage.
Kevin Gausman did very well for the North Siders until the top of the 6th, when he gave up a two-run homer to Ronald Acuña Jr. that cut the margin to 3-2. Jacob Webb came on in the 7th and once again gave up a crushing go-ahead home run to Ozzie Albies that gave the Braves a 4-3 edge.
Drake Baldwin provided insurance for the Braves with his own two-run dinger off of Edward Cabrera in the top of the 9th to make it 6-3. The Cubs created almost nothing offensively in the final four innings and went down quietly. (Box score)
Key Moment
Webb has become almost unusable when the Cubs have anything less than a three-run lead. He has allowed five home runs in his last eight appearances, all of which have either tied the game or put the opponent ahead.
Why the Cubs Lost
They came up short in a battle of the bullpens with the lineup going completely quiet after the 4th inning.
Stats That Matter
- Gausman did a nice job until running out of steam in the final inning: 5.2 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 6 K, and 0 BB.
- Matt Shaw had a pair of singles and a walk.
Bottom Line
The Cubs are going to have to outscore their bullpen to win games, and they could not do that on Tuesday. It’s not a very easy way to go about contending for a title, but they don’t really have a choice. Time is running out for a reliever to step up and become even a little bit reliable.
On Deck
The rubber match of the series is Wednesday night at 640pm CT. Shōta Imanaga battles JR Ritchie in a matchup televised on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
