Bregman ends 0-for-13 slump with 3 hits as the Cubs beat the Rays 9-2

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ST. PETERSBURGH, Fla. (AP) — 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 an announced 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.

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.

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.

Bregman's last hit before Tuesday came Friday night. The 32-year-old Bregman, who signed a five-year contract with Chicago last winter, lined a single to left field in the first inning, led off the third with a double and started the fifth with a single.

Assad (1-0), stepping into the rotation for the injured Matthew Boyd, held the Rays to one hit and two walks into the sixth inning. Assad was recalled on Monday when Boyd was placed on the injured list with a left biceps strain. The Cubs have won six of Assad’s last seven starts dating to Aug. 17, 2025.

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).

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