Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (9/14/25): Cubs 4, Rays 3 – Hoerner Stays Hot to Close Series

Things didn’t look good early, but the Cubs persevered to pick up a win in both the game and the series. It only took eight pitches and two batters for the Rays to take a 2-0 lead in this one, with both Yandy Díaz and Junior Caminero taking Shōta Imanaga deep. The lefty gave up a ton of hard contact in the first two frames, mitigating it with whiffs galore to keep the Cubs in the game.

Imanaga gave up three runs for the fourth start in a row, and he struck out nine batters despite lasting only five innings. The only support he got in his effort was an RBI single from Nico Hoerner to drive home Michael Busch, who doubled to lead off the Cubs’ half of the 1st. The home team could do little against Rays starter Adrian Houser, who only allowed two runs on seven hits. He also struck out only two batters.

It felt like the Cubs were about to break things open in the bottom of the 4th when Ian Happ and Moises Ballesteros singled to open the frame. Pete Crow-Armstrong walked to load the bases following a Dansby Swanson strikeout, but Willi Castro grounded into a double play to end the threat and keep it at 3-1 Rays. Oh yeah, I forgot to note that Tampa had scored a run on a bunt that Imanaga was unable to field.

The score stayed there until Happ homered to halve the deficit in the bottom of the 6th. The Cubs took the lead the following inning when Castro singled and Matt Shaw picked up a bloop knock to put two on with one out. Hoerner stayed smoking hot with a line drive double that scored both runners.

Javier Assad and Caleb Thielbar completed three scoreless innings and turned the game over to Andrew Kittredge, who has become the team’s unlikely closer. After collecting only 16 career saves prior to this season, he now has five with the Cubs alone since the trade deadline. The bearded reliever worked around a walk by striking out the side to get the win. (Box score)

Key Moment

Hoerner came into this one batting .386 in September and he kept it up with two big RBI hits to drive in three of the Cubs’ runs. His double in the 7th gave the Cubs the lead and bumped his average to .299 on the season, just six points behind Trea Turner for tops in the National League.

Why the Cubs Won

They scored four runs, which has been their magic number for a while now. They are 19-2 over the last 21 games in which they score that many, with one of those losses coming yesterday.

Stats That Matter

• Imanaga battled in this one, but had a season-high nine strikeouts
• Happ picked up two hits and is batting .310 with a 182 wRC+ in September
• Kittredge struck out three with one walk and now has a 24/2 K/BB ratio as a Cub

Bottom Line

This win got the Cubs one step closer to clinching a postseason spot, which is really important with the Padres carrying a big lead into the late innings against the Rockies. It felt very much like the win in Atlanta this past Wednesday, another one-run margin that had postseason vibes.

On Deck

The Cubs head to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates on Roberto Clemente Day as former Pirate Jameson Taillon faces rookie right Braxton Ashcraft for the third time. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40pm CT on Marquee, MLB Network (out-of-market only), and 670 The Score.