Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (4/27/26): Padres 9, Cubs 7 – Ballesteros Slam Not Enough in Third Consecutive Loss
The Cubs dropped their third consecutive game on Monday night against the Padres at Petco Park. A grand slam vaulted them into the lead in the early going, but the home team battled back to move ahead and secure the victory.
Matthew Boyd had issues in the opening inning, giving up an RBI single to Jackson Merrill, followed by a two-run double by Ty France that gave San Diego a 3-0 advantage. Chicago got one of them back against Randy Vásquez in the 2nd when Seiya Suzuki hit a solo homer that cut the deficit to 3-1.
The North Siders loaded the bases in the 3rd inning with two outs, and Moisés Ballesteros cleared them with a rocket grand slam to right that put his squad on top 5-3. Boyd continued to struggle, giving up a run on a Miguel Andujar RBI ground out in the bottom of that frame as the Pads pulled within 5-4.
The Cubs starter finally came out with a man on second in the 5th and was replaced by Ben Brown. The reliever allowed a walk on an obvious strike that the Cubs couldn’t challenge due to some poor decisions early, which bit them when Nick Castellanos hit a go-ahead two-run single to put the Padres ahead 6-5.
San Diego got important insurance against Phil Maton in the 7th inning when France tripled home a pair. Gavin Sheets added a solo homer against Jacob Webb that made it 9-5 in the 8th.
Chicago made things very interesting against super closer Mason Miller, loading the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 9th. A couple of runs scored, but they came up short and lost 9-7. (Box score)
Key Moment
Brown threw a 2-2 pitch to France in the bottom of the 5th with a man on third and two outs that was called a ball despite being over the middle of the plate. The Cubs had used up their ABS challenges after two unsuccessful attempts and could not get the call overturned. The hitter eventually drew a walk and would score on the Castellanos go-ahead single.
Why the Cubs Lost
A short starting pitching effort put pressure on a bullpen that isn’t really structurally sound at the moment. Unsurprisingly, it did not hold up under the stress.
Stats That Matter
- Boyd just did not have command of his fastball and it hurt him: 4 IP, 5 R, 8 H, 4 K, and 2 BB.
- Ballesteros continues to hit the ball hard and worked terrific at-bats.
- Suzuki hit the ball hard all night and had two knocks.
Bottom Line
The Cubs are struggling a bit with two very good opponents on the road, and the injury-ravaged bullpen is starting to catch up with them. If they can steal one of these two games in San Diego, a 2-4 road trip is not the end of the world. Every team is still learning how to handle ball and strike challenges and this was a good example of how messing them up can cost you a game. Coming up with an effective strategy for ABS might very well be worth a couple of games in the standings.
On Deck
Chicago tries to get back into the win column in the second game of the series Tuesday night at 8:40pm CT. Edward Cabrera is on the bump against Walker Buehler in a contest broadcast on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
