Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs Pick & Prediction APRIL 9th 2025
Preview and Prediction
The Chicago Cubs will aim to complete a sweep with their top pitcher on the mound as they welcome the Texas Rangers for the final game of their three-game interleague series on Wednesday afternoon.
Left-hander Shota Imanaga (2-0, 0.98 ERA) will take on right-hander Tyler Mahle (1-0, 1.35) in what is sure to be an exciting matchup.
The Cubs have executed perfectly and delivered crucial hits at the right moments in the first two games of the series. On Monday, they secured a 7-0 victory behind a stellar performance from Justin Steele and a strong offensive showing. Tuesday's game was a close battle between the two teams, but two errors by the Rangers ultimately led to the Cubs' 10-6 win, with Dansby Swanson's two-run single in the eighth inning being the deciding factor.
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Swanson finished the game with four RBIs, while Pete Crow-Armstrong, Nico Hoerner, and Seiya Suzuki each contributed two RBIs. Porter Hodge (1-0) earned the win for the Cubs after a four-run, eighth-inning rally. Both teams had 12 hits, with the Rangers' offense led by Josh Jung's three hits and one RBI, as well as solo home run by Wyatt Langford and two hits each from Corey Seager and Leody Taveras.
Jung, who had been on the injured list for 10 days due to neck stiffness, returned to the field and made an immediate impact for the Rangers.
In the game, Chris Martin (0-1) was charged with four unearned runs in just two-thirds of an inning.
Mahle is coming off a strong performance in his last start, where he pitched five scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while striking out seven in a 5-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. This was a significant improvement from his season opener, where he gave up a run on two hits and four walks in just 1 2/3 innings against the Boston Red Sox.
"I think that first start was maybe a little bit of a fluke," said Texas catcher Kyle Higashioka. "Tyler was throwing the ball so well coming into the season. He was throwing a lot of strikes (vs. Tampa Bay), locating the fastball, keeping guys off balance, and the off-speed stuff looked good, too."
Mahle has made five regular-season appearances since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2023, and he has a 4.97 ERA in three starts for the Rangers last August before being shut down for the season due to right shoulder tightness.
In his career, Mahle has a 5-4 record and a 4.31 ERA in 14 starts against the Cubs.
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Imanaga is also coming off an impressive outing, where he allowed just one run on four hits in 7 1/3 innings against the San Diego Padres. He struck out four and did not give up a walk in the Cubs' 3-1 victory.
"I say it a lot, but Shota gives us a chance to make plays, and I think we have a really good team for that," said Crow-Armstrong. "Shota did what Shota does, got us involved, and that's all we can ask from him."
Imanaga added, "I know this ballpark very well this time of year, so just keeping that in the back of my head and continuing to pitch."
Imanaga's performance in his last start was similar to his previous outing, where he also pitched seven innings and gave up just one run in a 4-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This will be Imanaga's first time facing the Rangers in his two-year major league career.
Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs Recap APR 9TH 2025
Corey Seager hit two home runs, Jonah Heim added a two-run blast and Tyler Mahle was sterling on the mound as the visiting Texas Rangers defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-2 on Wednesday afternoon in the series finale.
Texas, which came into the three-game set carrying a five-game winning streak, salvaged Wednesday's matinee after losing 7-0 on Monday and 10-6 on Tuesday.
It took Mahle's second straight solid outing to cool off the Cubs' bats, as the right-hander (2-0) allowed one run on just two hits over seven innings while striking out four and walking one.
Robert Garcia pitched 1 1/3 innings of one-run ball and Luke Jackson got the final two outs to finish off the Texas victory.
The Rangers backed Mahle with an 11-hit attack, with Seager, Heim and Leody Tavares producing two hits each. It was the second consecutive contest that Texas had at least 11 hits.
Chicago starter Shota Imanaga (2-1) went seven innings, surrendering five runs on seven hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
The Rangers set the tone in the top of the first inning when Seager ripped an opposite-field solo home run to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
That score held up until the bottom of the fourth as the Cubs tied the game at 1 on Michael Busch's one-out single to right that brought home Seiya Suzuki, who had tripled.
Texas took charge for good with a four-run fifth.
Kevin Pillar singled to start the frame and trotted home ahead of Heim's two-run homer over the left-center field fence. Marcus Semien then singled and came across on a two-out double by Josh Jung. Jung later scored on a broken-bat single to right field by Adolis Garcia, pushing the Rangers' lead to 5-1.
Seager struck again, ripping another solo home run into the basket in right field in the seventh to stoke the Texas advantage to 6-1.