ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers cooled off one of baseball’s hottest teams Saturday night, shutting out the Chicago Cubs 6-0 at Globe Life Field to even the weekend series and halt Chicago’s 10-game winning streak.
The victory marked Texas’ fourth shutout of the season and the franchise’s first-ever shutout against the Cubs in the clubs’ interleague history. It also set up a decisive rubber match Sunday afternoon.
Texas leaned on timely hitting and a gritty effort from rookie right-hander Jack Leiter, who navigated constant traffic but refused to break. Leiter worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings despite issuing five walks, matching a career high. He scattered three hits, struck out six, and stranded eight runners before turning the game over to the bullpen.
Chicago threatened early and often, loading the bases in the third inning and putting multiple runners aboard in each of the first four frames, but the Rangers pitching staff escaped every jam. Reliever Jalen Beeks entered in the fifth and stranded an inherited runner to preserve the shutout.
The Rangers broke through in the second inning when Josh Jung launched a solo homer into the Texas bullpen for the game’s first run. Alejandro Osuna followed later in the frame with an RBI single down the left-field line to make it 2-0.
Jung finished with three hits, tying a career high, after entering the night in a slump. The third baseman has now hit safely in 23 of his last 28 games and raised his batting average to .319.
Texas added two more runs in the fourth. Joc Pederson ripped an RBI double into the gap in left-center before Osuna collected his second run-scoring hit of the night. Osuna recorded his first multi-RBI game of the season and continued a strong start since being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock.
Justin Foscue added another highlight in the fifth inning, blasting the first home run of his major league career over the left-field wall. Batting ninth, Foscue became the first Rangers player since Evan Carter in 2023 to hit his first career homer from the No. 9 spot in the lineup.
Chicago starter Edward Cabrera suffered his first loss of the season after allowing five earned runs over five innings. The right-hander surrendered two home runs and has now allowed seven long balls across his last four starts.
The Cubs’ offense never found an answer against Texas pitching. Chicago finished 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, went hitless in 17 at-bats with runners aboard, and stranded 11 men on base.
Ian Happ provided one of the few bright spots for Chicago, extending his on-base streak to 30 games with a first-inning walk. The streak is currently the longest active run in the National League.
Michael Conforto continued his recent hot stretch with a double, while Seiya Suzuki reached base twice and remained productive against Texas, a club he has consistently handled well throughout his career.
