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FinalFinal lineupsNL Central / AL East

Chicago Cubs 6, Boston Red Sox 2

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

3:05 PM ET · Tropicana FieldGame-day snapshot Sep 29, 2:00 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 29, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score51
Chicago Cubs
89–73 · 2nd NL Central · T-Score 51
6
6–2
FINAL · 9 innings
Boston Red Sox
87–75 · 3rd AL East · T-Score 45
2
T-Score45
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Shota ImanagaCHC
Starter
1.0110312
Braxton GarrettCHC
ReliefWin
5.0413270
Colin ReaCHC
ReliefSave
2.0000120
Tanner HouckBOS
StarterLoss
3.0430150
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
CHCChicago Cubs2010000036130
BOSBoston Red Sox110000000251
Top hitters
Alex Bregman4-for-4 · 2 HR · 4 RBI · 1 BB
Adley Rutschman1-for-2 · 1 HR · 1 RBI · 1 BB
Michael Conforto2-for-5 · 1 RBI
Gabriel Arias0-for-1 · 1 RBI
Andruw Monasterio0-for-3 · 1 RBI

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherEvenBoth starters enter with comparable season profiles; neither holds a meaningful statistical advantage.
LineupSoxBoston's official lineup includes 5 right-handed bats against the opposing starter.
BullpenSoxBoston has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.
PowerCubsChicago has 218 home runs this season, 56 more than Boston.
Plate disciplineCubsChicago has drawn 671 walks this season, 157 more than Boston.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

CHC
Shota Imanaga LHP
Shota Imanaga
Chicago Cubs
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.74
79th
WHIP
1.10
35th
K/9
8.88
71st
BB/9
1.92
12th
P-Score59i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.77
203rd
OPS/R
–
IP
173.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.54
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
5
BOS
Tanner Houck RHP
Tanner Houck
Boston Red Sox
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
–
WHIP
–
K/9
–
BB/9
–
FIP
–
HR/9
–
OPS/R
–
IP
–
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.07
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
503
How the starters differ
·Imanaga is on 5 days of rest; Houck is on 503.
·Imanaga averages 2.6 more innings per start.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Imanaga arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam40%91.6
Splitter35%82.8
Sweeper15%81.0
Sinker6%90.2
Curveball3%74.4
Slider2%86.4
Houck arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Sinker28%92.5
Sweeper26%84.4
Splitter24%88.6
Four-seam22%93.3

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Cubs vs RHP (Tanner Houck)
3rd
in MLB
0.757OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Sox vs LHP (Shota Imanaga)
7th
in MLB
0.735OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 27, 1:05 PM ET
CHCCHC
.756
+17 ptsOPS edge
BOSBOS
.739

Slight edge: CHC

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Chicago CubsOfficial lineupvs RHP Tanner Houck
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Houck (BvP)
1Pete Crow-ArmstrongLCF76.94245.9730-for-2Very small sample
2Alex BregmanR3B68.81928.7991-for-3Very small sample
3Michael BuschL1B61.74520.7360-for-4Very small sample
4Ian HappSLF60.73824.8160-for-1Very small sample
5Michael ConfortoLDH64.80015.774No MLB historyNo history
6Nico HoernerR2B46.6668.6650-for-4Very small sample
7Pedro RamírezS2B49.7236.662No MLB historyNo history
8Dansby SwansonRSS50.69419.6771-for-2Very small sample
9Miguel AmayaRC41.7176.7010-for-2Very small sample
1Pete Crow-Armstrong CF · L.280 / .942 · 45 HRvs hand .973 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample76H-Score2Alex Bregman 3B · R.265 / .819 · 28 HRvs hand .799 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample68H-Score3Michael Busch 1B · L.242 / .745 · 20 HRvs hand .736 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample61H-Score4Ian Happ LF · S.218 / .738 · 24 HRvs hand .816 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample60H-Score5Michael Conforto DH · L.240 / .800 · 15 HRvs hand .774 · No MLB history · No history64H-Score6Nico Hoerner 2B · R.263 / .666 · 8 HRvs hand .665 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample46H-Score7Pedro Ramírez 2B · S.261 / .723 · 6 HRvs hand .662 · No MLB history · No history49H-Score8Dansby Swanson SS · R.213 / .694 · 19 HRvs hand .677 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample50H-Score9Miguel Amaya C · R.237 / .717 · 6 HRvs hand .701 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample41H-Score
Boston Red SoxOfficial lineupvs LHP Shota Imanaga
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Imanaga (BvP)
1Roman AnthonyLLF54.7355.5250-for-2Very small sample
2Adley RutschmanSC54.74113.6400-for-2Very small sample
3Willson ContrerasR1B71.90227.9450-for-4Very small sample
4Wilyer AbreuLRF62.77324.895No MLB historyNo history
5Ceddanne RafaelaRCF54.76516.8240-for-2Very small sample
6Nick SogardS2B47.7275.920No MLB historyNo history
7Caleb DurbinR3B44.71013.6880-for-7Very small sample
8Trevor StoryRSS32.6225.6360-for-3Very small sample
9Andruw MonasterioRSS38.6666.813No MLB historyNo history
1Roman Anthony LF · L.245 / .735 · 5 HRvs hand .525 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample54H-Score2Adley Rutschman C · S.242 / .741 · 13 HRvs hand .640 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample54H-Score3Willson Contreras 1B · R.275 / .902 · 27 HRvs hand .945 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample71H-Score4Wilyer Abreu RF · L.248 / .773 · 24 HRvs hand .895 · No MLB history · No history62H-Score5Ceddanne Rafaela CF · R.285 / .765 · 16 HRvs hand .824 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample54H-Score6Nick Sogard 2B · S.255 / .727 · 5 HRvs hand .920 · No MLB history · No history47H-Score7Caleb Durbin 3B · R.248 / .710 · 13 HRvs hand .688 · 0-for-7 · Very small sample44H-Score8Trevor Story SS · R.235 / .622 · 5 HRvs hand .636 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample32H-Score9Andruw Monasterio SS · R.233 / .666 · 6 HRvs hand .813 · No MLB history · No history38H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCHCCHC·BOSBOS
AVG.251 6th.245 14th
OPS.767 1st.717 19th
Home runs220 3rd163 26th
Runs850 1st689 23rd
OBP.339 2nd.319 12th
SLG.428 1st.398 20th
PitchingCHCCHC·BOSBOS
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.12vs3.54
CHCBOS
WHIP1.26vs1.23
CHCBOS
K/97.8vs8.7
CHCBOS
HR Allowed231vs153
CHCBOS
BullpenCHCCHC·BOSBOS
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.94vs3.32
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.30vs1.21
no league rank
Saves36vs46
CHCBOS
ResultsCHCCHC·BOSBOS
+5081st
Run differential
+37915th
89–73 Record87–75
4–6 Last 105–5
Last 10 games
Chicago Cubs (4–6)
L
L
W
L
L
W
W
L
W
L
Boston Red Sox (5–5)
W
W
L
W
L
L
L
W
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
2—1
3 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Cubs?+
Shota Imanaga (3.74 ERA, 11–10) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Sox?+
Tanner Houck is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
3:05 PM ET at Tropicana Field.
Where is the game being played?+
Tropicana Field, home of the Boston Red Sox.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Cubs and Sox performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Sox 1–2 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
P-Score is available for one starter only.