Cubs Drop Season Opener to Nationals in 10-4 Defeat at Wrigley Field
The Chicago Cubs kicked off their much-anticipated 2026 season with a disheartening home loss to the Washington Nationals on Thursday, March 26th. Everything seemed to go Washington’s way in this one, while for the Cubs, the game was defined by missed opportunities and mixed performances. The Cubs start their season 0-1 after the 10-4 loss, which is an uninspiring beginning for a team with World Series aspirations this season. The Nationals, on the other hand, are flying high after their upset win on the road.
A quiet first inning saw starting pitcher Matthew Boyd put away three straight batters, and Michael Busch cranked a lead-off double for Chicago, but the bats stopped there. In the top of the second, the Nationals got on the board with a solo home run by Joey Wiemer, taking a 1-0 lead that would hold until the bottom of the third inning. It was here that a pair of RBI singles by Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong put the Cubs in front 2-1. Everything seemed to be going well for Craig Counsell’s squad up to this point.
The fourth inning is where disaster struck for Chicago. The Nationals scored six runs in the top of the inning, all of which were earned. Boyd gave up four runs before being pulled with two outs in the inning in favor of Ben Brown, who gave up two more runs before finally recording the third out. The Cubs crossed the plate once in the bottom of the fourth when Nico Hoerner scored on Dansby Swanson’s groundout, but the Nationals would increase their lead back to five in the sixth inning with Nasim Nunez’s score on a wild pitch by Brown.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Busch scored on a bunt single by Crow-Armstrong, but the Nationals’ bullpen held strong the rest of the way. The Cubs seemed to be doing the same until Brady House hammered a two-run homer to make it a six-run game. The Cubs fell short, failing to answer in the bottom of the ninth. The contest ended in a 10-4 Washington victory, one of the more surprising results of Opening Day.
In this game, the Nationals proved to be a more well-rounded team than most were giving them credit for, while the Cubs were sorely disappointing. Washington had it all today, with a strong pitching roster that controlled the Cubs’ talented batting lineup and a more high-powered offense than anyone expected for a team that finished 20th in the MLB in runs scored last season. For Chicago, the game was defined by their all-too-familiar pitching struggles, as four pitchers allowed 12 hits and 10 runs. The Nationals have a lot to look forward to after the upset, while the Cubs have a lot of question marks, particularly on what sort of changes need to be made with the pitching roster. The Cubs and Nationals will continue their opening weekend series on Saturday, before finishing with game three on Sunday.
