FINAL May 8, 2026
May 8, 2026 · AL West

Chicago Cubs vs Texas Rangers

May 8, 2026Globe Life FieldRoof Closed 74°F · 0 mph, None
AWAY
Chicago Cubs
27-12
7
vs
HOME
Texas Rangers
17-21
1

Starting pitchers

AWAY · CHC
Ben Brown
Ben Brown
IP 4
HOME · TEX
Kumar Rocker
Kumar Rocker
IP 3.2

Lineups

AWAY · CHC
  1. 1 Nico Hoerner 2B
  2. 2 Michael Conforto DH
  3. 3 Alex Bregman 3B
  4. 4 Ian Happ LF
  5. 5 Seiya Suzuki RF
  6. 6 Michael Busch 1B
  7. 7 Carson Kelly C
  8. 8 Pete Crow-Armstrong CF
  9. 9 Dansby Swanson SS
HOME · TEX
  1. 1 Brandon Nimmo RF
  2. 2 Ezequiel Duran 2B
  3. 3 Corey Seager SS
  4. 4 Josh Jung 3B
  5. 5 Evan Carter CF
  6. 6 Joc Pederson DH
  7. 7 Jake Burger 1B
  8. 8 Alejandro Osuna LF
  9. 9 Danny Jansen C

Box score

  123456789 R
CHC 100201300 7
TEX 000010000 1

Manager comparison

Both managers grade C / B- entering this matchup.

AWAY · CHC
Craig Counsell
C Lineup 1.7 R Bunts 0.4 R IBBs 0.3 R
HOME · TEX
Skip Schumaker
B- Lineup 1.0 R Bunts 0.3 R IBBs 0.9 R

Recent form

AWAY · CHC
10-0 W10 +27 run diff
WWWWWWWWWW
HOME · TEX
3-7 L2 -20 run diff
LLWLLLWWLL

Season series: 1-0 with CHC listed first across 1 prior meeting.

Tactical analysis

RunsLeft separates manager decisions from player execution from game variance. Each card below is the same three-number framework that drives the share cards on the SPA replay page.

AWAY · Chicago Cubs
  • Manager lineup cost +0.18 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 4.90 vs actual lineup 4.72
  • Player execution +2.28 R/G Players exceeded the lineup's 4.72 projection by 2.28 (scored 7)
  • Game variance +2.10 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Hoerner 0-for-5 batting 1st

HOME · Texas Rangers
  • Manager lineup cost +0.00 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 2.39 vs actual lineup 2.39
  • Player execution −1.39 R/G Players fell 1.39 short of the lineup's 2.39 projection (scored 1)
  • Game variance −1.39 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Seager 0-for-4 batting 3rd

COUNTERFACTUAL

Optimal lineups projected 4.9 – 2.4 — actual was 7 – 1.

GAME INSIGHTS
  • Ian Happ reaches base in 29 consecutive games
    Ian Happ (CHC) has reached base safely in 29 straight games — past the 25-game watermark.
  • Craig Counsell (CHC) has run 27 distinct starting lineups across 30 games this season — that's 90% turnover game-to-game. Most managers stay below 14 for the same span.
  • Skip Schumaker (TEX) has run 30 distinct starting lineups across 30 games this season — that's 100% turnover game-to-game. Most managers stay below 14 for the same span.

Keep reading

How RunsLeft analyzes games

Standard content on this page comes from the MLB Stats API. Tactical analysis comes from a per-game Monte Carlo: 10,000 simulated games against the opposing starter's ERA, both for the actual lineup the manager wrote and for the optimal arrangement of those nine players. The three numbers — manager cost, player execution, game variance — separate which part of the result was the lineup, the players, or the dice.

Read the full methodology.