The Chicago Cubs bats woke up on Saturday in a 10-2 win, but the team has much more work to do if they want to be a playoff contender after losing to the Washington Nationals 6-3 on Sunday.
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The Cubs squandered an opportunity to win their opening series at Wrigley Field.
Shota Imanaga was the losing pitcher for Chicago, allowing four earned runs on six hits in 5.0 innings pitched on Sunday. The Nationals put up three runs in the first inning in front of a crowd of 33,559 at Wrigley Field.
The loss came just days after second baseman Nico Hoerner signed a six-year contract extension worth $141 million. He went 1-of-4 at-bat on Sunday, and has two hits and 11 at-bats through the first three games of the season.
Chicago Cubs 2B Nico Hoerner is thinking about a World Series
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Amid the rough start, Hoerner told reporters on Sunday that he wanted to stay with the Cubs because he believes the team can win a World Series.
“I think there’d be nothing more rewarding and satisfying than winning a championship in the place that you started,” Hoerner said, via Marquee Sports Network. “There are just so many relationships in this building and people that I’ve gotten to know over the years, and it’s just those kinds of celebrations that mean that much more.
“When it’s with people that you’ve been through a lot with. We can get a small taste of that just making the playoffs last year, winning a first-round series… I think we’re a part of a group right now that’s capable of a whole lot more, and I think that should be the standard moving forward.”
"I think there'd be nothing more rewarding and satisfying than winning a championship in the place that I started."
Nico Hoerner is ready to bring home some hardware 🏆 pic.twitter.com/VN8wawGr5m
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 29, 2026
The Cubs didn’t look like a postseason contender during their series with the Nationals. It was a series the team absolutely should have won.
Chicago will ned host the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.
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Nico Hoerner insisted on this clause to be in his Chicago Cubs extension
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