Chicago Cubs vs. Texas Rangers MLB game highlights (February 21, 2026)

Cubs spring training is presented by Bet365. Back-to-back days of baseball here in the Cactus League. Sunday, Saturday at Sloan Park with a side of autographs for the first weekend of spring training. Fans love it. We love it. It's a perfect afternoon at Mesa. About to get things started here from Sloan Park. Cactus League game number two. Cubs taking on the Rangers. The Cubs have taken the field. Matthew Boyd throwing his warm-up pitches. And J.D., it's the first start of spring for the Cubs. Best pitcher from last year. Yeah, it was an outstanding season for Matthew Boyd. We mentioned in the open an all-star for the first time in his career. He stayed healthy. Made 31 starts. Turned 35 on Groundhog's Day. And this will be his 12th big league season. Just under 10 full years of Major League Service time. Now he'll pass that this season. And he led the Cubs in both starts, wins, innings pitched, and strikeouts. Not just both, but all of those categories. Line, shallow left field. And it falls in for a single. Off the end of the bat, Sam Haggerty, leadoff single. And it's time for the Rangers lineup. It's brought to you by Ford. Haggerty, Duran, Jansen, 1-2-3. Foscubride, Canna, 4-5-6. Hellman, Wade, Zavala, 7-8-9. Backdoor, outside corner, called third strike. Speaking of, Matthew Boyd, first strikeout of spring. First out here in the first. And not happy with the call, but opted not to challenge. Boyd fires. Wade, and a missed strike three. Back-to-back case for Matthew Boyd. Nice to see. Boyd delivers. Hits off of Boyd's glove. Backhanded, throw to first. And it's not in time. The appropriately named Skip Schumacher. Drive left field. Base hit. Dean comes up with it. Fires home, holds the runner at third. 2-2. Matthew Boyd strands a trio in a scoreless top of the first inning. Middle one, no score. Bottom one, Cubs up. And it's time for the Cubs lineup. Brought to you by Bent, 3-6-5. Shaw, PCA, Kelly, 1-2-3. Johnny Long, Justin Dean, James Triantos, 4-5-6. Pedro Ramirez, Jefferson Rojas, and BJ Murray, 7-8-9. There's Kumar Rocker, the talented right-hander. 26 years old. He was the third overall pick by the Rangers in 2022 out of Vanderbilt. And third overall by the Rangers the next year. Shaw hits that up the middle. And it shoots into center field for a base hit. Shaw's off. Swing and a miss. Throw down to second. And it's not in time. Right on cue. Stole a base match. Shaw. Even a miss. Strike three. And you have a healthy Amaya for the season. You'd be in real good shape. To short. Duran to first. To the second out. Rolled over to short. Duran steps over first. And he gets Jonathan Long. He's usually the trainer that's there watching. That's why I usually save it for the last pitch. Oh, no. Sun ball. It's a high sky today too. Sun stuff here in Arizona. So that'll go down as a double for Tyler Wade. Yeah, we had one yesterday, right? With Seah out there in center field. He lost one in the sun. These high skies are really tough. I think Seah's suggestion after the game was can we do something about that? Can we move the sun? We told him. Go to the driving range or go play a 9 or 18. Oh. Right off of Triantis' glove, it's into right field. Sam Haggerty a second single. It brings in a run. It's 1-0 Rangers. That's a good effort there. Now, you said before the broadcast I was going to give you the keys to play by play, but you're like, you know, I'm more into sound effects, impact. I am. And you had one there. That's a good effort. Just off the tip. Cool meeting the people that have those, like being able to, like, send them some cleats signed or a jersey or, you know, have them out for batting practice. That I pulled last year at DNA Card Shop here in the Valley. Nice rip up the middle there. By Jefferson Rojas. Here's the throw. Home. Nice. And it's late. Jefferson Rojas. RBI single here with two outs in the second. We're tied up at one. He's a fun player. Nice piece of hitting there. 2005. How's that make you feel? Wow. Ten years older than he is. That is insane. Yeah, it's Rojas and Ramirez here combining to put the Cubs on the board. Two talented young players. Like, Ramirez might have been a little bit further along in his development. So, just building off of what we already had. What do you mean? That was strategic. In the air to left. Third out here. Into Mihatovi here. He rips that one down the left field line. It's a fair ball. Hits off the sidewall. Bounces off the wall. Carson Kelly. First Cactus League hit. It's a two-out double. Love to see that from your catcher, Tommy, right? Yes. Hits off the glove. It's a single for Johnny Long. And then a two-out rally here for the Cubs. Yeah, that says this is how much I'm working today. Sky to right. Zavala fights the sun. Makes the catch. Ends the inning. All 2025 Rangers. Lever to short. Jefferson Rojas charges over to first. Ooh, that's dangerous. And Johnny Long's down. I've seen that a number of times over the years. The first baseman drifts into the path of the base runner. That off-line throw. Better body language right now. Yeah, I think, you know, he was... Crangello was working with him there. And I think eventually counts just tapped him and said, Let's just get him out anyway, regardless. Let's just err on the side of caution. Get him off the field. Daniel Palencia. I mean, it's throughout the minor league system as well. That is scorched out to right. Matt Shaw back. And he makes the catch. Hard sound. Loud out. Matt Shaw passes first test in right field. Line left center. It's a single for Tyler Wade. One-two. It's a called third strike. Ring him up, sit him down. Splitters. Line drive, left field. Another base hit for Haggerty. That'll go all the way to the wall. Scores one. Here comes Tyler Wade. No throw. And it's a three-hit day for Sam Haggerty. Two more runs driven in. And it's three-to-one Rangers. Triantos line drive. And a base hit to right field. Pedro Ramirez loops it to center. Back-to-back singles for the Cubs. Here's Triantos. Speed. He gets the third. He's going to play the game. Good read. Aggressive. In situations like this. Rips that to short. Duran to first. Gets Rojas. Triantos scores. Productive at bat for Jefferson Rojas. Run for the Cubs. Cuts their deficit in half. It's a three-two game. Ball four. Payoff. No challenge needed there. Sees Pete Crowe arm strong. Pop up from Pete to third. Jonah Brey makes the catch for the second out. Two outs. Sharply to third. Crowe to second. Ends the half inning. A little bit here. A little bit there. And I'm kind of just following. One-two. Jack Neely. First strikeout. Second out here in the six. Neely a 40-man roster pitcher. Adds to the Cubs depth in the triple-A ranks last year. Jack Neely. Back-to-back case. Ends the top of the six. Nicely done. Three-two. Cubs trail. Brett Bateman lifts it to left. And some making it fun. First out here in the bottom of the six. Chopper to short. First, the pick, and now two outs. Watch that sail over his head. B.J. Murray strikes out swinging. Between the starts, we were able to modify those. Because that's really where it's the work in between those five days, right? As compared to, like, just saying, this is what I'm going to do over the year. It's like, let's stay strong through the year. Let's make sure we're in the right mechanics. Would help him. I would help teach him how to call the hog so he could impress some of these Arkansas Razorbacks in camp. Well, they got a lot of them. They do. And did he bite? Was he interested? Well, he said, actually. Feels about right. A bit of a strike three. To me. Size here. Here's a pickoff. Throw to second. A page out of Matthew Boyd's book. To second. Nice play at second. Nice throw from second. And the first out here in the eighth. Seen here in camp. Casey Opitz. Armis. That's grounded to short. Flipped to second. Ends the bottom of the eighth inning. Cubs rallied. Inside corner called third strike. A guy from my hometown was in the luge. Really? Right out to third. Johnny Gustafson. Ball game over. Rangers win 3-2. Game featured 19 hits. Cubs 0-2 in Cactus League play. Again, following this one by a run.