Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Colin Rea shows he's a viable option in Cubs' rotation in a win over Rays
09 Apr 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What were the highlights of the Cubs' win against the Rays?
Thank you for joining us. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. We're happy to have you on a nice day in the city and an eventful day here when it comes to The Score. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody. We have a lot to discuss and we have to start with what we saw yesterday. Hear me out. The Cubs took two of three. They won a series.
beating the Rays 6-2 and doing so with star power that was originally unlikely sources. Number one, take a victory lap for Colin Ray and everybody who was team Colin Ray when it came to trusting him.
Oh, wait, that's me. Yep, run around. I told y'all, Colin Ray can pitch. He's a viable option, not over the course of a season for 30-plus starts, but as a swing guy, he's one of the top swing options, if not the top swing option, in the major leagues.
And Colin Ray wasn't the only one. But wait, there's more. Who also helped out in this series taking two games? That would be Javier Asad. Ten and two-thirds inning out of them. One earned run. Slow clap.
And more than that, it was... More than just the fact that it was just the one run, how about three hits total, all singles? All singles! That's all you're giving up, which maybe speaks a little bit to where Tampa is right now and their process is...
Tampa going into this series, though, was, and I don't know how much you care when it's 10 days into the season, Tampa going into this series as a team hitting for batting average was fifth in Major League Baseball.
That's much lower now, isn't it?
But that's the difference that three games can make. However, it's a good sign. We saw the Cubs hit for two straight games. We saw them put together big innings, which is something that will usually result in successful games themselves. And they brought people home. There were productive outs.
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Chapter 2: How did Colin Ray perform in the game against the Rays?
The last two games were what you wanted to see. I think it does help that they were in a dome at Tropicana Field, which was newly renovated. And I feel like this was... a positive in the right directions. And by the way, you get reinforcements on Friday. Seiya! Seiya Suzuki comes on Friday. That is still looking to be online. And he had a good rehab assignment at AA in Knoxville.
So this all seems to be headed in a better direction. What a difference a series can make. But you got to win them, though. And for them to take two or three against a team that wasn't exactly a slouch. I think says a lot. They hit like you wanted to see. Now, are there still some issues in the heart of the lineup? Sure. But the point is enough people are hitting.
Nico Horner, Nico Homer to start the game. He was three for five on the day. And I like him in that leadoff spot, too. So I was happy to see the starting pitching do enough.
Five innings these days is a happy count, you know, so it's not the traditional six at least, but I was glad to see Javier Assad and Colin Ray put those performances together, step up when asked, be consistent when we saw them, and then see what happened offensively with the lineup that we had. It was Horner, Bush, Bregman, Peeker, Armstrong.
Chapter 3: Who else contributed to the Cubs' success in this series?
Carson Kelly, who again continues to hit well so far, two for four on the day. Moises Ballesteros, Dansby Swanson, Michael Conforto, and then Matt Shaw. So in the process of trying to see how you put this together and how you make it work, I think that that was a nice building block.
No, I think this is pretty much what a standard operating procedure should look like when you have either Javier Assad or Colin Ray on the mound. I remember when the Cade Horton news came out that he's out for the season, will undergo elbow surgery. I told y'all. I'm not worried about the Cubs necessarily making the playoffs.
The division might be something that's going to be a lot more interesting now without your bona fide ace. It's more of understanding what you need to make a playoff run once you get to the playoffs, and you've got to have guys who throw zeros. Fortunate that one of these two replacements threw zeros. Don't expect that every time out, but I feel like they can keep
opposing teams at bay well enough to have the Cubs in these games and having a fighting chance of winning most of the games that they start between Assad and Ray.
Well, and Ray, I don't know how he feels about his role ultimately when it comes to just doing what is asked. He knows that that's part of what his life has been the past two seasons. But for him to go out there and just be absolutely consistent, five innings, only the one road run, only two walks to go with his two strikeouts.
If you're trying to make their job hard when it comes to how they figure this out, who you want to send back down or how you configure the bullpen, he's doing that. And then I really like what one of our texters said. You can call and text at 312-644-6767. 630 says Assad just gets out. I really don't feel like they believe in him, though. I feel exactly the same about this.
Assad does get outs, and I feel like they had to send somebody down. You saw who they sent. They sent Javier Assad. And we heard Carter Hawkins Marshall say to us earlier in the week that he knew that it wasn't going to be for a very long time. And you could tell that to a pitcher.
But at the end of the day, you still had to make a decision, and you did send somebody down, and it was Javier Assad. So Ray's job, Assad's job, make it hard for them to try to do it again.
I think Ray does that every day behind that glass. Makes it harder for me to try to do things over and over. Oh, you're talking about Colin Ray. My bad.
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Chapter 4: What does the Cubs' recent hitting performance indicate?
it gets a lot easier for everybody else to help fill in the gaps. And that's what we saw yesterday.
Talking about the Cubs taking two of three from the Rays, their second series win of the season here on Rahimi Harris and Grody, and a much-needed one before they get Seiya Suzuki back ahead of a series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are above them in the NL Central, because guess what? Everybody is above them in the NL Central.
Hey, at least they're .500.
Here's a stat for you. Yes, they're .500. There are four... I don't know if I should be slow clapping on that one. But they fought back to get to 500, and they're within striking distance. And here's a great stat I picked up. Four teams in the National League Central above 500. That's as many teams in the entire American League that are above 500. Just to show you early season trends.
In the entire American League. How about that Astros and Rockies series? Well, well... Well, we're going to have some things happen. Life comes at you fast.
It does. It does indeed. That's what Cubs fans are finding out with the news about Cade Horton, the news about Matthew Boyd. But also, they should feel a little bit better in terms of the short term about having guys like Assad and Ray. And more importantly, you mentioned Nico Horner leading off. I think we have come to the place where we believe he should be the everyday leadoff guy, right?
Was there a time where you were more passionate about the idea of Michael Bush leading off?
I don't think I was passionate about it. I just understood it against right-handed hitters based on what he did last year in that spot. But you know how I feel about Nico. When they had him batting, what was it, sixth?
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Chapter 5: What impact does Seiya Suzuki's return have on the Cubs?
In the one line? Maybe the opening day? I was like, I don't want... Something strange. I don't want Nico Horner batting that low. He needs more bats than everybody else. And guess what? He's got a 1.2 war through... However many games are there? What, 12?
Yeah, 12. They're 6-6.
He's... He's playing very good baseball, like a high-level baseball with three more hits yesterday.
I'm sorry that I'm very basic Betty when it comes to my baseball philosophy. But I still believe in starting pitching is money in the bank. It'll make everybody breathe easier. And so will a good leadoff hitter. I'm not to the extent of Joe Maddon, you go, we go. But give the guy who you think hits and gets on base the best the most at bats. And that's what we saw.
Are we to the point yet in this season where we have figured out a formula, whether it is the lineup or trying to figure out who pitches behind whom? I don't think I'm there yet. I don't know about you. I think there's still too many questions in the bullpen. For example, Phil Maton. That's something that we actually have to keep monitoring and watching.
And I think that's just the way of the world where you know you're probably going to pay for somebody because the asking price and the suitors are so high in free agency for a bullpen arm like Maton. Then you've got to figure out what his real worth is. And I think that's where the Cubs are at right now.
I feel like this may be a yearly tradition with them where you give up either some capital in a pick through trade or... Not a pick, obviously, but a player through trade. Or you're in the situation where... You pay for somebody like Maton, and you might have to have some sunk cost if it goes south quickly. But this is the time to try to figure that out.
One thing I know for sure, bat Nico Horner a leadoff.
Yeah, I think that's a constant. You mentioned Phil Maton. I think him being on a two-year deal is what hurts because you can't just cut bait on that when you've got a guy signed for two years. And not to say that they would want to cut bait necessarily this early in the season. Anyway, it just has not been good. It has not been efficient. And it's cost them opportunities to win baseball games.
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Chapter 6: How are the Cubs' pitching strategies evolving this season?
I think the Cubs wanted to keep Assad stretched out, whereas Ray had been a swingman in the past. That's absolutely correct.
Yeah. I feel like that's settled science. Yeah.
8-1-5, though. Does Javier Assad have a case of being higher on the depth chart than Ben Brown? No, because Ben Brown is a relief pitcher. Javier Assad is a starter. That's the whole point. They wanted him as insurance for their starting rotation.
Somebody yesterday sent us a message saying they thought Ben Brown had top of the rotation stuff. And I just, it's hard, no. No. Full stop. So, until Ben Brown gets a third pitch that he is comfortable with, that he wants to throw. Isn't that what the sinker is? Supposedly.
Allegedly.
Did you hear my qualifiers? Contrable width, wants to throw. Until he figures out how to mix that in and works with his respective catchers on how to do so, I feel like you can't go there yet. He's very much still a work in progress, and they are very much still using him out of the pen. But, yeah, Assad stretched out. It makes sense. Collin Razor swing guy.
But now you both are in starting roles. And Ben Brown, by the way, did pitch yesterday. Two innings. Gave up an earned run. He had three strikeouts, though.
Like the strikeouts. So that's improvement.
It actually is, Jerry Jones. It actually is. And when you're trying to figure out how you want to put this thing together for the season... I think a series where you take two of three and you score runs in both of the games to the tune of a 6-2 win last night. You're breathing a little easier on the day off today before you face Pittsburgh.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of Cade Horton’s injury for the Cubs?
The good ones make it look easy. Aaron Judge makes it look like he takes two steps and finds the ball. Not the case for everybody else. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. On this Thursday, our producers are Ray Diaz and Tyler Biederbaugh. Brandon Fryer helps us out as well. We broadcast live from The Score's Hyundai studios, brought to you by your local Hyundai dealers.
Breaking news when we have it on The Score is brought to you by IDOT. Speeding in a work zone is a no-win. Mind the signs. Avoid the fines. Our video team is Connor O'Donnell, Jacob Stutz, and Max Curtis. Cody Westerlin is part of our social team as well. You can catch us on Twitch, twitch.tv slash thescorechicago. The Twitch mob is up and chatting. We are also at YouTube.
The Score Chicago is our address there. And you can text and call 312-644-6767. Coming up next... To the NBA haters, this is the season for you. I think we've reached pink tank of the tank, have we not?
It's bad. It's really bad.
Wait till you hear the latest efforts to do so and what is happening. And the hero that we absolutely deserve in this situation has spoken up. That's next.
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