CHICAGO -- As the guest performer braved the cold conditions at Wrigley Field to deliver the national anthem on Monday night, Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong stood by, only his eyes showing from beneath his winter mask. It was no exaggeration to call it one of the most frigid evenings in team history.
When the Cubs¡¯ front office went about constructing this lineup over the offense, it did so with the goal of creating a group that could adapt to a variety of conditions. Adjusting to football weather was not part of those plans, but Chicago¡¯s offense did show its ability to find a way in a 7-0 victory over the Rangers.
¡°We¡¯re a good athletic team,¡± Cubs utility man Jon Berti said. ¡°To be able to push the envelope when it¡¯s there and try to create runs, especially on a night like tonight when you don¡¯t know how many runs it¡¯s going to take to win -- cold, wind blowing in -- that¡¯s big.¡±
Consider that the temperature was 38 degrees when the puck was dropped in the 2025 Winter Classic between the NHL¡¯s Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues on Dec. 31 at Wrigley Field. Monday¡¯s first-pitch temp was announced at 34 degrees, which was tied for the fourth-coldest in Cubs history at the ballpark (and lowest since April 18, 2011), per team historian Ed Hartig.
Cubs lefty Justin Steele looked perfectly fine in the elements, giving his team seven scoreless innings against a Texas squad that entered the day atop the American League West standings. Steele scattered three hits, struck out eight and issued two walks in an outing that did not require much in the way of support.
¡°He was on the attack,¡± Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. ¡°On a night like tonight, we talked about it pregame, ¡®You have to be on the attack.¡¯ And I thought he pitched really, really well. He knew that was the plan tonight, and he executed it perfectly.¡±
And without knowing how many runs would be realistic on this night, Chicago¡¯s lineup worked to manufacture some offense early on.
In the second, Michael Busch hit a ground-rule double, moved to second on a bunt from Dansby Swanson and scored on a sacrifice fly by Miguel Amaya. In the third, Berti (starting in place of second baseman Nico Hoerner) was hit by a pitch from Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi, but then stole second and third base. Berti then scored by sprinting on contact on a grounder to first from Ian Happ, beating a throw to the plate.
¡°My favorite at-bat, slash inning, of the night was Berti¡¯s,¡± Busch said. ¡°Being able to have that at-bat, and then getting on first base, stealing second, stealing third and getting to score. That was a big run and a huge at-bat and just such an individual moment for him.¡±
This was not going to be a night with much power production, as evidenced by Kyle Tucker¡¯s deep fly to right field in the fifth. He connected on an Eovaldi pitch and sent it soaring with an exit velocity of 104.6 mph. Per Statcast, it would have been a homer in six MLB ballparks. On Monday night, it was a flyout to right fielder Adolis Garc¨ªa.
Without much slugging percentage available in the air, the Cubs found other avenues.
¡°I think it¡¯s preparation rather than adaptation,¡± Crow-Armstrong said. ¡°We¡¯re prepared for the weather. We know it¡¯s going to be there. I¡¯ve said it before: You take what Wrigley is giving you.¡±
Seiya Suzuki walked, stole second and then scored on a Busch low-liner into the right-field corner in the fifth that resulted in a triple. In the sixth, Chicago used a string of five singles -- plus some aggressive baserunning mixed in -- to generate a four-run outburst. On the night, the Cubs stole five bases (with only one of those runners stranded).
¡°We played just an all-around really good offensive game,¡± Counsell said. ¡°[Berti] created that run all by himself. We took advantage of stolen bases, and then we swung the bats well. We had 10 hits on a night that¡¯s pretty difficult to hit on. All around, good offensive night.¡±
Busch laughed when asked if he felt being from Minnesota helps on nights like Monday.
¡°I think it had something to do with that,¡± Busch said of his two extra-base hits. ¡°Just growing up and playing in some of those games, those are always fun.¡±