ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Alex Bregman went 4 for 4 with two home runs and four RBIs in his second game back from a frightening injury, and the Chicago Cubs beat the Boston Red Sox 6-2 on Sunday in a regular-season finale that was relocated to Tropicana Field.
Chicago is the No. 5 seed in the National League playoffs and will play a best-of-three Wild Card Series at fourth-seeded San Diego beginning Tuesday night.
Boston is the No. 5 seed in the American League playoffs and will travel to New York to open its Wild Card Series the same night against the rival Yankees.
Major League Baseball moved the Cubs-Red Sox season finale to Florida because of a weekend nor’easter that was expected to batter the Boston area into Monday. Ahead of the storm, the Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Cubs on Friday at Fenway Park.
Bregman went 0 for 4 with a strikeout at designated hitter in the opener — five days after sustaining facial fractures when he was struck in the face by a foul ball while standing in the on-deck circle.
The three-time All-Star third baseman, who played for Boston last year, was the DH again Sunday and fared much better at the plate in his final postseason tuneup. In addition to finishing a triple shy of the cycle, he drew a walk and scored three times.
With the NL MVP award virtually locked up, Pete Crow-Armstrong singled to open the game before Cubs manager Craig Counsell immediately removed him for pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor. Bregman launched the next pitch from Tanner Houck (0-1) into the left-field seats.
Adley Rutschman hit a solo homer off Chicago starter Shota Imanaga, who was lifted after one inning with postseason seeding already decided.
Braxton Garrett (1-1) pitched five strong innings in relief for his first win since May 29, 2024. Colin Rea earned his second save.
Played at the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, the game drew 20,411 fans who had less than 48 hours’ notice to purchase tickets.
Chicago finished 89-73, three games shy of its 92-70 mark in 2025.
Boston, which was 89-73 in 2025, ended the season 87-75. The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora following a 10-17 start and replaced him with Chad Tracy.
Under Tracy, Boston became the first team to qualify for the postseason after dropping as many as 44 of its initial 75 games.
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Zak Gilbert, The Associated Press
