What the Cubs Opening Day Loss Told Us—And What It Didn’t

Chicago did not kick off their season the way the organization wanted, but it is a long season, and this one loss is not going to define what their goals are, and their abilities to reach them.

Matthew Boyd | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Opening Day has come and gone, and the 2026 season is now in full swing.

The Chicago Cubs started their year at Wrigley Field against the Washington Nationals, and it did not go well. What felt like what could be a potential sweep to start the season instead turned into a 10-4 blowout as starting pitcher Matthew Boyd allowed six earned runs in under four innings.

With the best all-around defense standing behind him, it's less than promising that he had such a brutal showcase, throwing a pair of home run balls before he was officially pulled in the fourth inning.

There are so many Gold Gloves backing the field between Ian Happ (4), Nico Hoerner (2), PCA (1), and Alex Bregman (1). The hope is that this kind of outing won't happen again and will be more of an anomaly than an accurate representation.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd throws against the Washington Nationals | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

What Opening Day told us

The loss definitely told the tale of an issue with consistency with the starting rotation, which unfortunately includes Boyd. There is already a glaring issue with Jameson Taillon, as he posted a 17+ ERA during spring training. The Cubs cannot afford to have Boyd facing the same issue this season.

The one bright side to the pitching staff was one of the new faces to the bullpen: Hoby Milner. Milner is a ground ball specialist, so it isn't surprising that with the gloves standing behind him, he threw a near-flawless inning with no runs scored and one measly hit.

The bullpen has always been a highlight for Chicago, and that is continuing on despite the Nationals having all of the momentum when the pen took over.

Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch (29) hits a RBI single against the Washington Nationals | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

On the offensive side, there isn't enough time or space on a page to talk about what first baseman Michael Busch means to this team, and he did not disappoint as the leadoff man for the Cubs.

Busch stepped up to the plate four times, and he made contact on three of those occasions while also drawing a walk, scoring two runs, and bringing a runner home. Busch was robbed of a Silver Slugger last year, but he is ready to have another explosive year.

What the loss didn't tell us

There is truly no telling what could happen with Boyd the rest of the year. Fans saw him implode in his first start of the NLDS, but then he came back and led the Cubs to a win in a do-or-die matchup his next time out. He is the veteran this rotation needs, and it is clearly too early to make hasty judgments.

Outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who signed a six-year extension the day prior, had a pair of strikeouts, but he made up for it with a couple of hits and 2 RBI in his other trips to the plate as the clean-up man in the lineup.

Strikeouts were a concern for him down the stretch as he struck out more than once a game in his final 60, but he wasn't making contact during that time either (.216 batting average), so there isn't any reason to look too closely at his retirements in their first loss.

First run of the 2026 season courtesy of Michael Busch 😏 pic.twitter.com/T5jpXUu9E6

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) March 26, 2026

Baseball is the longest season in professional sports, so this first loss doesn't mean much when the entire rest of the season is ahead. This one loss won't define them, but what they do moving forward as the team looks to make a deep postseason run when October rolls around.

Hopefully, this won't continue, but Boyd definitely has some ground to make up moving forward. It isn't a major concern right now, but it's definitely on the radar of Jed Hoyer and Craig Counsell.