ST. PETERSBURGH, Fla. (AP) — Alex Bregman broke out of an 0-for13 slump with three hits and Javier Assad worked 5 2/3 shutout innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 9-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
The Cubs (5-6) banged out a season-best 16 hits and snapped a two-game skid. The Rays had their three-game winning streak halted in front of an announced crowd of 21,377 in the second game of their return to Tropicana Field.
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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Mason Englert goes into his windup against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Chicago Cubs' Javier Assad pitches to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman connects for a single off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Cole Sulser during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Chicago Cubs pitcher Javier Assad delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Both teams had some rotation chaos.
The Rays (5-6) were without scheduled starter Drew Rasmussen, whose wife went into labor with the couple's second child hours before first pitch. Mason Englert (0-1) got the start and allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.
The Cubs announced before the game that ace Cade Horton would miss the rest of the season after an MRI revealed UCL damage in his right elbow.
Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong had his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh inning, among his three hits. Moises Ballesteros' two-run homer in the ninth was his first of the season.
Bregman's last hit before Tuesday came Friday night. The 32-year-old Bregman, who signed a five-year contract with Chicago last winter, lined a single to left field in the first inning, led off the third with a double and started the fifth with a single.
Assad (1-0), stepping into the rotation for the injured Matthew Boyd, held the Rays to one hit and two walks into the sixth inning. Assad was recalled on Monday when Boyd was placed on the injured list with a left biceps strain. The Cubs have won six of Assad’s last seven starts dating to Aug. 17, 2025.
Cubs RHP Colin Rea (0-0, 4.26 ERA) will make his first start of the season Wednesday, stepping into Horton's spot, in the series finale against Tampa Bay's RHP Joe Boyle (0-0, 3.18 ERA).
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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Mason Englert goes into his windup against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Chicago Cubs' Javier Assad pitches to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Chicago Cubs' Alex Bregman connects for a single off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Cole Sulser during the fifth inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Chicago Cubs pitcher Javier Assad delivers to the Tampa Bay Rays during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices plunged below $100 a barrel and Asia markets and U.S. stock futures jumped after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 4.8% and South Korea’s Kospi gained 5.6%. Futures for the S&P 500 advanced 2.3% as of 9:30 p.m. EDT, while Dow futures rose 2%.
Futures for U.S. crude oil sank 14.3% to $96.83 a barrel and Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 13.3% to $94.74. Oil prices had spiked because the war snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers around the world, but Iran had blocked it to enemies.
Late Tuesday, Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges, power plants and other civilian targets. Iran’s foreign minister said passage through the strait would be allowed for the next two weeks under Iranian military management.
The dramatic moves in prices are just the latest swings to hit financial markets since late February because of constantly shifting signals about when the conflict may end. Even with word of a ceasefire, neither Iran nor the United States said when it would begin, and attacks took place in Israel, Iran and across the Gulf region early Wednesday.
Earlier, U.S. stocks swung sharply during regular trading as uncertainty about the war with Iran increased after Trump had threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran does not meet his deadline at 8 p.m. Eastern time to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.2% but stocks rallied at the end of trading after Pakistan’s prime minister urged Trump to extend his deadline for another two weeks and asked Iran to open up the strait for the same amount of time.
The S&P 500 erased all its losses and ended with a modest gain of 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 85 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.1%.
They’re the latest swings to hit financial markets since late February because of deep uncertainty about when the fighting may end.
Oil prices were likewise shaky. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude to be delivered in May briefly climbed above $117 before settling at $112.95.
Oil prices have spiked because the war has snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers around the world, but Iran has blocked it to enemies.
The worry in markets has been that a long-term disruption will keep oil prices high for a long time and send a painful wave of inflation crashing through the global economy. Trump kept traders on edge by making a series of threats to blow up Iranian power plants only to delay several times.
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline across the United States has leaped to $4.14, according to AAA. It was below $3 a couple days before the United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased on word of a potential cease-fire. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.24% from 4.30% earlier Tuesday.
That’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war, and the rise has pushed up rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which slows the economy.
John Mauro works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Ed Curran works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
People work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A general view shows the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, March 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
