BOX SCORE

CHICAGO — The Cubs had the opportunity to bounce back from a missed opportunity Monday night at Wrigley Field.

They did just that, beating the Texas Rangers 7-0 in the frigid opener of a three-game series.

The Cubs improved to 8-5 and have won six of their last seven games. The Rangers dropped to 8-3.

[MORE: How Vlad Jr’s $500M Blue Jays contract could impact Cubs’ Kyle Tucker talks]

Here are three takeaways from the night:

A cold, cold night

Let’s not sugarcoat it: It was frigid outside. Like historically icy.

The first-pitch temperature was 34 degrees, making it the coldest game at the Friendly Confines since April 18, 2011, against the San Diego Padres. The lowest-recorded first-pitch temperature at Wrigley was 29 degrees on April 8, 1997, against the Florida Marlins.

Cubs slugger Kyle Tucker had his first taste of his new home over the weekend, but this was a different kind of beast. It was “Bear Weather” during baseball season.

“Yeah, it’s a little colder today,” Tucker quipped before the game. “It was snowing earlier. Probably throw on a few extra layers.”

All nine Cubs position players wore long sleeves during the game. Catcher Miguel Amaya and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong donned a gaiter/hood combo, and left fielder Ian Happ had a gaiter.

The forecast doesn’t look much more promising for the next two games of the series. Tuesday’s temperature will be lower — 32 degrees — and there’s supposed to be rain for the Wednesday afternoon finale.

Running weather

It wasn’t ideal baseball weather, but it appeared to be solid running weather — or at least the Cubs thought so. They swiped five bags in the win — second baseman Jon Berti had two, and Crow-Armstrong, Happ and designated hitter Seiya Suzuki each had one. First baseman Michael Busch had an RBI triple in the fifth, too.

There was plenty of talk last season and over the winter about the difficult hitting environment at Wrigley, when it ranked as the second-most pitcher-friendly park. How do the Cubs create more offense? What if Wrigley plays like it did in 2024?

The second question wasn’t answered Monday — and won’t be anytime soon, really. But how they answer the first one has been displayed since the March 27 domestic opener: Being opportunistic any way they can.

Against the Rangers, it was the running game.

The Cubs looked to turn singles into doubles and triples by stealing bases — and did so. The weather in April and even May won’t be conducive to long blasts. Tucker saw that firsthand when he hit a 104.6-mph fly ball to right field — a sure-fire blast if the wind is blowing out — land in Adolis García’s glove.

The Cubs added players with speed, and emphasized baserunning this season to try and continue to gain an edge. Monday, it worked.

And they’ll have to keep doing that because we’re still a few weeks away from the type of weather that makes Wrigley a hitter’s park.

Dominant start for Steele

Justin Steele wasn’t sharp to start the season.

The Cubs left-hander carried a 6.89 ERA in 15.2 innings across three starts this season entering Monday, and he had allowed five home runs, nearly half the number he gave up in 2024 (12). He battled in his last outing, going 6.2 innings and allowing four runs against the Athletics on April 1, but he still was searching for that performance that showed why he has been one of the Cubs’ best starters the last few years.

That came Monday.

Steele looked like his vintage self against the Rangers, throwing seven shutout innings and allowing three hits and two walks and striking out eight.

The Cubs are facing a daunting April schedule, and the ramp-up, then ramp-down that followed the MLB Tokyo Series last month meant a unique twist in their season schedule. So, they want their best players performing at their best, and they got that from Steele. Parlay that with Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd’s recent performances, and it’s showing their rotation can continue to be a strength.