TAMPA, Fla. (Interstat) — The Chicago Cubs broke open a tight series with a relentless offensive display Tuesday night, pounding out 16 hits in a 9-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at George Steinbrenner Field.

The win evened the three-game set at a game apiece and brought both teams to identical 5-6 records on the young season.

Cubs starter Javier Assad delivered a commanding performance for the win, scattering five hits over seven shutout innings. He walked one and struck out four, efficiently navigating a Rays lineup that managed only a few scoring threats against him. Assad improved to 1-0.

The Cubs’ offense, which had been inconsistent through the first 10 games, strung together rallies in five different innings against four Tampa Bay pitchers. They scored in the second, third, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth, demonstrating a sustained pressure that the Rays could not match.

Chicago struck first in the second inning against Rays starter Mason Englert. Dansby Swanson sparked the rally with a double, and Michael Conforto drove him in with a sharp single. Matt Shaw followed with another double to plate Conforto, giving the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

They doubled their advantage in the third. Alex Bregman led off with a double, advanced to third on a Pete Crow-Armstrong single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Moisés Ballesteros. A second run came home on an RBI groundout.

Englert took the loss, falling to 0-1 after allowing three earned runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings of work.

The game’s most critical sequence came in the top of the eighth inning, effectively snuffing out Tampa Bay’s last realistic hope. Leading 5-0, the Cubs saw Swanson lead off with a single and Conforto draw a walk. After a strikeout, Nico Hoerner delivered a clutch single to center, scoring Swanson to make it 6-0. That insurance run proved pivotal moments later.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Rays finally broke through against the Chicago bullpen. Richie Palacios singled and Yandy Díaz was hit by a pitch. Jonathan Aranda then ripped a double to center, scoring Palacios. Pinch-hitter Ryan Vilade followed with an RBI infield single, cutting the deficit to 6-2 and bringing the potential tying run to the on-deck circle with only one out. The rally injected life into the crowd of 21,377.

But Cubs reliever Phil Maton halted the surge there, striking out Junior Caminero and getting Chandler Simpson to ground out to end the inning with the four-run cushion intact.

Any lingering doubt was erased in the top of the ninth. Crow-Armstrong reached on a bunt single, and Ballesteros provided the exclamation point, launching a two-run homer to right field off Yoendrys Gómez to restore a commanding seven-run lead.

Ballesteros finished 2 for 5 with three RBIs. Hoerner and Bregman each collected three of Chicago’s 16 hits, while Crow-Armstrong and Swanson had two apiece. Every Cubs starter recorded at least one hit.

For Tampa Bay, Simpson was a bright spot, going 2 for 4. Aranda’s RBI double and Vilade’s run-scoring single accounted for the team’s only runs. The heart of the Rays’ order — Díaz, Aranda, Jake Fraley and Caminero — combined to go 1 for 13 with a walk.

Cubs reliever Cole Sulser, facing his former team, worked 2 1/3 innings, allowing one earned run to bridge the gap to the late innings.

The victory defied pregame projections. While statistical models gave the Cubs a slight edge to win, the Rays had been installed as 1.5-run favorites. The combined 11 runs sailed over the posted over/under line of 7.5.

The decisive Game 3 of the series is scheduled for Wednesday. The Cubs will look to secure a series win before returning to Wrigley Field to host the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Rays will conclude their homestand with the finale before welcoming the New York Yankees for a three-game weekend set.