The Chicago Cubs went into the season’s first series against the Milwaukee Brewers sitting in first place in the National League Central. They needed to regroup on Thursday’s day off after getting swept by their division rival.
A three-game series versus the Houston Astros on the holiday weekend leads into a seven-game trip to NL Central foes Pittsburgh and St. Louis to close out May.
After three games in San Francisco this weekend, the Chicago White Sox get their first look at the Minnesota Twins when the teams meet for a four-game series beginning Monday at Rate Field.
Every Friday during the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and White Sox.
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Cubs’ Matthew Boyd takes first steps toward return
The fluky meniscus tear Matthew Boyd experienced in his left knee while playing with his kids fortunately will not end the left-hander’s season.
Boyd was estimated to be out four to six weeks after his surgery May 7 — likely on the longer end of that time frame — but he already is starting the buildup process. Boyd threw a bullpen session Tuesday and is scheduled to throw an up-down bullpen Friday at Wrigley Field.
“The biggest thing is that I’m doing everything like I want to,” Boyd told the Tribune. “The velocity was great in the bullpen, and I’m waking up the next day not aggravating it, so there’s no inflammation. That’s a win in a lot of ways.”
Boyd was standing and throwing the day after his meniscectomy. Initially the plan was to throw while sitting in a chair to keep weight off his knee, but within a couple of throws, Boyd realized he could stand without pain. Within three or four days of the operation, he was up to 80 to 100 throws.
“There’s an intentional plan of keeping the volume and the workload up,” Boyd said. “It’s just a matter of how you recover. … The medical team and the pitching department have done a great job of trying to minimize the layoff as much as possible, and I’m so grateful for all of them.”
The pitching staff is slowly getting healthier. Lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar was activated from the injured list Tuesday, and the Cubs designated left-hander Ty Blach for assignment.
Left-hander Justin Steele (forearm strain) is still shut down but has been around the team this week. Steele is scheduled for a follow-up visit late next week in Texas with Dr. Keith Meister, who performed his elbow surgery in April 2025.
Sox catcher Kyle Teel trying to stay positive
Kyle Teel is focused on staying positive after being diagnosed Monday with a sprained lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his right knee.
“I’m learning as I go throughout this process,” Teel said Tuesday in Seattle. “Just trying to do everything I can to get healthy.”
The team said the injury is expected to require three to six weeks of rest and rehabilitation before Teel can return. He suffered the setback Saturday while on an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.
“First swing I took in my last at-bat in Charlotte, my front spike got caught as I was swinging and I felt something move, and the next two swings just didn’t feel right,” Teel said. “Got it checked out and just a sprain, so I’m grateful for that. Just trying to stay positive, stay focused on my rehab.”
Teel was working his way back from a right hamstring strain he suffered in March while playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
Teel has learned a lot about himself while dealing with the injuries.
“Patience is important,” he said. “At the same time, being impatient in a way that’s trying to get back as fast as I can. So it’s the combo of those two variables.”
He said Sox teammates have been helpful.
“One thing about this team is we’ve all got each other’s backs,” Teel said. “Throughout this process, I see that. Guys asking me how I’m doing. Guys patting me on the shoulder (Tuesday).”
Teel rejoined the team in Seattle to aid in any way he can while recovering.
“I want to bring energy to the clubhouse, I want to bring energy during the games,” he said. “And then when it’s time to go, I want to go and give it my all.”
Number of the week: .625
The Sox are 10-6 (.625 winning percentage) in one-run games this season after going a combined 47-95 (.331) from 2023-25.
Week ahead: Cubs
- Friday: vs. Astros, 1:20 p.m., Apple TV
- Saturday: vs. Astros, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Sunday: vs. Astros, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Monday: at Pirates, 12:35 p.m., Marquee
- Tuesday: at Pirates, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: at Pirates, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
- Thursday: at Pirates, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
Moisés Ballesteros wasn’t going to bat .400 the entire season.
The rookie’s hot start has morphed into a tough stretch over the last three weeks. Ballesteros is 3-for-49 (.061) in his last 15 games and recently has gotten fewer at-bats in favorable matchups against right-handers because of his struggles.
The Cubs have been fortunate that Michael Conforto has been locked in over that same stretch, hitting .333 with five doubles, three home runs and six RBIs in his last 13 games. Conforto’s hot hitting has given manager Craig Counsell another lefty option at designated hitter while Ballesteros works through his slump.
“We’ve got a player (Conforto) that’s played pretty darn well, so I guess you could argue that’s made it a little harder for Moisés to come out of it,” Counsell said Wednesday. “He’s in a rough patch results-wise for sure — there’s no hiding behind that — but I also think when you start to get enough sample of a player these things were going to happen.”
It doesn’t appear, at least for now, that the Cubs plan to send Ballesteros to Triple A to help him turn things around. He has started only one of the last five games.
“Because he makes a ton of contact and swings a lot — there’s no infield hits in there — he’s going to go through stretches like this,” Counsell said. “It’s probably a little exaggerated, and hopefully he can shrink them as he gets better, but he’s going to have stretches like this.”
Week ahead: White Sox
- Friday: at Giants, 9:15 p.m., CHSN
- Saturday: at Giants, 3:05 p.m., CHSN
- Sunday: at Giants, 3:05 p.m., CHSN
- Monday: vs. Twins, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
- Tuesday: vs. Twins, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
- Wednesday: vs. Twins, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
- Thursday: vs. Twins, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
Noah Schultz saw some of his work between starts pay off Monday against the Seattle Mariners.
“I did hit two guys, but no walks is definitely a step in the right direction,” the left-hander said, “something we’re really trying to get down to limit that number.”
Schultz allowed three runs on five hits with six strikeouts and no walks in 5 1/3 innings in the 6-1 loss. It was the first time in his seven big-league starts that Schultz didn’t allow a walk. His previous low was one walk in five innings April 19 against the Athletics, and he walked a career-high five in 4 1/3 innings May 13 against the Kansas City Royals.
Manager Will Venable noted the strides in Monday’s start.
“Noah was really good, a lot of strikes,” Venable said after the game. “Obviously that’s what we’ve been talking about, being more effective in the zone, commanding the baseball.
“I thought he did a really good job, especially with the fastball. The cutter was around the plate. We see when he is in the zone, he’s extremely effective.”
Schultz said the recent work included “a lot of stuff with my posture.”
“Making myself go straight to the plate, not doing too much being over-rotational,” he said. “Definitely some great work from (pitching coach Zach) Bove and (assistant pitching coach) Bobby (Hearn) and those guys during the week to really help me get in a good spot for the game.”
Schultz is slated to start Sunday’s series finale against the Giants at Oracle Park.
What we’re reading today
- Column: Stephen Colbert’s signoff reminds us of the days the Cubs were a late-night punchline
- 3 takeaways as the White Sox fall 5-4 to the Mariners and lose 2 of 3 in the series
- How Cubs are viewing Edward Cabrera’s season — including his early exit from team’s 5th straight loss
- ‘Tarps Off’ trend is sweeping across MLB ballparks as shirtless fans unite
- ‘It’s been a ride’: Cubs reliever Trent Thornton embracing return after tearing his Achilles
- Tristan Peters making the most of his opportunity with White Sox, including a timely home run
- Column: Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong learns you can’t win when responding to idiot fans
- Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong: ‘I regret my word choice’ to White Sox fan during City Series
- White Sox’s Munetaka Murakami makes his ‘presence’ known to Cubs: ‘He’s young, he’s got a ton of juice’
- DraftKings closing its 2-year-old retail sportsbook at Wrigley Field
- Column: Can Cubs and White Sox reprise their magical summer of 1977 after an epic City Series?
- Column: Sam Sianis and the Curse of the Billy Goat remind Chicago fans why we love baseball and its myths
Quotable
“One of the beauties of the schedule is that there are going to be losses, but you get to come play the next day, and because of that you continually have to turn the page very, very fast. I remember Joe Maddon … said a really good statement on that of you celebrate or be disappointed about a loss or a win for 30 minutes, and then it’s time to move on to the next day.” — Counsell on the highs and lows in a season
