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Cubs Recap
The White Sox dropped two of three at Wrigley but finished the set on a high note, shutting out the Cubs to move to 15–32 while Chicago’s North Siders sit at 26–21.
Game 1 – Cubs 11, Sox 7 (May 16)
Wild opener.
The Cubs ambushed Davis Martin, going back-to-back with Happ and Busch in the 1st, then blew it open with a Pete Crow-Armstrong 3-run homer and Kyle Tucker blast off Mike Clevinger in the 3rd.
Newly-claimed Eguy Rosario nearly stole the show in his White Sox debut: 3-for-5, 2 HR, 3 RBI, plus a double from Chase Meidroth and a triple from Jose Rojas as the Sox clawed back to 8–5 and later 9–7.
The bullpen couldn’t stop the bleeding and the Cubs piled up five homers in total.
Rough injury day: Davis Martin left hurt while pitching, and Kyle Teel was hit on the hand late and fractured a finger, setting up his IL stint after the series.
Game 2 – Cubs 6, Sox 1 (May 17)
The bats went quiet.
Rookie righty Shane Smith actually kept the club in it for five innings, but two swings — a Tucker solo shot and another 3-run Crow-Armstrong homer after two walks in the 6th — decided it.
Offensively the Sox managed just five hits off Ben Brown and the Cubs bullpen.
The only run came on a Luis Robert Jr. manufactured inning: walk, two steals, and a Rosario sac fly. Otherwise it was a lot of weak contact and double plays.
Game 3 – Sox 5, Cubs 0 (May 18)
Best game of the road trip and one of the cleanest wins of the season.
Mike Vasil shoved in his spot start: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 K, working around some early walks. Penn Murfee and Sean Burke finished off the five-hit shutout.
The offense exploded early in the 2nd:
Andre Lipcius double
Lenyn Sosa RBI single
Andrew Benintendi two-run double
Meidroth RBI double
for a 3-0 lead that felt huge with Vasil dealing.
In the 7th, Rosario drew a walk and scored on a Nick Maton double, and in the 9th Robert singled, Quero singled, and Rosario’s 4-6-3 double play still brought home the fifth run.
Final: 5–0 Sox, snapping the Cubs’ momentum and giving Vasil his third win.
Roster & Injury Notes
Kyle Teel’s fractured finger from Game 1 landed him on the 15-day IL (estimated ~5 weeks out).
With Teel down, the club traded minor-league LF Zach DeLoach to Detroit for C Eliezer Alfonzo, then selected Alfonzo’s contract to back up Edgar Quero.
The bullpen and infield both got shuffled:
Sean Burke optioned to AAA Charlotte.
Top relief prospect Grant Taylor had his contract selected and joins the MLB bullpen.
Andre Lipcius was optioned back to Charlotte after starting at 3B; Bryan Ramos was recalled to take those reps.
In the minors, top prospect Colson Montgomery was promoted to AA Birmingham, and earlier in the week the Sox picked up RHP Inohan Paniagua (for Mike Tauchman) and claimed Eguy Rosario, who’s immediately forced his way into the lineup.
Big Takeaways
Rosario looks like a jolt of life at third base: 1.214 OPS in the series with three extra-base hits and solid defense.
Starting pitching showed both extremes – early blowups from Martin and Smith, but Vasil’s gem hints at some upside if he sticks.
The offense is still streaky: 12 runs in the first two games, only 6 in the last two, and plenty of missed chances with men on.
Losing Teel hurts, but Quero + Alfonzo is a workable catching duo for now, and the promotion of Grant Taylor signals a willingness to lean into the young arms.
Next up: a homestand against Seattle, where the new-look bullpen and the reshuffled infield (Rosario/Ramos/Montgomery in the system) will start to define what this 2025 White Sox club actually is going to be.
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