CHICAGO — The Cubs suffered a bad loss in Friday’s Crosstown Classic opener against the White Sox.
As they’ve shown time and again, though, they’re able to quickly turn the page. That’s what they did Saturday night, even if it took some time.
The Cubs withstood a pitchers’ duel before the bats broke out late in the game for a 6-1 win over the White Sox at Rate Field on the South Side.
The win sets up the Cubs (61-43) for a series victory in Sunday’s finale before they head north for a pivotal three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers’ 7-4 loss to the Miami Marlins on Saturday means they’re tied with the Cubs atop the NL Central.
Here are three takeaways from the win over the rival White Sox (38-67):
Horton’s career night
MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, Edward Cabrera — impact starters the Cubs could add before Thursday’s MLB trade deadline seemingly is the top topic of conversation among fans.
But rookie Cade Horton‘s real-time development is just as important as any external additions the Cubs might make in the coming days.
Saturday’s outing was another example of just how much he’s improved in the majors. The 23-year-old right-hander tossed 6.1 scoreless innings, shutting out a White Sox offense that had been red-hot out of the All-Star break, averaging 7.6 runs per game.
The Cubs need pitching depth, so having Horton evolve from top prospect to contributing at the major-league level is important. He has posted three scoreless outings in July, and owns a 2.08 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in the month. He’s 4-3 with a 3.67 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) on the season.
That’s a positive for manager Craig Counsell and the Cubs’ pitching staff, but it becomes even more crucial on the grander scale.
Horton dealt with injuries last year, and he had just returned from Tommy John surgery when he was the Cubs’ first-round draft pick in 2023. He tossed 53.2 innings at the University of Oklahoma before being drafted, then threw just 151.2 innings across three minor league seasons.
He’s still developmentally young, and the Cubs will want to manage his workload after he threw 34.1 innings last season because of injury. That means external additions still will be important but have a trickle-down effect because Horton can remain fresh for a postseason run — a good thing if he keeps this up.
In awe of Shaw
As with the starting pitching rumors, Cubs fans eagerly scour social media for updates about where Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez might wind up before the trade deadline.
Matt Shaw, though, has thrown an interesting wrench into that talk.
The Cubs’ rookie third baseman hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning — his fourth blast since the All-Star break — and extended his hitting streak to eight games. He’s 11-for-23 (.478) in that span.
Shaw also only has one swing and miss and one strikeout since then. He had 45 strikeouts — a 19.4 percent rate — going into the break.
Will an eight-game sample size force the Cubs to shift their trade deadline plans? Potentially not, but it’s definitely an intriguing argument. Is the top prospect figuring it out and showcasing who he is at the major league level? Or will he regress to the larger sample size of who he was in the first half — a .198/.276/.280 (.556 OPS) hitter?
The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, but that begs the question: Are the Cubs confident with that offensive production and plus-defense at the hot corner, or would they prefer a subpar defender in Suárez, who already has 36 home runs this season?
Good question, but either way, Shaw’s development is a positive sign for the Cubs.
“Matt’s been swinging it great since the break.”
Matt Shaw is batting 11-for-23 with 4 homers and 9 RBIs since the All-Star break 😳 pic.twitter.com/JzOAgBrn8K
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) July 27, 2025 Happ’s timely blast
Shaw’s homer was the big bop, and the three runs the Cubs scored one inning later helped put away the game. But Ian Happ‘s solo blast with one out in the seventh broke a scoreless tie, and he’ll hope it’s the beginning of him digging himself out of a rut.
Happ entered Saturday slashing just .128/.244/.192 (.436 OPS) since June 27, and he was bumped from the leadoff spot. He hit sixth in the win, and has hit anywhere from No. 5 through No. 7 since July 12.
The 30-year-old has been a streaky hitter throughout his nine-year career — all with the Cubs — and stretches like this aren’t uncommon. But it’s still concerning to see Happ go through it, especially since other hitters such as Kyle Tucker — who was hitting .194 in July entering Saturday — are struggling, too.
Happ and the Cubs will hope this is the game that can put him back on track.