{"id":28686,"date":"2025-05-15T11:24:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T11:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/28686\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T11:24:11","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T11:24:11","slug":"city-series-at-wrigley-field-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/28686\/","title":{"rendered":"City Series at Wrigley Field this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

A soft part in the Cubs\u2019 schedule<\/a> continues this weekend as they face off against the White Sox, who own the worst record in the American League. Cade Horton will make his first MLB start Friday as the City Series opens.<\/p>\n

The Cubs then hit the road for a six-game road series in Miami and Cincinnati before returning home to play MLB\u2019s worst, the Colorado Rockies, and another three-game set versus the Reds.<\/p>\n

The City Series begins a stretch of nine games in town for the Sox. After the three contests at Wrigley Field, the Sox have a six-game homestand with three against the Seattle Mariners and three against the Texas Rangers.<\/p>\n

Every Thursday during the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened \u2014 and what\u2019s ahead \u2014 for the Cubs<\/a> and White Sox<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Want more? Sign up for our Cubs Insider<\/a> and White Sox Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ian Happ is hopeful he won\u2019t be on the IL long
\n\"ChicagoChicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ takes the field Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Ian Happ knew Monday that a stint on the injured list had become unavoidable.<\/p>\n

The Cubs\u2019 left fielder attempted to go through a full day of pregame work, including hitting and throwing, but his left oblique strain didn\u2019t feel quite right. The lack of progress from when he initially sustained the injury Friday on a swing in his first at-bat led the Cubs to put him on the 10-day IL Tuesday, retroactive to Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made sense to not play for the next couple of days and see if we could get to a place where it was playable and not something that was going to get worse,\u201d Happ said Wednesday. \u201c\u2018It didn\u2019t feel like it was something that you could play through and so ultimately we made a decision that made the most sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happ\u2019s oblique bothered him the most when attempting to swing. He felt he couldn\u2019t use his typical swing movement, so for now, Happ won\u2019t take any reps in the cage the next few days to become fully asymptomatic. He plans to keep running and throwing as long as he doesn\u2019t experience any discomfort to make sure he stays in game shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ultimate test is hitting and check swings, and it\u2019s hard to simulate game speed,\u201d Happ said. \u201cSo we\u2019ll know more once we start doing that, but just trying to do everything right so that we can get to that point and in a place where I\u2019m not worried about going out and swinging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happ\u2019s move to the IL created a pathway for the Cubs to bring up prospect Mois\u00e9s Ballesteros<\/a>, with Seiya Suzuki\u2019s shift to left field opening regular at-bats as the designated hitter, though he didn\u2019t get the start Wednesday with a lefty on the mound for Miami.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have confidence in the group that there\u2019s the ability for us to shuffle around and still be really effective,\u201d Happ said. \u201cI\u2019m doing everything I can to be out there and supporting these guys and helping any way that I can, filling up waters or whatever that is. Just trying to get myself right so I can get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assistant GM Josh Barfield notices a better quality of baseball from the Sox
\n\"ChicagoChicago White Sox’s Edgar Quero hits a single in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo\/Kareem Elgazzar)<\/p>\n

Assistant general manager Josh Barfield is seeing some progress with the Sox.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quality of the baseball has been a lot better this year,\u201d Barfield said Tuesday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. \u201cWe\u2019ve been in a lot of games, trying to find ways to win, and we\u2019ve done a better job of late trying to close out those games.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sox found the right path Tuesday, scoring four runs in the 10th inning to beat the Reds 5-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Before the game, Barfield provided takeaways from the early portion of the season.<\/p>\n

He said the starting pitchers have \u201creally done a nice job of keeping us in games,\u201d pointing to Shane Smith as an example.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy, and you see a lot of (Rule 5 draft) guys end up getting returned early in the year because of the struggles, and (Smith and reliever Mike Vasil) have been two of our most consistent contributors,\u201d Barfield said.<\/p>\n

From an offensive standpoint, Barfield highlighted the contributions of infielder Chase Meidroth, first baseman\/DH Tim Elko and catcher Edgar Quero since being called up from Triple A. Elko hit a go-ahead three-run home run<\/a> in Sunday\u2019s win against the Miami Marlins. Quero had three hits and Meidroth drove in the go-ahead run with a single during Tuesday\u2019s 10-inning victory against the Reds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great to see,\u201d Barfield said. \u201cThat\u2019s what you hope for when these young guys in the minor leagues come up and you hope they carry that success onto the big leagues. You look at the Chases, the Qs and Timmy, like, they all have the ability to control the zone, right? I call them survival skills \u2014 they can survive up here, even when they might not be swinging it the best.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo guys like that, you feel like they\u2019re going to have pretty good success up here. And fortunately, they\u2019ve come up here and made an impact right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Number of the week: 19
\n\"ChicagoChicago White Sox\u2019s Tim Elko hits a three-run home run against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning on Sunday, May 11, 2025, at Rate Field. (AP Photo\/Kamil Krzaczynski)<\/p>\n

Sox designated hitter Tim Elko became the 19th player in franchise history to homer for his first career hit with the three-run blast in the sixth inning Sunday against the Marlins.<\/p>\n

Week ahead: Cubs<\/p>\n

Thursday: off
\nFriday vs. White Sox, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
\nSaturday vs. White Sox, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
\nSunday: vs. White Sox, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
\nMonday: at Marlins, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
\nTuesday: at Marlins, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
\nWednesday: at Marlins, 12:10 p.m., Marquee<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago Cubs pitcher Julian Merryweather pitches during the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Julian Merryweather has been one of manager Craig Counsell\u2019s go-to arms out of the bullpen when high-leverage situations arise in the late innings.<\/p>\n

He hasn\u2019t been the typically effective version in his last few outings, including during the seventh inning on Tuesday against the Miami Marlins. Merryweather exited after retiring only two of the seven batters he faced and allowing two runs that put Miami ahead, pulled with the bases loaded. Merryweather has allowed two runs, multiple hits and at least one walk in three of his last four appearances.<\/p>\n

Given how the inning started for Merryweather, Counsell said he found the outing a bit puzzling with the way it played out for the right-hander.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a little puzzling for the player as well,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a long kind of pitch appearance in terms of number of pitches. But, look, fastball velocity is important for every pitcher. We know that. Every pitcher is trying to get more velocity when they can, so it plays into it, and something that we absolutely have to keep an eye on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Merryweather\u2019s fastball velocity on Tuesday was 1.2 mph lower than his season average, sitting at 94.8 mph while dropping as low as 92.9 mph. The Cubs need that to be a blip and see that fastball velocity get back to a range that gives Merryweather a better margin for error.<\/p>\n

Week ahead: White Sox<\/p>\n

Thursday: at Reds, 11:40 a.m., CHSN
\nFriday: at Cubs, 1:20 p.m., CHSN, Marquee
\nSaturday: at Cubs, 1:20 p.m., CHSN, Marquee
\nSunday: at Cubs, 1:20 p.m., CHSN, Marquee
\nMonday: vs. Mariners, 6:40 p.m., CSHN
\nTuesday: vs. Mariners, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
\nWednesday: vs. Mariners, 1:10 p.m., CHSN<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago White Sox starting pitcher Shane Smith delivers to the Miami Marlins in the first inning of a game at Rate Field in Chicago on May 10, 2025. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s scheduled starter Shane Smith entered Wednesday tied for seventh in the American League with a 2.08 ERA.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the consistency has been nice,\u201d Smith said of his season to date following the most recent start Saturday against the Marlins<\/a>. \u201cStacking outings. One outing to two to five to 10, that\u2019s how you build a good foundation and then you go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith allowed four hits and matched a career high with seven strikeouts while tossing six scoreless innings against the Marlins.<\/p>\n

He has pitched at least five innings in seven of his eight starts and has allowed three runs or fewer in all eight.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to, as a starting pitcher, your job is to go as long as you can,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI want to make the job easier for the guys around me, and I think going six does that.\u201d<\/p>\n

What we\u2019re reading this morning<\/p>\n

Quotable
\n\"PetePete Crow-Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Monday, May 12, 2025. (Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes it fun to begin with at the start of the game and throughout the game, it\u2019s just fun. And then it allows for, I think, the moments to be just bigger. They feel bigger when the stadium is full. I think we all feel that. So we\u2019re very fortunate in that regard.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Counsell on the advantages of playing in front of a full crowd at Wrigley Field even on weeknights early in the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A soft part in the Cubs\u2019 schedule continues this weekend as they face off against the White Sox,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,735,138,6280,24,4245,161,458,36,886,4,256,35,6531,3399,396,738],"class_list":{"0":"post-28686","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-cade-horton","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-baseball-report","12":"tag-chicago-cubs","13":"tag-chicagocubs","14":"tag-cubs","15":"tag-edgar-quero","16":"tag-ian-happ","17":"tag-julian-merryweather","18":"tag-mlb","19":"tag-mlb-baseball","20":"tag-pete-crow-armstrong","21":"tag-pope-leo-xiv","22":"tag-shane-smith","23":"tag-white-sox","24":"tag-wrigley-field"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114511601343046267","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}