Want the latest baseball news? Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune<\/a> to read it all \u2014 and sign up for our Cubs Insider<\/a>\u00a0and White Sox Insider<\/a> newsletters.<\/p>\n Cubs and Alex Bregman unfazed by third baseman\u2019s slow start Bregman isn\u2019t the type of hitter who frequently hits ground balls.<\/p>\n So when the Cubs third baseman is hitting the ball on the ground at such a high frequency \u2014 his 47.5 GB% is nearly 12% higher than his career average \u2014 something is off with Bregman\u2019s bat path. Bregman and the Cubs aren\u2019t worried about his slow start turning into something more than that. He working through the tweaks in his swing to create the type of contact he\u2019s known to consistently create.<\/p>\n Despite Bregman\u2019s .243 average and .659 OPS, he\u2019s still seeing the ball well. His 10.7 BB% is a slight tick up from his walk rate last season, and he\u2019s still finding ways to contribute, including a three-hit game Tuesday as part of a current six-game hitting streak.<\/p>\n \u201cYou saw at the end of spring training, he was locked in, everything was high in the air pull side,\u201d president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Wednesday. \u201cWe haven\u2019t seen that, mostly ground balls or line drives, but he\u2019ll get there. And because of the contact rate, he\u2019s going to make things happen. You\u2019ve obviously got a case of guys in scoring position when the strikeouts are not really part of the equation. It allows some hits in those moments, and he\u2019ll get going. I mean, Lord knows he\u2019s working on it constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami focused on the \u2018ongoing process of preparation\u2019 Murakami didn\u2019t press while going through a 1-for-23 stretch entering Tuesday\u2019s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.<\/p>\n The Sox first baseman walked his first two plate appearances Tuesday at Rate Field. After flying out in his next two trips to the plate, Murakami launched a two-run home run \u2014 his team-leading fifth of the season \u2014 in the ninth inning.<\/p>\n \u201cResults don\u2019t really come easily, I really understand that,\u201d Murakami said through an interpreter after the 8-5 loss. \u201cIt\u2019s about being really patient and really grinding every single day.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just really happy that the result came up (Tuesday), but it\u2019s an ongoing process of preparation and getting up at bat.\u201d<\/p>\n Murakami followed up the home run by going 1-for-2 with two walks Wednesday, then went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in a 5-3 loss Thursday. He has a .167\/.346\/.417 slash line with five home runs and nine RBIs, with 26 strikeouts and 17 walks through his first 19 major-league games. Murakami had eight walks and 10 strikeouts during his 1-for-23 slump.<\/p>\n He\u2019s putting the work in to make adjustments when needed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pitchers have come out with a different variety of pitches obviously from the first series and now,\u201d Murakami said. \u201cBut again, it\u2019s about getting used to it. I\u2019m seeing a lot of pitches right now, getting used to it and getting that preparation is my first priority.\u201d<\/p>\n Murakami remained positive after going 0-for-12 with five walks during a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, noting that he hit some balls hard and had good exit velocities. And on Tuesday, Murakami joined Gavin Sheets (2021), Nicky Delmonico (2017) and Zeke Bonura (1934) as the only Sox players in franchise history with five home runs in their first 17 career games.<\/p>\n Number of the week: 6-foot-10 With his MLB debut Tuesday, Sox left-hander Noah Schultz matched Andrew Sisco as the second-tallest pitcher in franchise history behind 6-11 Jon Rauch, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.<\/p>\n Week ahead: Cubs Friday: vs. Mets, 1:20 p.m., Marquee Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison had known only the Colorado Rockies organization when he went through three teams in the offseason, ultimately landing with the Chicago Cubs through waivers in January.<\/p>\n Rolison, 27, felt grateful for the fresh start and was willing to break things down from the ground up to take the next step in his career. That meant some notable overhauls during spring training, with manager Craig Counsell acknowledging the Cubs had thrown a lot at the left-hander, requiring time at Triple-A Iowa to continue working through the adjustments.<\/p>\n \u201cTo go over all the stuff that they think that I\u2019m good at and what they can help me with, it was an awesome experience,\u201d Rolison told the Tribune on Tuesday. \u201cI haven\u2019t really had something like that in my career, to be able to sit down and them to pump confidence in what I can be.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very easy to buy in, like, Day 1 them sitting down with me for over an hour just going over what I can become, and I have all the tools to be that. And they pumped a ton of confidence in me, which I needed, and showed me different things that I can do, and I can succeed at this level.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cubs worked with Rolison in spring training to add a two-seam fastball to throw to left-handed hitters in an effort to create more ground balls and taught him a sweeper grip because of how well he always has been able to spin the baseball. Rolison said he feels good about where his sweeper is at and is feeling confident in all his pitches.<\/p>\n The Cubs\u2019 decision to call up Rolison was in part because of their limited options on the 40-man roster due to injuries. He wants to make the most of the opportunity and looked good in his Cubs debut Tuesday against the Phillies when he tossed one shutout inning.<\/p>\n Rolison reached the majors for the first time in his career last season with the Rockies, posting a 7.02 ERA in 42 1\/3 innings (31 games). He acknowledged the \u201c100%\u201d mental boost of getting away from pitching in the hitter-friendly Coors Field, where most of his rough outings occurred.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously everybody knows about the elevation, how big the field is \u2014 it\u2019s a tough place to pitch and to have success as a long guy out of the pen,\u201d Rolison said. \u201cSo I\u2019m happy to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n Week ahead: White Sox Friday: at Athletics, 8:40 p.m., CHSN Infielder\/outfielder Sam Antonacci watched Schultz\u2019s major-league debut against the Rays on television.<\/p>\n The next day, Antonacci joined the Sox for his debut.<\/p>\n Antonacci said Schultz\u2019s message before Wednesday\u2019s game was: \u201cIt\u2019s the same game and to be who I am and continue the way I play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Antonacci was excited to be part of the next wave of Sox prospects to reach the majors, following the likes of pitcher Grant Taylor, shortstop Colson Montgomery, infielder Chase Meidroth and catchers Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero last season and Schultz this week.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really exciting,\u201d manager Will Venable said Wednesday. \u201cNo. 1 for the organization, as we\u2019re trying to continue to get better and move forward, having these young guys come up who are obviously a big part of it. At the same time, they\u2019re coming up because we think they can help us and give us a better opportunity every night to go out and win a ballgame.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hoping that these guys can provide that and we\u2019re confident that they can, so that\u2019s exciting too.\u201d<\/p>\n Antonacci, 23, said \u201cit\u2019s awesome to think about\u201d growing with the group.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m able to wear this White Sox jersey, if it\u2019s for a day or if it\u2019s for the next 10 years, I\u2019m going to go out there and give it all I\u2019ve got,\u201d Antonacci said.<\/p>\n What we\u2019re reading today<\/p>\n Quotable<\/p>\n \u201cHis contact ability, in an era where there\u2019s so many strikeouts, is really a huge plus. And I think you see it against bullpen guys, he comes in, the guy\u2019s throwing 99, 100 against him, and he\u2019s gonna put the ball in play. He\u2019s gonna make something happen.\u201d \u2014 Hoyer on second baseman Nico Hoerner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cubs offense came alive on their quick three-game trip to Philadelphia, where they recorded 30 hits and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[5,138,24,49,2561,8483,853,4,185,396,2562],"class_list":{"0":"post-677556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-white-sox","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicago-white-sox","12":"tag-chicagowhitesox","13":"tag-keywee","14":"tag-latest-headlines","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-white-sox","18":"tag-whitesox"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116419720147689557","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677556","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=677556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776423848_504_CTC-CUBS-ANGELS033.jpg\")
Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman, sitting, and center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong look at video in the dugout against the Angels on April 1, 2026, at Wrigley Field. (Josh Boland\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\n![\"White](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-Z-SOX-MUNE_0d44eb.jpg\")
White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami walks back to the dugout after striking out against the Rays in the sixth inning April 16, 2026, at Rate Field. (Michael Reaves\/Getty)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776423850_88_CTC-L-sox-rays043.jpg\")
White Sox starter Noah Schultz, center, adjusts his cap while sitting in the dugout before his major-league debut against the Rays on April 14, 2026, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-L-CUBS-SPRING_deb4be.jpg\")
Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison pitches during live batting practice at spring training on Feb. 19, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\nSaturday: vs. Mets, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
\nSunday: vs. Mets, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
\nMonday: vs. Phillies, 6:40 p.m., Marquee
\nTuesday: vs. Phillies, 6:40 p.m., Marquee
\nWednesday: vs. Phillies, 6:40 p.m., Marquee
\nThursday: vs. Phillies, 1:20 p.m., Marquee<\/p>\n
\n![\"White](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/CTC-Z-SOX-SAMMY.jpg\")
White Sox second baseman Sam Antonacci warms up during batting practice before his major-league debut against the Rays on April 15, 2026, at Rate Field. (Michael Hirschuber\/Getty)<\/p>\n
\nSaturday: at Athletics, 3:05 p.m., CHSN
\nSunday: at Athletics, 3:05 p.m., CHSN
\nMonday: off
\nTuesday: at Diamondbacks, 8:40 p.m., CHSN
\nWednesday: at Diamondbacks, 8:40 p.m., CHSN
\nThursday: at Diamondbacks, 2:40 p.m., CHSN<\/p>\n