Want more? Sign up for our Cubs Insider<\/a> and White Sox Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n Matthew Boyd \u2018answered the call\u2019 for Cubs in 2-0 loss<\/p>\n Coming off a shortened season in his return from Tommy John surgery, Boyd entered 2025 grateful to the Cubs for giving him an opportunity to build off last year.<\/p>\n Boyd continues to be a stabilizing presence in the rotation, adding to an already great start to the season with his longest outing since 2021. The 34-year-old held the Nationals to two runs and four hits in 7 1\/3 innings, but the Cubs were shut out for the third time in a 2-0 loss.<\/p>\n They loaded the bases with three consecutive singles to open the game against Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore but left them stranded and didn\u2019t record another hit until Dansby Swanson\u2019s one-out single in the ninth.<\/p>\n Boyd\u2019s performance, which included taking a perfect game into the sixth, was yet another example of his consistency.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s pitching really well, and at a time when, we had some starters hurt,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday. \u201cHe\u2019s really answered the call and just done his job really, really well, and you\u2019re happy for him. He\u2019s healthy. He\u2019s having success, and it\u2019s good for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Boyd credited catcher Carson Kelly for recognizing the Nationals\u2019 approach and adapted to their aggressiveness, which allowed the lefty to get early-count outs and pitch deep into the game. Kelly believes Boyd has shown a really good version of himself and is going to keep getting better, citing the preparation that goes into the consistency of his starts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just seems like he digests every start, good or bad, and finds a positive and continues to work through it each week,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n Boyd lowered his ERA through 12 starts to 3.01, the best among the Cubs\u2019 current rotation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just knowing what I expect of myself when I go out there,\u201d Boyd said. \u201cIt\u2019s just go attack and compete each time the ball is in my hand. Situationally that might change, but in terms of overarching, that\u2019s really it, as simple as that sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n Sox minor-leaguer Grant Taylor continues overpowering success out of pen Taylor<\/a> struck out two of the four batters he faced in his first relief outing for Double-A Birmingham on May 14 against Chattanooga.\u00a0The right-hander struck out three of the four hitters in his next appearance against Chattanooga three days later.<\/p>\n Taylor has a 1.56 ERA in six starts this season for the Barons. He hasn\u2019t allowed a run in seven relief appearances.<\/p>\n Since working out of the bullpen, Taylor has allowed three hits and struck out 14 in 7 2\/3 scoreless innings.<\/p>\n \u201cGrant is extremely outlier in a lot of ways with his physical attributes, the amount of extension he gets for his height (6-foot-3),\u201d Sox senior adviser to pitching Brian Bannister said last week at Citi Field in New York. \u201cObviously the velocities, he can hit 100, 102 mph. He can really spin the ball. He moves in a very unique way with his hips.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all want to just do what\u2019s best for him. Not limiting him to a specific role but literally just preparing him the best we can, developing him, being conscious of his prior injury history, total workload on the year and just give him a chance to really help this organization and have a great career, earn a lot of money and all of the above. And he\u2019s doing a great job and he\u2019s having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sox selected the right-hander in the second round of the 2023 draft out of LSU<\/a>. He missed the 2023 season recovering from Tommy John surgery and had a 1.13 ERA last year with Class A Kannapolis, striking out 25 in 16 innings during a season affected by a lat injury.<\/p>\n Taylor, 23, has a 1.08 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 25 innings over 13 appearances (six starts) this year with the Barons. MLB.com<\/a> rates Taylor as the No. 6 prospect in the Sox organization.<\/p>\n Bannister said the decision to get Taylor the bullpen work \u201cis not just on a whim.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of thought that goes in \u2014 between the medical, between the biomechanical, between the analytics,\u201d Bannister said. \u201cAnd ultimately, I think he can pitch in multiple roles in the big leagues successfully. But right now he has a chance to stay healthy, continue to develop.\u201d<\/p>\n Number of the week: 14<\/p>\n Sox infielder Lenyn Sosa has 29 two-strike hits this season, including a major-league-leading 14 on 0-2 counts. The Sox placed Sosa on the injured list Wednesday with a right hip flexor strain.<\/p>\n Week ahead: Cubs Thursday: at Nationals, 5:45 p.m., Marquee Cade Horton experienced a different kind of test Tuesday.<\/p>\n The Nationals lineup exclusively had left-handed hitters, presenting a challenge to Horton in his fifth career outing. Horton largely navigated the Nationals hitters well, allowing three runs and six hits in 5 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n He went to his offspeed stuff more frequently versus the lefties and even flashed his sweeper twice. Horton focused on executing his fastball inside, letting the natural cut on the pitch play up and commanding it at the top of the zone.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an aggressive team, so just landing breaking balls for strikes, but also expanding, it was huge,\u201d Horton said. \u201cPitching with a lead really helps me settle in and makes me be in the zone more, so that helps a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Counsell was complimentary of how Horton has stepped up in Shota Imanaga\u2019s rotation spot, with the Cubs going 5-0 on days the rookie right-hander pitches.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s trying to change anything, that\u2019s an important note, and it seems like, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s easy to do,\u2019 but you get to the big leagues and you think you\u2019ve got to do something a lot better than maybe you\u2019ve done,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cHe\u2019s been himself. And when you do that and you do that a little while, you gain confidence that this is going to work. And I think that\u2019s how Cade\u2019s approaching it.\u201d<\/p>\n Week ahead: White Sox Thursday: vs. Tigers, 1:10 p.m., CHSN Noting the number of close defeats, general manager Chris Getz said the Sox have shown the ability to \u201cbounce back every night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven though it might be a tough loss, where they lose in the ninth, they learn from it, rinse it off and get back to competing,\u201d Getz said last week in New York.<\/p>\n The Sox are 3-15 in one-run games, including two of the four games they\u2019ve played against the Royals. The Sox lost 4-3 on May 6 \u2014 a game featuring ninth-inning defensive miscues<\/a> \u2014 and 2-1 the next night<\/a> at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to find ways to finish games and that\u2019s a big part of a development of an organization, of a team,\u201d Getz said. \u201cWe\u2019re headed in the right direction, we need to flip the switch sometimes and close those games out and put more wins in the win column.\u201d<\/p>\n What we\u2019re reading today<\/p>\n Quotable<\/p>\n \u201cI always believe every player has their own form of leadership on a team, and I think (Michael Busch) definitely provides leadership to our veteran players in that regard, and it\u2019s a real skill of his, and he\u2019s really good at it.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Counsell on Busch\u2019s steady presence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cubs have an opportunity to secure another series win Thursday after splitting the first two games against…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[5,20255,735,34,138,24,49,2561,4071,576,11613,6646,2000,37,4,770,396,2562],"class_list":{"0":"post-81047","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-brian-bannister","10":"tag-cade-horton","11":"tag-carson-kelly","12":"tag-chicago","13":"tag-chicago-cubs","14":"tag-chicago-white-sox","15":"tag-chicagowhitesox","16":"tag-chris-getz","17":"tag-craig-counsell","18":"tag-grant-taylor","19":"tag-lenyn-sosa","20":"tag-matthew-boyd","21":"tag-michael-busch","22":"tag-mlb","23":"tag-shota-imanaga","24":"tag-white-sox","25":"tag-whitesox"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/114630485948705276","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81047","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=81047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CTC-Z-CUBS-NATS.jpg\")
Cubs starter Matthew Boyd delivers against the Nationals during the third inning on June 4, 2025, in Washington. (Terrance Williams\/AP)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CTC-spring-training-white-sox-0220-24_220004074.jpg\")
White Sox nonroster invitee pitcher Grant Taylor poses for a portrait on photo day during spring training at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 20, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1749122292_299_CTC-Z-Cubs-Nationals-Baseball_229954436.jpg\")
Cubs starter Cade Horton delivers against the Nationals on June 3, 2025, in Washington. (Terrance Williams\/AP)<\/p>\n
\nFriday: at Tigers, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
\nSaturday: at Tigers, 12:10 p.m., Marquee
\nSunday: at Tigers, 12:40 p.m., Marquee
\nMonday: at Phillies, 5:45 p.m., Marquee
\nTuesday: at Phillies, 5:45 p.m., Marquee
\nWednesday: at Phillies, 12:05 p.m., Marquee<\/p>\n
\n![\"Brooks](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CTC-Z-2213813674_228943538.jpg\")
White Sox left fielder Brooks Baldwin is unable to make a catch at the wall against the Royals on May 6, 2025, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. (Jay Biggerstaff\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\nFriday: vs. Royals, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
\nSaturday: vs. Royals, 3:10 p.m., CHSN
\nSunday: vs. Royals, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
\nMonday: off
\nTuesday: at Astros, 7:10 p.m., CHSN
\nWednesday: at Astros, 7:10 p.m., CHSN<\/p>\n