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Sports Seriously
The Chicago Cubs got just two hits Wednesday afternoon. Both belonged to Tyrone Taylor, the No. 9 hitter who came over as a throw-in when the Cubs acquired Clay Holmes. He was never expected to carry the offense.
Taylor singled and doubled. The other nine Cubs who came to the plate went 0-for-25 in a 3-0 loss to the White Sox at Wrigley Field, and the White Sox salvaged the crosstown finale after being walked off twice.
With 34 games left for the Cubs and 36 for the White Sox, both teams are playing October baseball in August. What did Wednesday tell us about how they get there? Here’s what we learned from Wednesday’s game:
The White Sox are in line for a first-round bye
At 66-60 they lead the American League Central by four games over Minnesota, and they are better than the Astros, who lead the AL West at 63-63. If the season ended Wednesday, Chicago would be the second-best division winner in the American League and skip the wild-card round.
The White Sox lost 121 games in 2024.
Jose Urquidy gave a division leader six shutout innings
Urquidy struck out eight Cubs in six innings on 68 pitches. He carried an 8.10 ERA into the afternoon, two Tommy John surgeries behind him and no major league start since 2023.
Sean Newcomb opened Wednesday and pitched two innings. Urquidy took the next six innings. It was the second straight game the White Sox covered with a reliever and a bulk arm, and they’re doing it because Davis Martin is on the injured list and Noah Schultz was optioned Aug. 8.
The question for the next six weeks is whether Wednesday was real.
The Cubs offense has a problem
Pete Crow-Armstrong homered leading off each of the first two games. He went 0-for-4 Wednesday. Alex Bregman, who tied Tuesday’s game in the seventh and won it in the ninth, went 0-for-4. Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, Carson Kelly, Nico Hoerner, Pedro Ramirez and Michael Conforto combined for nothing.
The Cubs sit five games behind Milwaukee and hold the top wild card at 74-54. They are going to play in October. The question is what happens in a best-of-three when the bats go quiet, and Wednesday was rehearsal for it when an opener and a bulk guy with an 8.10 ERA held them to two hits.
Clay Holmes is still a postseason rotation question
Holmes went 5⅓ innings on 86 pitches. He held the White Sox to one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out one. He kept the Cubs in a game they had no business being in, but he also let 24 balls get put in play in a start where he never missed a bat.
Kevin Gausman left Tuesday’s start in the fifth with a cramp in his non-throwing hand. Edward Cabrera was hit hard Sunday in St. Louis. Craig Counsell has weeks, not months, to decide who starts Game 2.
The White Sox rebuild is producing right now
Miguel Vargas went 2-for-5 with a double and scored twice. Braden Montgomery had two hits and both RBI in the eighth. Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Jake Rogers each singled. Randal Grichuk came off the bench, doubled and scored.
Munetaka Murakami leads the majors in hard-hit rate at 60.3%. He went 0-for-5 Wednesday and they won anyway.