Cubs at White Sox, Rate Field, Friday night. The North Siders are still sitting on the better record at 28-16, but they limped into this weekend on a 4-game skid that was finally snapped Thursday with a 2-0 shutout of the Braves behind Ian Happ's solo shot. The Sox, meanwhile, swept the Royals to push their win streak to 5 and crossed .500 for the first time since 2022.
Edward Cabrera (3-1, 3.88) gets the ball for the Cubs and the underlying stuff is nasty, but the home run ball has been a problem — 7 of them across his last 4 starts. Sean Burke counters at 2-3 with a 3.68 ERA, though his most recent outing was a 6-run, 4.1-inning beating in Seattle. Two arms who can absolutely dominate, both coming off starts that should have them annoyed.
The market sees this as a Cubs game. Cabrera's team is favored at -146 on the moneyline, the run line has Chicago laying 1.5, and the total sits at a fairly tight 8.5. Whether you trust that price given the way these two teams are actually playing right now is a different question.
The Cubs' pitching staff is being held together with duct tape. Justin Steele, Cade Horton, Porter Hodge, Shelby Miller, and Matthew Boyd are all on the shelf, with Steele not expected back until after the All-Star break. Craig Counsell has been mixing and matching for weeks. The White Sox have their own bullpen wear-and-tear, plus Kyle Teel and Austin Hays still rehabbing, but Will Venable's group has clearly figured something out in the last week and a half.
- Day-To-DayBrandon Birdsell RP — Birdsell (elbow) will miss the entire 2026 season, Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline reports.
- Day-To-DayJeff Brigham RP — Brigham was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A St. Paul, retroactive to April 6, with a left oblique strain, TwinsDaily.com reports.
- Day-To-DayJaxon Wiggins SP — Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that Wiggins was placed on Triple-A Iowa's 7-day injured list Wednesday due to right elbow inflammation, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
- 15-Day-ILHunter Harvey RP — Harvey was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his right triceps Friday, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports.
- 15-Day-ILJordan Wicks RP — Wicks (elbow) struck out two batters and allowed one hit and one walk over three scoreless innings Saturday in a rehab start for Triple-A Iowa.
- 15-Day-ILMatthew Boyd SP — Boyd underwent a successful menisectomy Thursday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
- 15-Day-ILRiley Martin RP — Martin has been diagnosed with flexor strain in his left elbow and is expected to miss eight weeks, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
- 15-Day-ILCaleb Thielbar RP — The Cubs placed Thielbar on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left hamstring strain.
- Day-To-DayMason Adams RP — The White Sox announced that Adams underwent successful Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILKyle Teel C — Teel (hamstring) will report to Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment, LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune reports.
- 10-Day-ILAustin Hays LF — Manager Will Venable said Saturday that Hays (calf) has resumed taking live batting practice and could begin running the bases next week, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILEverson Pereira RF — The White Sox placed Pereira on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to a right pectoral strain.
- 60-Day-ILPrelander Berroa RP — Berroa (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment Wednesday in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILMike Vasil RP — The White Sox transferred Vasil (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILTanner Murray LF — The White Sox transferred Murray (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Monday.
- 60-Day-ILBrooks Baldwin LF — The White Sox transferred Baldwin (elbow) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
This is the part of the rivalry where everyone usually pencils the Cubs in and moves on. Not this weekend. The Sox have won 16 of their last 24, Grichuk has been a sneaky pickup since the Yankees released him, and Burke pitching at home in front of a juiced crowd is a different animal than Burke in Seattle. The Cubs are still the more complete roster — but if they sleepwalk into this one, the South Side is more than ready to make them pay.