Chicago Sports Exchange: White Sox, Cubs Roll Through Holiday Weekend
Meanwhile, Sky, Fire and Red Stars In Search of Momentum
Both the Chicago Cubs and White Sox have been cooking with gas in the month of May.
As the game changed this month — bigger crowds back at the parks, worry about COVID breakouts being a thing of the past — both the South Siders and North Siders took effort to establish themselves as contenders in their respective Central divisions.
And as May took its last windup over the holiday weekend both teams are clear above .500 and with a solid win streak in the case of the Sox or a decent majority of recent win-to-loss ratio in the Cubs.
In the case of those Cubbies injury tried to spoil things, and in the Sox’s case, managerial miscalculation and cultural clashing gave cause to worry, at least temporarily, but to the credit of all these boys of summer there’s still a lot to look forward to as the temps begin their most upward climb of the year.
BUY — White Sox, Giolito Hit The Mark
What three-game losing streak?
Two series since leaving Yankee Stadium with their worst skid of the season, the White Sox leapt back on track, taking two of three from NL Central division-leading St. Louis before completing a four-game sweep of bumbling Baltimore Sunday.
Fueling the victory that drove the Sox to a season-best 12 games over .500 was Lucas Giolito. The Sox’s ace fanned a dozen batters and escaped a sixth-inning, bases-loaded jam unscathed. In all, he gave up one run, three hits and three walks in the seven innings he pitched.
With his outing smack dab in the middle of two doubleheaders, that Giolito gobbled up as many innings as he did was the icing on top of his change-up.
“I had my eye on the pitch count pretty much from the first inning on,” Giolito said after the game, “making sure I was trying to fill up the zone early with first-pitch strikes, putting guys away in four pitches or less, and we were able to do that for the most part.”
The Sox are now 33-20 after winning the first of a doubleheader 8-6 against Cleveland (28-23), the beginning of a four-game set in Ohio. Carlos Rodón, who no-hit the Indians on April 14, wasn’t so lucky in this one — giving up back to back home runs to begin the game, but the Sox rallied by the sixth inning, where they took a 5-4 lead and took control by the eighth with a two-run homer by Adam Eaton and a sacrifice fly from Jose Abreu providing all the insurance runs needed.
Jimmy Lambert takes the hill for Chicago in Game 2 Monday night.
HOLD — Cubs’ Winning Streak Comes To End As Injury Bug Buzzes On
If he hasn’t already, now might be a good time for David Ross to invest in paper clips and chewing gum.
Unless the Cubs’ skipper gets his hands on an elixir to cure what ails Jake Marisnick (right hamstring), Jason Hayward (left hamstring), Nico Hoerner (left hamstring), David Bote (left shoulder), Matt Duffy (back), Anthony Rizzo (back), and now Trevor Williams (appendectomy), the Cubs’ skipper doesn’t have much else left to hold his team together with.
That the Cubs’ 5-1 loss to Cincinnati Sunday was their first in the last seven games is a testament to Ross, his managerial chops and his guys who’ve been lucky enough to avoid the mend.
But as the injuries continue to mount, so too does the competition.
The Cubs (30-23) bounced back well Monday afternoon, downing the NL-leading San Diego Padres (35-20) by a score of 7-2. Javier Baez and Patrick Wisdom hit two homers apiece in another offensive showcase for this team, which once upon a time looked to be at a distinct disadvantage at the plate.
After two more games against San Diego Tuesday and Wednesday, the Cubs begin a four-game set against a San Francisco Giants team that began Monday a half game back of the Padres in the NL West.
“It’s a tough schedule,’’ said Ross prior to Monday’s game. His Cubs finished May 19-8 after an 11-15 April and now sit tied atop the NL Central with St. Louis. “If you’re looking at run differential, the top three teams are in the [NL] West. It will be a nice test.”
HOLD — Sky’s Skid Hits Four, But Help Is On The Way
No, it’s not time to panic.
But the Sky’s fourth loss in a row, a 82-79 overtime defeat to Los Angeles Sunday, doesn’t exactly breed tranquility, either.
On a night where 11-year veteran Courtney Vandersloot poured in a career-high 28 points on 61.1 percent shooting from the field and 66.7% shooting from long range, it was both the number and timing of the Sky’s turnovers (22) that stood out most.
The Sky (2-4) committed three turnovers and had two shots blocked after Vandersloot converted a four-point play to pull them within 80-79 with just under two minutes left in overtime.
“If we don’t turn it over in those situations,” head coach James Wade said afterward, “we maybe have an opportunity to score or get back in the game.”
Wade, whose team has coughed the ball up 21.5 times a game on average during this skid, said he expects Candace Parker (ankle) and Allie Quigley (hamstring) to return this week.
Stefanie Dolson, who helped USA Basketball qualify for the inaugural three-on-three event in July’s Tokyo Olympics, is expected to make her season debut against Phoenix Tuesday. Rookie Natasha Mack was waived as a result.
SELL — Fire Enter Break In A Fog
Not that Raphaël Wicky wouldn’t have already had some things to think about as his squad shuffles into the three-weeks long international break.
Even if the Fire (1-5-1) had beaten CF Montréal Saturday and strung together back-to-back victories for the first time since September, they still would’ve been stuck on the wrong side of the MLS standings.
But another step forward would’ve at least meant a retreat from the shoulda, woulda, couldas.
“It’s disappointing going into a three-week break with this result,” he told the media after the 1-0 loss. “Especially when you see that this is a game where we were the better team.”
It’s true. The Fire launched six shots on target and, for a large portion of the match, looked poised to leave Soldier Field with nothing worse than a draw. Except Mason Toye snuck between Francisco Calvo and Wyatt Omsberg to pop a header into the corner of the net in the 87th minute, and Omsberg’s own header was disallowed after Chinonso Offor was caught offside.
Though Boris Sekulić blamed himself for the cross that led to Toye’s goal, the Fire, who’ve scored the least amount of goals in the 27-team league, haven’t given themselves much margin for error.
“The reality is we need too many chances to score a goal,” said Wicky, who owns a 0-14-4 record with the Fire in matches where the opposition strikes first.
The Fire won’t get the chance to cleanse their palate until their June 19 match against Columbus (3-2-2).
HOLD — Red Stars Collect First Victory, Then Lose Grip
Well, one out of two ain’t bad.
Mallory Pugh assisted on both goals in the Red Stars’ 2-0 victory against Kansas City Wednesday and scored her first of the season four minutes into the action with Houston Saturday. The Dash, however, did more with less, sending two of their three shots on target (in the 18th and 83rd minutes, respectively) past Alyssa Naeher to stifle the Red Stars’ bid for a second straight win.
Former Dash forward Kealia Watt, who led the team in total shots, threatened to put the Red Stars (1-2-1) ahead in the 58th minute but watched her delivery to the far post narrowly miss wide.
The Red Stars host the North Carolina Courage (1-1-1) Saturday.
Drew Stevens is a Senior Writer for WARR Media, he lives and works in Chicago