The Cubs will need left-hander Shota Imanaga to step up to salvage their series in San Francisco before continuing their nine-game trip in Denver.
The Cubs have still not yet been swept in a three-game series this season and look to avoid that fate after dropping the first two games against the Giants.
The stretch of 17 games in 17 days became a little more difficult for the White Sox to navigate when center fielder Luis Robert Jr. went on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left hamstring strain.
Every Thursday during the regular season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and White Sox.
Want more? Sign up for our Cubs Insider and White Sox Insider.
Cubs will open the 2026 season at Wrigley Field
The Cubs have been road warriors to begin the last two years, with the 2025 campaign memorably kicking off at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.
But the Cubs will start the 2026 season at Wrigley Field, a first since 2023, when they welcome the Washington Nationals to the Friendly Confines on March 26 for opening day. Their interleague schedule takes the Cubs on the road to Cleveland; Tampa, Fla., Arlington, Texas; Baltimore; Kansas City, Mo.; Seattle; the South Side for the City Series; and Boston, where they end the regular season.
They also host two home games on holidays: June 12 for Father’s Day versus the Toronto Blue Jays and July 4 against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs play the White Sox in a weekend set May 15-17 at Rate Field and a midweek series Aug. 17-19 at Wrigley.
Among the schedule quirks, the Cubs complete a season series against a nondivision National League team within 10 days three times: the Philadelphia Phillies (seven games between April 13-23), the Giants (six games between June 5-14) and Colorado Rockies (six games between June 9-17).
White Sox will have a historic start to the 2026 season
For the first time in franchise history, the Sox will face a National League team on opening day when they begin the 2026 season on March 26 in Milwaukee. That is one of the highlights of the ’26 schedule, which was released Tuesday.
The Sox last spent opening day in Milwaukee in 1995, when the Brewers were members of the American League. It will be a chance to catch up with Andrew Vaughn. The Sox dealt the first baseman, their first-round pick in 2019, to the Brewers for pitcher Aaron Civale on June 13.
The team’s home opener is April 2 against the Blue Jays. The Sox last hosted the Jays for a home opener in 1979 at Comiskey Park.
The longest Sox homestand of the season runs May 8-17 with three games each against the Seattle Mariners (May 8-10), Kansas City Royals (May 12-14) and Cubs (May 15-17).
In addition to the weekend series against the Cubs at Rate Field, the Sox travel to Wrigley Field for three midweek games Aug. 17-19.
One of the more intriguing stretches on the schedule comes in June. The Sox are in Philadelphia on June 5-7, return home for a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves (June 9-11) and Los Angeles Dodgers (June 12-14) and then go back on the road to face the New York Yankees (June 16-18) and Detroit Tigers (June 19-21).
The Sox close the regular season with three games at home against the Rockies from Sept. 25-27.
Number of the week: 4
Sox shortstop Colson Montgomery homered in his fourth consecutive game Tuesday. He became the first Sox to accomplish the feat since Luis Robert Jr. had a stretch of four straight from May 12-16, 2023.
More Top Picks Best 5g Phones
Week ahead: Cubs
- Thursday: at Giants, 2:45 p.m., Marquee
- Friday: at Rockies, 6:40 p.m., Marquee
- Saturday: at Rockies, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
- Sunday: at Rockies, 2:10 p.m., Marquee
- Monday: vs. Braves, 3:05 p.m., Marquee
- Tuesday: vs. Braves, 6:40 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: vs. Braves, 6:40 p.m., Marquee
The Cubs desperately need designated hitter Seiya Suzuki to get locked in again.
Since the All-Star break, Suzuki is hitting .174 with a .312 on-base percentage and .226 slugging percentage. In that 34-game stretch, he has only four extra-base hits and seven RBIs — a stark contrast to his 53 extra-base hits and 80 RBIs in his first 93 games.
Manager Craig Counsell believes Suzuki has been close to regaining his form at the plate.
“The pitches that he’s had to drive he’s either missed, kind of fouled back, he’s hit some like the line drive with the bases loaded the other day … and it just creates a sac fly and one run,” Counsell said. “But he’s missed some pitches that probably are the home runs he had earlier in the season. And you don’t get many of those pitches, and when you don’t do something with that pitch then you’re kind of battling for a single a little bit.
“I think that’s kind of what Seiya’s been going through a little bit because he’s collecting the singles but not the big swings.”
Suzuki, who did not play Thursday, is searching for his first home run since Aug. 6. His power outage has coincided with Kyle Tucker’s struggles, which have compounded the impact of both sluggers’ slumps.
Week ahead: White Sox
- Thursday: vs. Yankees, 6:40 p.m.
- Friday: vs. Yankees, 6:40 p.m., CHSN/The U
- Saturday: vs. Yankees, 6:10 p.m., CHSN
- Sunday: vs. Yankees, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
- Monday: at Twins, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
- Tuesday: at Twins, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
- Wednesday: at Twins, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
Catcher Kyle Teel enjoyed the opportunity to bat leadoff for the Sox on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.
“I feel like when you bat first, you get a lot of at-bats,” Teel told the Tribune on Monday. “I really value when I’m in that spot and I think it can help the team.
“I like hitting, so it’s great.”
It was Teel’s second time hitting at the top of the order this season. The other occurred Aug. 13 when he was the designated hitter.
“As a leadoff, I’ve just been working on keeping the same approach as when I’m batting three, five,” Teel said. “Wherever they put me, I have my same approach and I’m just focusing on getting a good pitch to hit.”
Teel continues to make an impact wherever he is in the lineup. The rookie had three hits and two RBIs while batting third Sunday against the Twins. After a day off Monday, he collected three more hits from the No. 3 spot Tuesday against the Royals. He became the first Sox player to record back-to-back three-hit games since Tim Anderson from Sept. 16-18, 2023 (also two games).
Entering Thursday, Teel had a .295/.382/.416 slash line with four home runs, eight doubles and 22 RBIs in 53 games. He’s producing and providing an energy boost.
“The best way I could describe it right is, the genuine enthusiasm for being at the baseball field that sometimes can be lost in the daily grind of being a professional baseball player,” manager Will Venable said of Teel’s energy. “He brings that kind of energy that always reminds us how special it is to be at the ballpark playing baseball, whether it’s in the clubhouse, in the dugout, on the field.
“It’s just the genuine enthusiasm for being a baseball player, which is what it’s all about, and I think everyone feeds off of.”
More Top Picks Executive Function Skills How To Build Them In Kids
What we’re reading today
- Cubs’ decision to put Jameson Taillon on the injured list was based on the big picture
- White Sox CF Luis Robert Jr. placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain: ‘It’s unfortunate news’
- 6th-inning sequence ends Matthew Boyd’s night in Chicago Cubs’ 5-2 loss: ‘Credit to a good hitter’
- How the White Sox navigate pitching 17 games in 17 days: ‘Trying to make sure guys are rested’
- Column: Will the Cubs and White Sox eventually play in the same division? Say it ain’t so, Rob Manfred.
- Can White Sox avoid a 3rd straight 100-loss season? They’ll need to go over .500 the rest of the way.
- Column: Kyle Hendricks’ legacy, Ryne Sandberg’s celebration of life and other Cubs takeaways
- Photos: Cubs’ public memorial for Ryne Sandberg
Quotable
“Shota (Imanaga) has, I think, spoiled us from Day 1 in terms of how good he’s been. He’s passed every test now.” — Cubs manager Craig Counsell