The Cubs are trying to ride a wave of momentum through the final stretch into the All-Star break to make up important ground in the National League wild-card race.
They finish the week with four games in three days in St. Louis, one of only two series left this year against the Cardinals.
The White Sox are in line to match the club mark for the most games played before the All-Star break (98), which was established in 1973. They will head to the break after the three-game home series this weekend against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Every Friday 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 new newsletters.
Cubs making final preparations for draft, No. 14 pick
Days away from the first round of Major League Baseball’s draft beginning Sunday, Cubs vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz and the organization are going through the final stages of lining up their draft board.
Beyond a group of college hitters projected to be chosen among the top picks, Kantrovitz doesn’t see any other demographics standing out among the class. But by drafting in the top half of the first round, the Cubs have an opportunity to find another talented player after picking left-hander Jordan Wicks, right-hander Cade Horton and infielder Matt Shaw, all out of college, the last three years.
“We try to go into each draft with a blank slate,” Kantrovitz said Thursday. “I think if something hadn’t worked out with one of those picks, we wouldn’t want it to affect our strategy in a negative way and so I think similarly, the fact that we’ve had some positive returns so far from some recent picks, we don’t want to really let that alter our strategy too much either. But it’s no doubt a source of pride for our scouts and who follow these guys on a daily basis and are just so invested in every single box score.”
The Cubs enter the draft with a bonus pool of $9,802,300. They have shown in the past a willingness to go under slot with certain picks and allocate those funds elsewhere in the draft.
Kantrovitz wouldn’t tip his hand as to the direction the Cubs might go with their first pick. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo has them picking East Carolina right-hander Trey Yesavage at No. 14 while The Athletic’s Keith Law projects the Cubs to take Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore.
“Our point of view on that is you don’t want to take a step back on talent to do that,” Kantrovitz said. “If you’ve got two players that you’re staring at your first pick and one of them will require $500,000 less than from a signing-bonus standpoint, that’s a pretty optimal position to be in because then you can end up spreading that out throughout the rest of the draft. I think that’s probably how most teams look at it.”
Breaking down Michael Kopech’s immaculate moment
Michael Kopech started thinking about it “from Pitch 4.”
“As soon as I realized there were no balls on the board, I wanted to finish that feat off,” Kopech said.
The feat: nine pitches, nine strikes.
The Sox closer did just that while wrapping up a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“It feels good, but at the same time, I would have never thought about it again if I threw a ball in there at some point,” Kopech said. “Just glad to have a clean inning and get the win.”
Kopech began the ninth inning facing Brooks Lee, who fouled off a fastball and a cutter. Kopech got strike three looking on a 100.1-mph fastball at the top of the zone, according to MLB Statcast.
Kopech got a swinging strike one on the next batter, Matt Wallner, with another fastball. Wallner fouled off a cutter, then swung and missed on a 100.5-mph fastball for strike three.
Max Kepler hit for Manuel Margot. The first two pitches were cutters — a swinging strike on the first and a called strike on the second. Kopech went back to the fastball, and Kepler couldn’t check his swing on the 100.1-mph pitch that was out of the zone for strike three.
Kopech became the first Sox with a recorded immaculate inning since Hollis “Sloppy” Thurston on Aug. 22, 1923, according to statistician Christopher Kamka.
“It was my first and his first (in the majors), something I’ll always remember,” catcher Korey Lee said. “Good things happen when you throw strikes.”
Manager Pedro Grifol said the inning — like Monday’s 1-2-3 performance in the 10th against the Twins — is why he never thought of moving Kopech out of the closer’s role in the aftermath of Sunday’s blown save against the Miami Marlins.
“We’re never going to give up on Michael, never,” Grifol said. “There’s too much talent, too much heart, too much character to even think about moving him down.”
Number of the week: 17
With his walk in the second inning Thursday against the Orioles, first baseman Michael Busch extended his on-base streak to 17 games, the longest by a Cub this year. He and the Atlanta Braves’ Austin Riley are tied for the longest active streak in the majors.
Tracking the White Sox’s record-setting losses
Record: 27-68
The Sox have the worst record after 95 games in franchise history. The previous mark of 31-64 was set in 1948.
They’re on pace for 115 losses, five short of the record set by the expansion 1962 New York Mets. The team record is 106, set in 1970.
The team’s 68 losses are the most for the club before the All-Star break. The previous high was 62 in 2018.
Week ahead: Cubs
- Friday: at Cardinals, 7:15 p.m., Apple TV+
- Saturday: at Cardinals, 1:15 p.m., 7:15 p.m., Marquee
- Sunday: at Cardinals, 1:15 p.m., Marquee
- Monday-Thursday: All-Star break
Alexander Canario is getting another big-league chance, though his game opportunities may again be limited.
With outfielder Cody Bellinger landing on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a fractured left middle finger, Canario was brought up from Triple-A Iowa and again slots in as a bench option who could get spot starts against lefties.
“I started going down there and working on my timing,” Canario said through an interpreter. “Everything that I’ve done throughout my career, throughout the minor leagues, I just want to come out here and just give my best and show what I’ve got.”
In 59 games with Iowa this season, Canario is hitting .238 with a .330 on-base percentage while slugging 16 home runs and 13 doubles. In limited action during his first call-up this year, Canario went 6-for-22 (.273) and posted a .360 OBP with two extra-base hits.
“Just learning to make the quick adjustments from the first and second at-bats,” Canario said. “Just to learn to make those adjustments as quick as possible and to go out there whenever it’s needed.”
Week ahead: White Sox
- Friday: vs. Pirates, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Saturday: vs. Pirates, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Sunday: vs. Pirates, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Monday-Thursday: All-Star break
The Sox have been gearing up for the MLB draft, which begins Sunday.
They will be busy early with three of the first 68 picks — No. 5, 43 and 68. The team’s last top-five selection came in 2019, when the Sox drafted first baseman Andrew Vaughn at No. 3.
“I think we all feel good with what’s happening in the minor leagues,” director of amateur scouting Mike Shirley said. “To add this piece of what (No.) 5 could possibly be to the next wave of this, it’s substantial. It’s a must.”
The 20-round draft runs Sunday through Tuesday.
What we’re reading this morning
- Cubs complete a dominant sweep of the Orioles after placing Cody Bellinger on the IL with a fractured finger
- Column: Trade deadline can be exhilarating and exhausting — especially for execs with as much at stake as Chicago’s baseball honchos
- Cubs minor-league report: Cade Horton and Brennen Davis injury updates — plus Ed Howard shows some upside
- ‘I’ve been consistently working’: White Sox top prospect Colson Montgomery is excited for Futures Game opportunity
- How Garrett Crochet has remained focused amid trade buzz surrounding the White Sox All-Star
- 6 White Sox players who could be on the move by the July 30 trade deadline
- Seiya Suzuki still searching for defensive consistency in his third season with the Cubs
- Column: Hot dog eating champion Patrick Bertoletti has a winning strategy Chicago teams should emulate
- White Sox’s Nicky Lopez, a Naperville native, comes full circle with 16-inch softball charity classic
- Column: Cubs manage to out-Cub themselves with another dumb injury
- 2024 Olympics: What to know — and who to watch — during the Summer Games in Paris
Quotable
“Every time I go out there, I’m competing for the White Sox and trying to give us the best chance to win. I hope I give guys confidence when I step on the mound. That other stuff is there, but I can’t do anything about it other than go out there and pitch.” — Sox pitcher Erick Fedde on trade speculation.
