For as frigid as the Chicago Cubs’ offensive production has been in May, they are still hovering around .500.
While it’s not the ideal spot to be in as they pass the one-third mark of the season, the Cubs are trying to grind their way through the offense getting back on track. The return of Pete Crow-Armstrong, who was recalled before Thursday’s series finale in Milwaukee, could provide a spark if he’s able to pick up where he left off at the plate.
The White Sox were off Thursday but made a roster move, optioning third baseman Bryan Ramos to Triple-A Charlotte.
Ramos went 9-for-46 (.196) with two doubles and two RBIs in 15 games. He was 0-for-14 after returning from the injured list Saturday. The Sox will announce a corresponding move Friday.
Every Friday during the 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.
Shota Imanaga deals with first bad MLB outing
It was bound to happen.
Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga’s electric beginning to his major-league career showed how well he can pitch at his best, but the rookie wasn’t going carry a sub-1.00 ERA through the season. Moments like in Wednesday’s rough outing during the Cubs’ 10-6 loss to the Brewers were inevitable — and something Imanaga anticipated.
The Brewers tagged Imanaga for seven runs in 4 1/3 innings, including five in the third. He entered the game having allowed only five earned runs in 53 2/3 innings, but his ERA jumped from 0.84 to 1.86.
“The historic start’s over, the great start is still here,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Nothing changes from my perspective, he’s been a joy to watch.”
The Brewers were aggressive against Imanaga, and combined with his four-seam fastball and splitter not being as sharp as it typically has this season, they were able to pounce on him. Imanaga, coming off 10 days’ rest as the Cubs manage his workload, bounced back from the Brewers putting up the five-spot to end the outing with an encouraging finish.
“That’s important, you’re going to have a bad inning, right?” Counsell said. “He had a rough inning, recovered and that’s what great pitchers do.”
The next test in Imanaga’s career is how he recalibrates from getting roughed up. He plans to reflect and move forward.
“I felt good, but unfortunately today it wasn’t there, and so I apologize to Counsell for not having to it,” Imanaga, 30, said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “They were making adjustments, and I didn’t have the consistency today to throw (my fastball) at the top of the zone.”
Josh Barfield has a weekend to remember in Cooperstown
Chicago White Sox assistant general manager Josh Barfield (fourth from the left in the middle) at the Hall of Fame East-West Classic in Cooperstown, N.Y., on May 25, 2024. (MLB photo)
Josh Barfield had one objective coming out of the Hall of Fame East-West Classic.
“Made it through healthy,” the Sox assistant general manager said. “That was the whole goal of the weekend.”
Barfield was one of the former major-leaguers to participate in Saturday event in Cooperstown, N.Y., officially titled the “Hall of Fame East-West Classic: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Game.”
“You miss that adrenaline rush when you get away from playing,” Barfield said. “It’s really hard to replace that. To play in a packed stadium and look at all the talent on the field. It was funny because everybody has kept themselves in pretty good shape, everybody’s swing kind of looks the same. Just a little bit slower. It was a lot of fun being out there.
“For me, it was special. I had my family there. My kids who had never seen me put on a uniform, so it was really cool.”
He said his daughters were a little confused.
“They were like, ‘Daddy, you don’t play. You sit and watch the game,’ ” Barfield said. “It was really fun to get to see their faces. They got to come down on the field for batting practice, so that was really special.”
The game was part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s salute to Black baseball. It took place the same weekend the museum opened its new exhibit, “The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball.”
Major leaguers praise inclusion of more than 2,300 Negro League players into the record book
“They showed a film before the game with a lot of history and the Negro Leagues guys and players from the Negro Leagues all the way up to today,” Barfield said. “Getting to see the exhibit and all the different pieces they had in there.
“Baseball has been my whole life. It was really really cool to share that with my family and friends and heroes really.”
As for the game, Barfield enjoyed being back in a dugout and hearing stories from other players — including Hall of Famers.
“Guys cutting up — that’s what you miss too from playing,” Barfield said. “The laughing and the joking. So many characters when you are on the team. Getting to hear some of that again, just being back on the field.
“It’s like you go right back into it. It’s 15 years since I’ve put on a uniform and you go back right on autopilot. Just compete and joking around. It was a special weekend. One I’ll never forget.”
Number of the week: 0-7
The Sox had a historically bad homestand, getting swept in a four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles and dropping all three against the Toronto Blue Jays. The 0-7 record marked the first time in franchise history the Sox went winless in a homestand of seven-plus games.
Week ahead: Cubs
- Friday: vs. Reds, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Saturday: vs. Reds, 6:15 p.m., FOX
- Sunday: vs. Reds, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: vs. White Sox, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: vs. White Sox, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
The Cubs aren’t taking Ben Brown’s versatility for granted.
Whether out of the bullpen (seven appearances) or in the rotation (six starts), the rookie right-hander has answered the call. Since a rough debut March 30 in Texas, Brown has a 1.61 ERA after tossing seven no-hit innings Tuesday in Milwaukee.
“I really appreciate his competitiveness,” team President Jed Hoyer said this week. “When he’s out there you really get the feeling he’s attacking guys. There’s time for tinkering and pitch shapes and there’s time for attacking hitters and he goes out there and attacks. I feel like he’s shown real composure in big spots.”
The Cubs will continue to monitor his workload to ensure they can get Brown, 24, through the full big-league season. He totaled 92 2/3 innings last year between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa and is already halfway there (46 1/3) with four months to go. Brown has exceeded 100 innings only once in his professional career, coming in 2022 when he was traded from the Phillies organization to the Cubs at High A and Double A (104 innings).
“He’s really helped us and as we spend time talking about the offense struggling, the job our starting pitching has done has been really excellent,” Hoyer said.
The Cubs also will have to be mindful of Hayden Wesneski’s and Javier Assad’s usage and rest. Left-hander Jordan Wicks (left forearm strain) is making another rehab start Sunday with Iowa, setting up a potential return next week. The Cubs must make sure to maintain their starting pitching depth over the course of the season. Top pitching prospect Cade Horton left his start Wednesday and will be going to Chicago to have his lat evaluated.
Brown’s consistency continues to allow the Cubs to get creative with how they use their pitching staff and deploy rest for certain pitchers.
Week ahead: White Sox
- Friday: at Brewers, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Saturday: at Brewers, 3:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Sunday: at Brewers, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: at Cubs, 7:05 p.m., NBCSCH
- Wednesday: at Cubs, 7:05 p.m., NBCSCH
- Thursday: vs. Red Sox, 7:10 p.m., NBCSCH
All-Star Luis Robert Jr. continued his path toward returning to the majors by beginning a rehab assignment with Charlotte on Tuesday.
Robert wasted little time getting into the swing of things, hitting a home run in his first at-bat.
He hasn’t played with the Sox since April 5, when he suffered a strained right hip flexor. He went 1-for-7 in his first two games with the Knights.
“From my perspective, I just want to make sure he can do everything on the field without any hesitation,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Tuesday. “So I’ve got my boxes he needs to check, the trainers have their boxes and (general manager) Chris (Getz) has got his.
“All we’re doing now is, ‘Hey, go play and let the game dictate what you have to do.’”
What we’re reading this morning
- Column: Bromance between White Sox manager Pedro Grifol and Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf is one for the books
- ‘We’re in a tough stretch’: 3 HRs not enough for Chicago Cubs in 6-4 loss to Milwaukee Brewers, dropping them below .500
- Cubs had some horrible moments on offense in May — and their record reflects those struggles
- ‘We need to break that cycle’: As Cubs offense continues to flounder, Jed Hoyer expresses faith in hitters’ track records
- Rotation shuffle continues for White Sox as Mike Clevinger goes on the IL with right elbow inflammation
- Rookie Ben Brown dazzles with 7 no-hit innings as Cubs outlast the Brewers 6-3 in the 10th
- Longtime umpire Ángel Hernández, who unsuccessfully sued MLB for racial discrimination, retires immediately
- Being an MLB catcher is grueling work, but that’s not slowing this year’s best on offense
- Forget 300 career wins. Even 200 wins for an MLB pitcher might be a thing of the past.
This week in Chicago baseball
June 1, 1937: White Sox pitcher Bill Dietrich throws a no-hitter
Only three St. Louis Browns reached first base during the effort — two on walks and a third on an error.
June 3, 2003: Cubs’ Sammy Sosa was ejected for using a corked bat
Sosa was ejected in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Wrigley Field after his bat shattered on a groundout to second base and pieces of cork were found among the shards. Plate umpire Tim McClelland conferred with his crew, then ejected Sosa for using a corked bat. Sosa apologized “from the bottom of my heart” after the game.
He acknowledged ownership of the bat, explaining that he occasionally used it for batting practice and for home run exhibitions to entertain fans. He said it had been inadvertently mixed in with his regular bats.
McClelland said he saw a half-dollar-sized piece of cork in the bat, about halfway down the barrel.
“I didn’t want to do it,” he said of his decision to eject the popular Sosa, “but obviously the evidence was right there. You’ve got to go by the rules.”
June 5, 1989: White Sox draft Frank Thomas at No. 7
Thomas was the seventh player taken in the June draft, right behind the Cardinals selection of Paul Coleman and right ahead of the Cubs’ Earl Cunningham, neither of whom appeared in the big leagues.
Also taken before Thomas was Jeff Jackson of Simeon High School. He never played in the majors for the Phillies.
Quotable
“That’s what I tell myself when I drive up here (to Milwaukee). Whenever the team is struggling offensively, everyone has a level of frustration and that’s just the nature of these jobs.” — Hoyer on the Cubs’ Nos. 1-9 hitters collectively stuck in a cold streak that shouldn’t, in theory, last all season
