After dropping their first two games to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Tokyo, the Chicago Cubs are coming off a two-game sweep that gives them the season series win over the defending World Series champions. The Cubs have been playing well ahead of what should be another challenging series with the Philadelphia Phillies coming to town for a weekend set.
The White Sox make their first trip to West Sacramento, Calif., for a three-game series against the Athletics beginning Friday. The A’s swept a three-game series when the teams met April 15-17 at Rate Field, outscoring the Sox 23-4.
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.
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‘I didn’t think I was going to play anymore’: Drew Pomeranz happy to be acquired by the Cubs
Drew Pomeranz has been trying to get back to this point for four years.
The Cubs’ new lefty reliever hasn’t appeared in a major-league game since 2021 after undergoing flexor tendon surgery that year and then needing elbow clean-up surgery in 2023. The Dodgers called him up for the final four days of the regular season last year, however, he didn’t get into a game.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to play anymore,” Pomeranz said Wednesday. “It was just kind of like trying to make it back from injury, but then I didn’t pitch. So it still was in the back of my head.”
Pomeranz had been pitching well at Triple-A Tacoma in the Seattle Mariners organization. His contract had an upward mobility clause, which meant when the 36-year-old triggered it, Seattle had to offer him to the league and, if a team wanted him, then be put on that franchise’s major-league roster. He figured nothing would come of it; he had the same clause last year and used it multiple times to no avail.
The Cubs, though, wanted another left-hander in the bullpen and liked how his stuff was trending, including his velocity.
“I pitched pretty well so far to this point, good enough to get me here,” Pomeranz said. “I’m just happy to be here, it literally feels like the first time (in the majors) all over again.”
Coming to Chicago reunites Pomeranz with manager Craig Counsell, whom he played for in Milwaukee for 2 1/2 months during the 2019 season.
“It’s always good when he calls and then the name pops up on your caller ID,” Pomeranz said. “I mean, fortunately for me, this is my 11th organization in 15 years, so there’s a lot of those names that keep popping up. I’m just glad they’re still calling, to be honest.”
‘Each day is a new day’: Andrew Vaughn aims for consistency after slow start
Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn saw a familiar face when he batted in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
On the mound: former White Sox closer Liam Hendriks.
“Just kind of nodded at him, he smiled,” Vaughn said on Monday at Fenway Park. “The journey he has been through is pretty crazy and it’s good to see him back on the mound.”
Vaughn hit a two-run home run, adding insurance for the White Sox in an 8-4 victory.
Vaughn got to know Hendriks well during the reliever’s three seasons with the White Sox (2021-23). The two were locker neighbors in the home clubhouse.
“The banter went back and forth,” Vaughn said. “Just a good dude. I’m happy for him.”
Hendriks returned after coming back from Tommy John surgery. Sunday marked his first major-league game since June 9, 2023. He had started the 2023 season on the injured list while receiving cancer treatment. “It’s just so cool to see him back,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn’s home run was part of a two-hit day.
“We are trying to do damage when we are at the plate,” he said. “To see the results, it’s always good.”
Vaughn is looking for that consistency after a slow start. Entering Wednesday, he had a .145/.184/.277 slash line with three home runs and 10 RBIs.
“Each day is a new day,” Vaughn said. “Stick with that approach and try to hit it hard.”
Number of the week: .168
The White Sox went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The struggles in that department continued against the Minnesota Twins as the Sox went 0-for-8 on Tuesday and 1-for-8 on Wednesday with runners in scoring position. The Sox entered Wednesday ranked last in the majors with a .168 team average (28-for-167) with runners in scoring position.
Week ahead: Cubs
- Thursday: off
- Friday: vs. Phillies, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Saturday: vs. Phillies, 3:05 p.m., FOX
- Sunday: vs. Phillies, 6:10 p.m., ESPN
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: at Pirates, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: at Pirates, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
The Cubs have touted their pitching depth as an area they focused on in the offseason in case they needed to address injuries or performance-related issues.
It will continue to be challenged early in the season following two less-than-ideal injury updates. Right-hander Javier Assad exited his rehab start early Tuesday with Triple-A Iowa after experiencing discomfort on his left side. Assad was en route to Chicago on Wednesday to get checked out.
Assad had been working back from the left oblique strain he sustained at the start of camp and was close to being ready to come off the injured list. Tuesday’s outing was his second rehab start. Assad felt the discomfort as he was warming up for the fifth inning. It would be a blow to the Cubs’ starting pitching depth if Assad suffered a significant setback.
Right-hander Eli Morgan, currently on the injured list, has been diagnosed with ulnar neuritis. He will not throw for 2-3 weeks and then begin the ramp-up process if he is asymptomatic.
Right-hander Ryan Pressly was unavailable for Wednesday’s save situation in their 7-6 win over the Dodgers due to his right knee getting drained Tuesday. Counsell was hopeful after Wednesday’s game that Pressly would be available as soon as Friday for their weekend series against the Phillies.
Week ahead: White Sox
- Thursday: at Twins, 12:10 p.m., CHSN
- Friday: at Athletics, 9:05 p.m., CHSN
- Saturday: at Athletics, 3:05 p.m., CHSN
- Sunday: at Athletics, 3:05 p.m., CHSN
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: vs. Brewers, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
- Wednesday: vs. Brewers, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
The Sox wrap up their longest trip of the season with the three this weekend in West Sacramento, Calif., against the Athletics.
The 10 games in 10 days journey included a first for reliever Brandon Eisert. The left-hander pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings Sunday against the Red Sox on the way to collecting his first MLB victory.
“It was awesome,” Eisert told the Tribune Tuesday in Minneapolis. “Just trying to help the team win in general. As a reliever, it kind of just falls to you. You never know how a win can shake out.”
Eisert, 27, pitched the sixth and portions of the seventh as the White Sox rallied for the victory.
“It was an awesome experience to get the win as a team and then the result was my first big-league win,” he said.
Eisert, who the Sox claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays in February, entered Wednesday with a 4.82 ERA and 13 strikeouts in seven relief outings. He made three relief appearances last year with the Toronto Blue Jays.
“Just mixing everything, trying to keep them off-balanced,” Eisert said. “And trying to throw strikes and limit the walks.”
What we’re reading this morning
- ‘We don’t quit here’: Cubs pull off a wild 11-10 win in 10 innings over the Dodgers
- Column: Instead of being hated, Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers are the new America’s team
- Bryse Wilson among the White Sox options to provide bulk innings with Martín Pérez on the IL
- Cubs continue to shuffle the bullpen as they try to find right mix: ‘We have to solve that issue’
- Column: Cubs superfan Ronnie ‘Woo Woo’ Wickers is rehabbing for a return to Wrigley Field
- CHSN may need to think outside the Comcast cable box with Bulls and Blackhawks done and White Sox struggling
- Liam Hendriks is back in the major leagues for the first time in nearly 2 years with the Red Sox
- Column: Slugfests for Cubs remain the same as they were in 1893 — and that’s a very good thing
Quotable
“You kind of lose sight of a lot of that when things are going good and when you’re having good years or you’re playing every single day, and so when things are kind of taken away from you, and it sucks that’s sometimes what has to happen for you to kind of reevaluate a lot of things, but it’s something that I was obviously won’t take for granted now, and to be able to put this uniform on every single day is going to be something very special.” — former White Sox and current Cubs infielder Nicky Lopez on appreciating his new opportunity
