After swapping one-sided victories in the first two games of their crosstown rivalry series, the host Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs will meet in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon.
Rekindling a potent attack ranks atop the White Sox’s objectives, to be sure, although rookie right-hander Sean Burke knows he must improve upon his early-season struggles against the Cubs.
Right-hander Grant Taylor (0-1, 3.93 ERA), who has never faced the Cubs, is scheduled to be the White Sox’s opener on Sunday, but Burke — originally listed as the starter — might get the bulk of innings.
A four-run second inning propelled the Cubs to a 7-3 victory against the White Sox and Burke on May 17. He allowed six runs (five earned) and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings, including a solo home run from Dansby Swanson. Burke walked five and struck out four in his only career appearance against the Cubs.
“[The Cubs] are having a good year and are one of the best teams in baseball, but how my last one went against them, I feel like I beat myself more than they beat me,” Burke said. “Just walks. Wasn’t around the zone enough.
“[There was] one big inning, I let some walks and a couple of key hits [and] they spiraled into a bigger inning. So obviously, they are still a good team. You have to execute pitches against them, but I feel better going into this one.”
Burke (4-8, 4.19 ERA) would seek his first victory since June 25 but has pitched to a 4.05 ERA in four July starts covering 20 innings.
On Saturday, Ian Happ and Matt Shaw hit seventh-inning home runs to break open a scoreless game and lift the Cubs to a 6-1 victory. That followed a 12-5 White Sox win on Friday.
Mike Tauchman has homered in consecutive games for the White Sox. Rookie Colson Montgomery had a hit Saturday, but his streak of three straight games with a home run ended.
Strong pitching and an opportunistic offense helped the Cubs clinch the season series with the White Sox on Saturday, claiming their fourth victory in five meetings. The final matchup will be Sunday.
The White Sox had scored 61 runs while winning six of seven games coming out of the All-Star break but hit a roadblock Saturday.
Now the Cubs will aim to sustain their momentum.
Shaw has done his part to help the North Siders, who are tied with the Milwaukee Brewers atop the National League Central. The rookie has hit safely in all eight games since the All-Star break and is batting .478 (11-for-23) with four home runs and nine RBIs over that span. Shaw had just two home runs in the first half of the season.
“Matt’s been swinging it great since the break,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Big hits. … We’ve got some confidence going there and we’ve got him in a good spot.”
Right-hander Ben Brown (4-7, 6.48 ERA) is set to start on Sunday for the Cubs, his 15th start and 18th appearance this season. Brown struggled on Monday against the Kansas City Royals after being recalled from Triple-A Iowa in his major league appearance since June 23.
He allowed seven runs (six earned) and seven hits, including two homers, in four innings in relief in Chicago’s 12-4 loss.
Brown hasn’t faced the White Sox in his career.
–Field Level Media
