Chicago baseball report: Division play heats up for the Cubs and the White Sox

Chicago Tribune

01-05-2025

For the first time this season, the Cubs finally played a team below .500 this week when they traveled to Pittsburgh to face the Pirates.
It also represented their first games against a division opponent, something only two other MLB teams had not yet done this year entering Tuesday. The Cubs will need to beat the hard-throwing Paul Skenes on Thursday to take the series before traveling to Milwaukee for a three-game set against the Brewers beginning Friday.
The Sox jump back into division play next week against the Kansas City Royals. The four-game series begins Monday at Kauffman Stadium. The Sox went 1-12 against the Royals last season.
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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Lower arm slot adjustment leads to success, call up to Cubs for right-hander Chris Flexen
When Chris Flexen arrived at big-league camp with the Cubs this spring and went through their pitching lab process, a necessary change became glaringly evident.
After looking through the data, video and getting eyes on him, the Cubs' pitching department identified that Flexen's arm slot was contributing to inconsistencies with his command and the quality of his stuff. The group immediately worked with the 30-year-old right-hander to lower his arm slot after being 'extremely higher' than it had been in the past when he was successful with Seattle from 2021-2022 (3.66 ERA in 64 games/53 starts).
'I was in very bad body positions, so lack of command, lack of stuff, lack of life and things like that,' Flexen said Wednesday. 'So we tried to drop the slot. It wasn't anything too crazy. I'm not a side arm thrower now. I still throw very over the top, but enough to be able to create a little more lasso whip in the arm.
'It's a continuous thing to always work on, whether it be in weighted balls, sides, games, all of it, and just getting constant feedback,' Flexen said. 'And having great eyes on it, and always being able to make those adjustments on the fly.'
The adjustment and subsequent consistency led to great results with Triple-A Iowa, where Flexen posted a 1.16 ERA in 23 1/3 innings spanning five starts in which he didn't allow a home run and struck out 21 batters while walking eight. The Cubs added Flexen to the 40-man roster Tuesday and called him up to Pittsburgh. Left-hander Tom Cosgrove was optioned to Iowa, and right-hander Javier Assad (oblique) was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot for Flexen.
Flexen had a May 1 opt-out in his minor-league deal, forcing the Cubs to decide on his future in the organization. With how well Flexen had been pitching for Iowa, he would have garnered interest from other organizations. Flexen is expected to be used in a multi-inning, long-relief role in the bullpen.
'This is a guy that's had success, he kind of got off track, and you have confidence that those guys can get back on track and pitching well,' manager Craig Counsell said. 'He's got major-league hitters out, and he was obviously doing a great job getting Triple-A hitters out and earned an opportunity.'
What has driven the opener strategy recently deployed by the Sox?
The Sox tied a major-league mark by using an opener for the fourth consecutive game on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Sox matched the Tampa Bay Rays, who did it from Sept. 2-5, 2018, according to STATS.
Sox senior adviser to pitching Brian Bannister discussed the benefits of the strategy, which was first deployed during the weekend series against the Athletics.
'I know it's something we did a lot in San Francisco, you see it used successfully like what the (Detroit) Tigers did last year in the second half after the (Jack) Flaherty trade,' Bannister said Sunday in West Sacramento, Calif. 'I think it does help set up the lineup in favor of the starting pitcher that follows, especially when there's a little thump. You're guaranteed to get their best hitters in the first inning. So I think just giving an alternate look, an alternate hand could be really successful.
'We're at a point now, with the loss of (starter) Martín (Pérez) short term, our entire major-league pitching staff is making $10 million. There's a lot of guys with less than a year of service time, so anything we can do to facilitate that adjustment to the major-league level and give them an edge just against these opposing lineups, can be very beneficial.'
As for concerns about the potential impact on a young starter's development, Bannister said pitchers like Sean Burke and Jonathan Cannon have still had the chance to go through their normal routines.
'They still get to prepare like they're starting that day, they can still do all their pregame stuff. It's not a surprise when they're going in, it's premeditated,' Bannister said. 'They're going in in the second or against a specific hitter, and so everything really stays the same. So to them, it feels like a start, but they get the advantage of maybe getting past those first couple hitters and the opposing manager has to set things up the way that it is going to be most beneficial for their team, which could help our guys.
'With any of these young guys, just trying to get them some momentum.'
Number of the week: 13
The Sox had a 7-23 record coming into Thursday. Of the 23 defeats, 13 have been by one or two runs.
Week ahead: Cubs
Thursday: at Pirates, 11:35 a.m., Marquee
Friday: at Brewers, 7:10 p.m., Marquee
Saturday: at Brewers, 6:10 p.m., Marquee
Sunday: at Brewers, 1:10 p.m., Marquee
Monday: vs. Giants, 6:40 p.m., Marquee
Tuesday: vs. Giants, 6:40 p.m., Marquee
Wednesday: vs. Giants, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
If the Cubs are going to take their hot April offensive performance into May, maintaining their level of high-quality at-bats and continuing to put pressure on opposing pitching staffs must continue.
That approach was especially on display in Tuesday's victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates when the Cubs did not strike out in the game. It represented the first time Cubs hitters avoided striking out in a game since July 3, 2013, at Oakland. Beyond the lack of strikeouts, the Cubs also hit four home runs in the win. The last time the Cubs did that — zero strikeouts and at least four home runs — was May 17, 1977, which marked just the fifth time in team history since 1901. That combination had not happened in a major-league game since the Los Angeles Angels did it on May 13, 2013.
The Cubs' 10.0% walk rate is tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for fifth-best in the big leagues.
'No strikeouts is kind of what you take away,' manager Craig Counsell said afterward. 'I mean, I know we had some home runs, obviously, and that's great, but to go through a game without any strikeouts, that means we're having good at-bats. To me, (starter Andrew Heaney) was throwing a lot of strikes and nothing was happening. But that second time through, we did a fabulous job of (innings) two through nine, hard contact, good at-bats every single time so we put some pressure on them.'
Week ahead: White Sox
Thursday: vs. Brewers, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
Friday: vs. Astros, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
Saturday: vs. Astros, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
Sunday: vs. Astros, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
Monday: at Royals, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
Tuesday: at Royals, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
Wednesday: at Royals, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
When Luis Robert Jr. has reached base, he's been on the go.
The center fielder entered Wednesday leading the American League with 11 stolen bases.
'Every time I get on base, I'm thinking of stealing that base,' Robert said through an interpreter on Tuesday.
Robert stole a career-high 23 bases last season.
He said his body 'feels good.'
'I hope it feels this way all season,' Robert said. 'I've been running a lot. I've been doing my work in the gym. I've been very diligent in my preparation and hopefully that's something that's going to keep me out of injuries this season.'
Robert is still trying to find a groove at the plate, hitting .158 with four home runs and nine RBIs in 27 games coming into Wednesday.
'Even though my offensive production hasn't been at the level I wanted or what I know I can do, I've been able to help this team in other different areas,' Robert said. 'I think that's good. Of course, this is just a month into the season. I think we have to pass this month and then focus on the next month, or at least that's my goal.'
What we're reading this morning
Quotable
'He's a highly, highly instinctual baseball player, man. I mean, it's where you want to kind of see what's going on inside his head. But he's really good at reading swings. He's got tremendous command of the baseball. We talk about command and put grades on it and use words on it, but it's at the top of 10% of the command in the league.' —