Cubs Recap: Cubs grab another rivalry win against White Sox

Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 16 hours ago

CHICAGO - Everyone knew that once the Chicago Cubs (27-19) completed their 41-game gauntlet to open the season, things were going to lighten up in a hurry as their next 21 games are going to determine how things will go the rest of the way. With the first six of those games coming at Wrigley Field, the Cubs have started this stretch with a bang as they are 4-1 so far.

That included their second consecutive win against the Chicago White Sox (14-32) as the Cubs have taken the first two games of the Crosstown Cup with a 7-3 win. It was another day at the office for Matthew Boyd, who continues to impress in his first two months with the team. Sure, his ERA rose to 2.98 after allowing three runs in six innings, but with no walks and eight strikeouts, Boyd is starting to become more of a strikeout pitcher than in the past.

What has made Boyd so good this season has been his uptick in velocity and his ability to keep the ball in the yard. However, with Chase Meidroth leading off the game with his first homer of the season, it was the White Sox grabbing the early lead for the second straight day, 1-0. In what was nearly a carbon copy of Friday, Sean Burke retired the Cubs in relatively easy fashion in the first before the offense got rolling in the second.

It was in the second inning on Friday when the Cubs broke the game open with six runs, and today, they scored four times to take the lead for good and never looked back. Dansby Swanson moved back to the No. 5 spot in the lineup and led things off with a leadoff single before a pair of walks loaded the bases with no outs.

That set the stage for Mr. Bases Loaded Miguel Amaya, who delivered another RBI single to put the Cubs on top for good, 2-1. Amaya is now hitting .489 for his career with the bases loaded, including 3-4 this season. The Cubs continued to keep the pressure on throughout the second inning as Pete Crow-Armstrong's single pushed the Cubs' lead to 4-1, proving to be the game-winning hit.

Despite the White Sox record, this team under Will Venable is vastly different as they are much more competitive. With Michael A. Taylor and Meidroth picking up a pair of one-out singles, the White Sox were threatening again as they had a pair of runners on and one out. After hitting two homers and driving in three on Friday, Miguel Vargas added to an already strong series, using a sacrifice fly to pull the Sox within 4-2.

Still leading by that score in the fourth, Crow-Armstrong came through with his second hit in as many at-bats and used a triple to set the Cubs up again. Kyle Tucker followed that up with a walk, but Burke found a way to escape the jam to keep the White Sox close. Immediately after getting out of the fourth, the White Sox continued to battle back with Tim Elko, who cashed in for another solo shot that pulled the Sox within one.

Not about to let the White Sox get any closer, Swanson continued to build off this two-week hot stretch he has been on and took one out of Burke for his 10th homer of the season to extend the Cubs' lead to 5-3. Chicago kept the pressure on with Nico Hoerner extending things with a two-out single before advancing to second on a costly throwing error.

That set the stage for a rare Vidal Brujan sighting as he got his first start in several weeks and promptly delivered an RBI double to put the Cubs in front 6-3. That was all the offense Boyd and the Cubs' pen needed as he closed out another quality start with a perfect sixth before handing things off to Brad Keller and the rest of the Cubs' pen.

As mentioned on Friday, the lone advantage the White Sox have this weekend over the Cubs comes from their bullpen, but you would never guess that based on the first two games of this series. The Cubs pounded the Sox pen for seven runs on Friday and added another run Saturday with Hoerner connecting for an RBI single in the eighth. That was the game's final run for either side as the Cubs closed out another series win with the 7-3 victory.

Crow-Armstrong continues to thrive since taking over the leadoff spot for an injured Ian Happ, as he picked up two more hits with two RBIs. He was one of three players to have multiple hits, as Swanson and Hoerner each added two hits. The Cubs also saw their bullpen trio of Keller, Daniel Palencia, and Porter Hodge take care of business, as Palencia is starting to become a trusted arm in the late innings of games. The Cubs will go for the sweep on Sunday when they send Colin Rea to the mound against Jonathan Cannon.