The Chicago Cubs ' combination of great starting pitching and big nights from the offense helped them finish their first road trip of the season on a high note.
A weekend home series against the Pittsburgh Pirates leads into three-game set in Philadelphia that kicks off a challenging stretch of the schedule.
The Chicago White Sox are getting their first taste of the American League Central with a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals that began Thursday at Kauffman Stadium. The Sox were outscored 34-9 while losing all seven games in Kansas City last season.
Every Friday 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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Battling injuries has been a part of Cubs reliever Hunter Harvey's career.
Harvey and the Cubs are making a concerted effort to make sure something doesn't pop up to derail his 2026 season, especially so early in the season. That has meant a more deliberate approach to his usage through the first two weeks. Harvey appeared in four of the first 12 games, pitching the ninth inning of Wednesday's 6-2 win against the Tampa Bay Rays after getting four days off between appearances.
"If I walk off the mound and I'm healthy, that's a check for me — we're just checking that box," Harvey told the Tribune this week. "So that's the main thing for me because everything else, we've got to play it out. We'll figure out stuff if we get off. I mean, there's some mechanics stuff we can look at, but there's not a whole lot. Being healthy is the main thing for me."
Harvey was attracted to the Cubs in free agency by conversations about how the organization believed it could keep him on the field. That has meant tweaking pregame work depending on how he's feeling.
Part of the health equation requires trust, honesty and communication between Harvey and the team. Manager Craig Counsell and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told Harvey they wanted to stay away from using him during Sunday's doubleheader in Cleveland barring a late-inning emergency. Harvey admitted that was tough to agree to, even as he understands their big-picture vision.
"I don't ever want to say no. If I'm able to pitch, I want to pitch," Harvey said. "And I've pitched with a lot of stuff (in my career). I've pitched hurt, like, I'm sore. I can pitch, but I get where they're at. They want me to be healthy for later in the year when it starts to matter even more.
"But getting my mind wrapped around it, I guess it's how I was raised. I don't ever want to say I'm down."
The Cubs bullpen hasn't really slotted into a rhythm for its roles, given how games have played out through the first two weeks. Harvey is an important part of the back-end options, and the Cubs want to do everything they can to ensure he gets through the grind of a long season healthy and feeling his best.
"Some guys, especially early in a tenure with a team, want to prove the contract and all those things," Hottovy told the Tribune. "And it's a long season. If we have to buy a day early because you need an extra day because you're not recovering well, let's take it and play the long game.
"Obviously we want to win every game we have a chance of doing, but we don't want to do that to sacrifice the potential health of guys throughout the course of the year."
Kyle Teel keeps taking steps in the right direction as he recovers from a right hamstring strain.
"I'm feeling good," the Sox catcher said Wednesday morning at Rate Field. "My running is getting back to normal. My range of motion isn't fully there yet, so I'm just trying to increase that.
"But overall the pain is a lot less than it has been in previous weeks, and we're making big progress."
Teel suffered the injury March 10 while running out a double for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. He hit .273 as a rookie in 2025 with 11 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 78 games.
"I did tee work the past three days and it doesn't sound like much," he said, "but two weeks ago when I was doing tee work, it was really grabbing at me, so just to be able to go in there pain-free is great because I love to hit. A lot of weight off my shoulders to get back in the cage and get back to work."
Teel said no date is set for a minor-league rehab assignment.
"Just trying to hit my sprint speed," he said. "Not trying to rush either, just let it naturally happen. Whenever it's time to go, it's time to go. Hopefully sooner than later."
Entering Thursday, the Cubs rotation had the third-best ERA in the majors at 2.72, trailing only the New York Yankees (2.28) and Cleveland Guardians (2.67).
Friday: vs. Pirates, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
Saturday: vs. Pirates, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
Sunday: vs. Pirates, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
Monday: at Phillies , 5:40 p.m., Marquee
Tuesday: at Phillies, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
Wednesday: at Phillies, 5:40 p.m., Marquee
Thursday: off
The Cubs lineup, after producing back-to-back good offensive games against the Rays, is expected to get a boost this weekend.
Right fielder Seiya Suzuki completed his rehab assignment at Double-A Knoxville and is rejoining the team Friday. As long as Suzuki reports feeling good after his final rehab game Thursday night, the expectation is the Cubs will have their slugger back for their first division series.
"This guy hit third or fourth for us for all last year," Counsell said. "So you're putting one of your core offensive players back in the lineup."
Left fielder Ian Happ sat out the last two games at Tampa Bay because of a bruised left heel that resulted from a wonky play in the field Monday. His heel was pretty swollen Tuesday, but he was feeling better Wednesday and was available off the bench.
Counsell said they wanted to give Happ another day to let his heel recover because the Cubs were off Thursday. Suzuki's impending return and the presence of Michael Conforto , Matt Shaw and Dylan Carlson give Counsell flexibility in the corner outfield spots if Happ still isn't feeling 100% Friday.
Friday: at Royals, 6:40 p.m., CHSN+
Saturday: at Royals, 3:10 p.m., CHSN+
Sunday: at Royals, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
Monday: off
Tuesday: vs. Rays, 6:40 p.m., CHSN
Wednesday: vs. Rays, 6:40 p.m., CHSN+
Thursday: vs. Rays, 1:10 p.m., CHSN
Chase Meidroth made team history March 26, becoming the first Sox player to lead off a season with a home run.
The hits have continued for the infielder. He entered Thursday with a team-leading 10 hits. Meidroth had reached base safely in nine of 11 games through Wednesday.
"It's just taking it day by day, at-bat by at-bat," he said Wednesday at Rate Field. "Just staying together and keep the main thing the main thing, and that ultimately is winning."
Meidroth has three multihit games this year, two coming in the last series against the Baltimore Orioles .
"He's been great," manager Will Venable said Monday. "He's up there (at the top of the lineup) for a reason, has the ability to set the tone for the group. You know you're going to get a quality at-bat. You just feel really good about his presence up front there."
Meidroth keeps the same mindset regardless of where he is slotted in the lineup.
"As a leadoff guy, you only lead off one time," he said. "It's at the beginning, and after that it's one through nine. We've got nine guys every day and we've got to break down the pitcher with nine guys."
"Everybody in this locker room still believes in him. He's still a dog, he's still one of our guys." — Sox pitcher Sean Burke on fellow starter Shane Smith, who was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday
