White Sox vs Cubs Pick: Cubs Send Boyd to Extend Windy City Dominance (May 17)

• Our White Sox vs Cubs pick looks at the two Windy City teams meeting in the second game of their series at Wrigley Field
• These clubs are heading in opposite directions, with the Cubs sitting in 1st place in the NL Central at 26-19 and the White Sox in last place in the AL Central, sitting at 14-31
• The Cubs blew out the White Sox 13-3 in the first game of the series
• Matthew Boyd starts for the Cubs; Sean Burke takes the hill for the White Sox

The White Sox Have Been Playing Relatively Well Lately

The White Sox have lost two straight, but before that, they had won three in a row. They are still 17 games below .500 as they rebuild from the worst record in MLB history in 2024.

In the second game of their series at Wrigley Field, they send Sean Burke to the mound. Somewhat surprisingly, the White Sox’ starting pitching has been quite good. That includes Burke, who has a misleading 4.15 ERA. He had a run of three poor starts in early April in which he surrendered 14 earned runs in 10.2 innings. Over his last three starts, however, he has thrown 16.1 innings and given up 2 earned runs.

Burke has never faced anyone on the Cubs.

The White Sox are offensively challenged. Their team batting average is barely over .200. As for team on-base percentage, it is below .300. Their OPS is just over .600. This is not the math to scoring many runs.

On the bright side, in the opening game of the series, Miguel Vargas was 4 for 4 with a double and a home run.

Boyd Has Been a Key to the Cubs’ Season

The veteran lefty Matthew Boyd has been one of the Cubs’ best starters, amassing a 1.1 bWAR. He has been consistently good all season, pitching at least 5 innings in every start, never surrendering more than 3 earned runs. In 45.1 innings, he has given up 46 hits, walked 13, and struck out 45.

Against Boyd, the White Sox’ Luis Robert Jr. is 2 for 11 with 2 doubles. Lenyn Sosa is 2 for 3 with a double. Michael A. Taylor is 3 for 10 with a double. And Andrew Vaughn is 1 for 6 with a double.

The Cubs’ Kyle Tucker has slowed down slightly after his blazing start, but he still has a .906 OPS with 10 homers. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s power has been a shock. He has 12 home runs to go along with his 13 stolen bases and Gold Glove-caliber defense. Seiya Suzuki has 11 home runs.

White Sox vs Cubs Pick: Cubs Continue To Beat Up on the ChiSox

The White Sox are showing fight this season and, as stated earlier, their starting pitching is respectable. Still, the Cubs have too much firepower and Boyd is having a potential All-Star first half. The Cubs will take the second game of the Chicago series.