CUBS
The North Siders dropped two out of three this weekend to the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field. The Cubs took the first game 1–0 behind a strong pitching performance from left-hander Jon Lester. The lone run was supplied by rookie Addison Russell, who blasted his first career home run to give Lester all the runs he’d need. On Saturday, with Jake Arrieta—their ace so far this season—on the hill, the Cubs weren’t able to continue their winning ways. Arrieta didn’t bring his best stuff and was missing his spots all day, and the Brewers ran wild on the base-paths. The Cubs made two errors and scrounged just one run, on a sixth-inning Anthony Rizzo solo shot. The Brewers won 6–1. On Sunday, Jason Hammel posted a quality start, giving up three earned runs over six innings, but the Cubs were held to just three runs themselves. Pedro Strop gave up two runs in the eighth and the Brewers won the game 5–3. Milwaukee fired its manager on Sunday evening and named Craig Counsell the new skipper on Monday morning. This week, the Cubs will play four against the Cardinals in St. Louis and then three in Milwaukee over the weekend.
WHITE SOX
The White Sox had an eventful week, but have zero wins to show for it. After their first two games were postponed Monday and Tuesday due to the events in Baltimore, the Sox played in the first ever MLB game to be closed to fans on Wednesday. Jeff Samardzija gave up six runs in the top of the first and the Sox never got into a groove. They lost the game 8–2, in front of three scouts, the media, and some fans beyond the outfield fence who showed up to cheer anyway. In a four-game weekend series with the Twins, the White Sox dropped all four games in Minnesota. The South Siders will look to win some games this week, with the Tigers in town for three games and then the Cincinnati Reds for an inter-league set at the Cell.
BLACKHAWKS
The Hawks began their second-round series with the Minnesota Wild at the United Center on Friday, winning the game 4–3. The Hawks got out to an early 3–0 lead in the first period before allowing two goals in the second to let the game get tied up. A Teuvo Teravainen goal at the 19:01 mark in the second put the Hawks up 4–3 for the eventual win. On Sunday, they took down the Wild 4–1 at the Madhouse on Madison. That game featured goals by Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Patrick Sharp, plus an empty net goal from Kane. The series will shift to Minnesota tonight for Game 3.
BULLS
The Bulls clinched the series over the Bucks last Thursday with a 120–66 win. They’ve been idle since then, but began their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night in Cleveland. The teams met four times in the regular season. The Cavs won three of the games, and the Bulls won one.
