GOOD MORNING, CHICAGO FANS

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads! I hope you got to spend time with family this weekend. I had a blast chasing my 1.5 year old around the house and spinning in circles with her!

Shoutout to Seiya Suzuki (PCA’s dad) and Nick Foligno (Connor Bedard and the young guns’ dad) for being Chicago sports’ best dads 🫡

CHICAGO CUBS

L - Phillies 4, Cubs 3 (F/11)

The 11th Inning Dagger

• PCA’s RBI double gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead in the 11th, but the Phillies won it on a Brandon Marsh walk-off single

• Phillies left 12 runners on base, made multiple outs on the basepaths, and mostly wasted their 16 total hits

• Matthew Boyd only surrendered 2 runs despite giving up 8 hits and not striking out a single hitter

W - Cubs 8, Phillies 4

Happy Home Run Party!

• 2 Ian Happ homers, along with bombs from Dansby Swanson and Michael Busch, lifted the Cubs offense

• Cubs bullpen pitched 4.2 shutout innings, recording only 1 walk and 5 strikeouts

• 5 Cubs had 2 hits - 4 of them had an RBI

L - Phillies 7, Cubs 2

Rubber Game Dud

• Almost-a-Cub Jesus Luzardo bounced back from his last 2 starts (20 ER allowed!) to throw a filthy game (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 10 K)

• Ben Brown’s 1st inning fears returned as he gave up 3 runs in the 1st

W - Cubs 3, Pirates 2

Bash Bros at it again

• Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki each homered as their friendly competition heats up

• Jameson Taillon had his 5th straight start with at least 6.1 IP, 4 or less hits, and 2 or less ER allowed (6.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K)

L - Pirates 2, Cubs 1 (F/10)

Paul Skenes vs. Cade Horton, Round 1

• Skenes & Horton was must-watch TV, and they both excelled (0 ER). This was Horton’s first scoreless start in the big leagues!

• Cubs only scored on a fielder’s choice that should have been thrown home by the Pirates and went 0-10 with RISP 🤮

W - Cubs 2, Pirates 1

Boyd picks off another W!

• Boyd turned in ANOTHER quality start (6.0 IP, 1 ER) aided by his ridiculous 6th pickoff of the season

• Daniel Palencia pitched in his 3rd straight game to earn the save!

W - Cubs 3, Pirates 2 (F/10)

Happy Wrigley Walk-Off!

• Ian Happ hit a walk-off single with 2 runners on in the bottom of the 10th

• The other 4 runs were all scored in the 1st inning before the pitchers settled in

• Colin Rea bounced back from a tough stretch of starts (6.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 K)

Star of the Week ⭐ Matthew Boyd

12.0 IP, 1 W, 2 quality starts, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K

Play of the Week 🎥 Matt Shaw barehand grab and missile

Cubs scored more than 4 runs only 5 times in their last 19 games. They went 12-7 in those games because the pitching staff has been incredible. Somehow, without Shota, Steele, or Hodge, they’re still picking up wins. It’s time for the elite offense to return!

Jed Hoyer signed Matthew Boyd based on the success he had in Cleveland last year after returning from Tommy John surgery. So far, his performance has definitely carried over:

2024: 8 starts, 2.72 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.29 FIP, 3.54 K/BB

2025: 14 starts, 2.79 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 3.61 FIP, 3.84 K/BB

A former White Sox will now be in the division…the Milwaukee Brewers traded RHP Aaron Civale to the White Sox for Andrew Vaughn. I have to say, Nick Madrigal and Andrew Vaughn were a dynamite duo in back-to-back drafts as Top 5 picks 😂

Porter Hodge is on a rehab assignment with AAA Iowa, and Shota Imanaga will join him there later this week

Cubs get a MUCH NEEDED off day today. It’s their only break in a stretch of 26 games in 27 days! The Brewers come to Wrigley Field tomorrow.

SCHEDULE 📅 T/W/TH/F/SAT/SUN

CHICAGO BEARS

OFFSEASON

Last week of OTAs!

• Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze joined mostly rookies for the week

• Bears anticipate Colston Loveland and Luther Burden will be healthy for training camp

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

OFFSEASON

Traded the rights to D Victor Soderstrom to the Boston Bruins for D Ryan Mast and a 7th round pick

• The Hawks acquired Soderstrom at the trade deadline when they took on Shea Weber’s contract from the Utah Hockey Club

• There was no guarantee Soderstrom would sign an NHL contract with the Hawks, and they decided to move on

• Mast is a 6’5” former 6th round pick who projects to be an AHL player

Scott Powers reported that the Blackhawks are leaning towards selecting Anton Frondell with their 3rd overall draft pick. He believes they are still deciding between Frondell, Porter Martone, and Caleb Desnoyers (assuming Michael Misa is off the board).

Alex Vlasic (5) and Teuvo Teravainen (2) each received votes for the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship

CHICAGO BULLS

OFFSEASON

Marc Stein reported that the Bulls are working on a contract extension for head coach Billy Donovan 👀 More on that when it becomes official…

The New York Knicks requested permission to speak to about 1,000 different coaches in an effort to fill their head coaching vacancy. One of those asks was Billy Donovan, and the Bulls denied their request.

SAY WHAT?

A CITYWIDE SALUTE

Ryan Pressly and Ian Happ

Pressly was acquired by trade to step in as the Cubs closer this season. Even though he went 10 straight appearances without giving up an earned run from April 1st to May 1st, his 8 ER implosion without getting an out on May 6th showcased his underlying struggles with his stuff.

After that game, he asked Ian Happ for help.

Since then, he’s gone 15 straight appearances without giving up an earned run 😲 Watch him speak with the media below:

MILD TAKE

Reinforcements are on their way to Wrigley Field, but the Cubs miss Miguel Amaya the most.

Amaya injured his oblique on May 24th and interrupted a very good start to the season. He had a .280 AVG, .819 OPS, and was consistently exalted by the pitching staff for his ability to call a game and support each individual pitcher.

His injury didn’t feel too devastating at the time because of Carson Kelly’s Barry Bonds transformation. Kelly had an otherworldly March/April with 7 HR, 21 RBI, a .360 AVG, and 1.347 OPS. His batted ball profile was one of the best in the league for a player who only eclipsed an .800 OPS once in his entire career.

Then regression hit.

The Cubs offense has struggled in June. Yes, there were way too many aces on the schedule in these first couple weeks, but they didn’t do much damage against anyone else either. Amaya’s production has been sorely missed as the lineup searches for a spark.

In June, Cubs catchers have not produced much:

Carson Kelly: 8 games, .138 AVG, .366 OPS, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5 wRC+

Reese McGuire: 5 games, .300 AVG, .650 OPS, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 83 wRC+

An elite lineup with a threat in every spot 1 through 9 has quickly regained a hole where the catcher is slotted every day.

Kelly’s regression may be based on his track record, pitchers adjusting to his new approach, or because of a greater workload. He could settle back in to a 50-50 or even 40-60 split when Amaya returns.

The pitching staff is about to receive a huge boost when Shota Imanaga and Porter Hodge return from injuries, but the return of Miguel Amaya will spark the entire team.

HITTING THE LINKS

Jon Greenberg - Cubs players young and old keep oral history tradition of baseball alive (The Athletic)

Gabby Hajduk - 'I love him to death': The father-son bond of Don, Ben Johnson (chicagobears.com)

Joe Cowley - Bulls' Matas Buzelis comes out of L.A. workouts looking like real deal (Chicago Sun-Times)

Andy Martinez - Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia, parents share emotional reunion (Marquee Sports Network)

TWO MINUTE WARNING

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