Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/15/26): Cubs 10, White Sox 4 – Late Offense Decides Opener

The Cubs bats finally woke up against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field Friday night. They put up six runs late to break open what was a tie game and won fairly easily.

Ian Happ had an RBI single off Sean Burke to give the North Siders a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning. Colson Montgomery evened the score when he hit a solo home run against Edward Cabrera in the bottom of the 2nd. Catcher Carson Kelly put the Cubs back in front with an RBI single in the top of the 4th inning, then Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki each had run-scoring doubles to give the road team a 4-1 advantage in the top of the 5th.

Cabrera lost control in the bottom of the frame, walking the first two batters. Both scored on a Tristan Peters groundout and an RBI double by Drew Romo, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Miguel Vargas then hit a solo home run off reliever Ryan Rolison, and the White Sox had things tied up in the bottom of the 6th.

The North Siders went ahead for good in the top of the 7th with back-to-back bases-loaded singles by Kelly and Pete Crow-Armstrong against Bryan Hudson to make it 6-4. Jordan Hicks melted down in the top of the 8th with a wild pitch and a walk with the bags full to bring in two more.

Kelly finished off his big night with a two-run double later in the frame against Tyler Schweitzer to push the score to 10-4. The White Sox added an academic Jarred Kelenic home run in the bottom of the 9th as the Cubs completed a 10-5 victory. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Cubs did not fold after the White Sox came back, responding with six consecutive runs to pull away for good.

Why the Cubs Won

The bats picked up the starting pitcher after he had a disappointing outing.

Stats That Matter

• Cabrera continues to scuffle a little bit: 4.2 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 2 K, and 3 BB.
• Kelly had three hits and four RBI.
• Happ also got on three times in this one.

Bottom Line

It’s nice to see the hitters produce after a string of disappointing performances in the past week. Seeing a weaker pitching staff certainly helped the Cubs get back into gear, but scoring twice as many runs in one game as they had in the past five combined is a good thing no matter what.

On Deck

Game two of the series is Saturday night at 6:10pm CT. Jameson Taillon is on the hill against Davis Martin in a matchup available on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.