Bummer, White Sox and Cubs win

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The White Sox record sits at 45-68 and yet Sox fans feel better than they have in years. The franchise is going for a full rebuild and the early results are encouraging. Another building block was unveiled last night, Reynaldo Lopez. Reynaldo looked good, going 6 innings and allowing only two runs on two Mike Moustakas solo homers. Reynaldo allowed 4 hits while walking 3 and struck out 6 in the Sox 6-3 win over the Royals. The White Sox now have two building blocks in their starting rotation, Lopez and Carlos Rodon

The bullpen has been in the shop

After selling off the prize parts of their bullpen, the Sox are reconstructing it. Aaron Bummer picked up his career win going two scoreless innings. Tyler Clippard, who has gone from punching bag to serviceable reliever closed the game for the Sox.

As for the hitting.............

Tim Anderson had two hits, including a home run to go with two RBIs. Adam Engel contributed two triples and Yolmer Sanchez had two RBIs. Yoan Moncada had a single in four at bats, raising his average to .215. Moncada's OBP is .370 and his slugging percentage is .369. His numbers are climbing rapidly.

Another member of the Sox who has been on an upswing is catcher, Kevan Smith. Kevan has been hitting cleanup recently, and while not a conventional cleanup guy, he has been hitting well. He has his average up to .276 after a slow start.

Nicky Delmonico has also been a pleasant surprise. He's currently hitting .378 with an OPS of .925. That figures to be inflated, but the Sox might have more potential help in Delmonico. The Sox are fun to watch again. If they win, it's just a bonus.

Hang on lackey, Lackey hang on

Meanwhile, the Cubs are trying to hold off the Cardinals in the NL Central. The Cards won for the 7^th consecutive time, but the Cubs stayed a game up on them by virtue of their 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks last night.

A guy I tried to bury some time back, John Lackey, got the win. The win was his 5^th in a row and improved his record to 10-9. Kyle Schwarber and Alex Avilla homered. Schwarber's homer was his 19^th. Kris Bryant had three hits and reached base all five of his plate appearances.

Javy being Javy

Javy Baez scored from first on an Ian Happ single in part of a Cubs three run 8^th inning. Javy can make you want to pull your hair out, but he's also one of the most exciting players in baseball.

Maybe he should add another L to Wilson

Justin Wilson continues to falter out of the Cubs pen. He faced three bats, walked one, stuck out one and gave up one walk. He needs to get better, fast. Brian Duensing and Pedro Strop cleaned up his mess last night.

It was a nice win for the Cubs and they seemed more focused. Hopefully that will continue.