Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (7/26/25): Cubs 6, White Sox 1 – Horton Handles Sox in W

The Cubs and White Sox met in the second game of their series at a balmy Rate Field Saturday night. The North Siders got a much better effort from their starter than they did on Friday and came away with a win.

Both starting pitchers, Cade Horton and Aaron Civale, were very sharp early and neither squad was able to scratch the scoresheet through six frames. Horton was particularly good, scattering four singles and going into the 7th inning.

The Cubs finally had some offensive activity against reliever Jordan Leasure in the top of the 7th. Ian Happ hit a solo homer, and, after a single by Nico Hoerner, Matt Shaw added a two-run dinger to give the road team a 3-0 advantage.

The North Siders got some insurance in the 8th starting with a two-run single by Dansby Swanson against White Sox reliever Dan Altavilla. Shaw coaxed a bases-loaded walk from Altavilla that increased the margin to 6-0.

Pesky Mike Tauchman hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 9th but that was all the White Sox could muster and they went down to a 6-1 defeat. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Sox had runners on first and third with one out in the bottom of the 1st inning. Horton induced Miguel Vargas to hit a grounder to Swanson at short which turned into an inning-ending double play.

Why the Cubs Won

The starting pitching kept the game tied until the lineup could rally in the late innings to grab the lead.

Stats That Matter

• That’s two quality starts out of the All-Star break for Horton: 6.1 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 3 K, 1 BB.
• Three RBI for Shaw on Saturday and he looks very comfortable at the plate.
• Happ reached base three times and may be starting to come out of his slump.

Bottom Line

That was a good all-around victory after a couple of ugly losses. The Cubs have to be thrilled with the development of Horton so far in 2025 and he is going to be an important part of the rotation down the stretch. With the Brewers losing, Chicago is back into a tie for first place in the NL Central.

On Deck

The rubber match of the series is Sunday afternoon at 1:10pm CT. Ben Brown will face Sean Burke in a game available on Marquee with a radio feed on 670 The Score.