Dansby Swanson is on the injured list<\/a> with an oblique strain.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s great working with Pedro,\u201d Hoerner told the Tribune. \u201cI feel like early on we had some double-play opportunities that we weren\u2019t able to convert on, but overall, it\u2019s been fun communicating with him and making that work. Obviously we miss Dansby a lot, but it\u2019s a fun challenge to have right now, and we\u2019ll do our best until he comes back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoerner praised Ram\u00edrez\u2019s combination of confidence and fun personality that allows him to get along with everybody.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in a cool place in his career right now where he\u2019s both producing and playing well at the big-league level but still learning on the fly in a way that I think just says a lot about his own character,\u201d Hoerner said. \u201cTo both be present and competing for the day but also improving as a player \u2014 he\u2019s going to have a great career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through 58 games, Ram\u00edrez is hitting .286 with a .345 on-base percentage and 114 OPS+. He has been able to stay within himself, owning an 18.5% strikeout rate for fourth-lowest on the Cubs (minimum 150 plate appearances). The trust his teammates and coaches have shown in him since spring training instilled confidence and lets him play freely on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have to be scared or concerned, like, if I make a mistake, if I make an error,\u201d Ram\u00edrez said through an interpreter. \u201cThat\u2019s what has helped me to just be happy and play baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a dream to be able to play second base on a daily basis for the Chicago Cubs, and I\u2019m super happy that right now everything is working and in flowing. I\u2019m working hard to continue to help the team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Staying fresh
\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CTC-L-sox-rangers036.jpg\")
White Sox reliever Grant Taylor delivers against the Rangers in the ninth inning Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
Whether it\u2019s someone who has been in the majors for a few years, or \u2014 as is the case with Hagen Smith \u2014 a few weeks, conversations with fellow relievers have been helpful for right-hander Grant Taylor.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s been awesome,\u201d Taylor told the Tribune last week. \u201cHaving some guys with different experiences. Guys with starting experience, guys with leverage experience. Even guys like Hagen, who are fresh up here giving different perspectives.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just kind of grounds you a little bit. Like he\u2019s just excited (for) his first day, getting in the games and (you) learn different things and learn and learn. So it takes you back into that mindset of \u2018This is pretty sweet.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor isn\u2019t all that far removed from his big-league debut, which came in June of last season.\u00a0He has been one of the key relievers this season, with a 2.11 ERA, eight saves and 10 holds in 51 appearances (four starts). He has 89 strikeouts and 24 walks in 68 1\/3 innings.<\/p>\n
Taylor has allowed two runs over his last 18 outings (23 2\/3 innings).<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling great right now,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Taylor entered with the bases loaded, two outs and the Sox ahead by four runs Tuesday against the Rangers. He induced a grounder to second to end the game. That was on the shorter end of his outings. He also was utilized for two innings in 12 relief appearances \u2014 including 2 1\/3 on July 29 against the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n
He said the key to bouncing back is being diligent on sleep, recovery and nutrition. He also noted making the most of rest days.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s taking those steps to be available as the Sox make their playoff push.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust coming into the ballpark excited to win ball games,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
Number of the week: 30<\/p>\n
The Cubs set a franchise record this week by scoring 30 unanswered runs spanning 23 innings from the third inning of Sunday\u2019s game in Seattle until the eighth inning Tuesday in Phoenix. The Cubs surpassed their previous high of 29 straight runs, which they accomplished in September 1876 and May 1969, according to Elias Sports Bureau.<\/p>\n
Week ahead: Cubs
\n![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CTC-Z-CUBS-PAL.jpg\")
Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia flips the rosin bag during the eighth inning against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Phoenix. (Ross D. Franklin\/AP)<\/p>\n
\n- Friday: vs. Reds, 1:20 p.m., Marquee<\/li>\n
- Saturday: vs. Reds, 1:20 p.m., Marquee<\/li>\n
- Sunday: vs. Reds, 6:20 p.m., Peacock<\/li>\n
- Monday: vs. Brewers, 6:40 p.m., Marquee<\/li>\n
- Tuesday: vs. Brewers, 6:40 p.m., Marquee<\/li>\n
- Wednesday: vs. Brewers, 6:40 p.m., Marquee<\/li>\n
- Thursday: vs. Brewers, 6:15 p.m., Fox<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Daniel Palencia couldn\u2019t hide the disappointment.<\/p>\n
In his second game back from the injured list Tuesday against the Diamondbacks, Palencia surrendered three runs in the eighth inning as the Cubs held a 4-0 lead that eventually resulted in a walk-off loss. After retiring the first batter, Palencia, in a scary moment, hit the Diamondbacks\u2019 Jordan Lawlar in the head with his pitch.<\/p>\n
Palencia went on to surrender three runs in the frame, though one came on Gabriel Moreno\u2019s check-swing that saw the ball clip first base instead of becoming the third out on a grounder to Michael Busch. Manager Craig Counsell did not seem overly concerned with Palencia\u2019s outing and thought his stuff still looked good.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen this with multiple guys coming off the injured list and extended absences, you\u2019re just not your best self, like, when you come off the list, you need to get into competition, major-league competition, to get to that place,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cBut I think Danny threw the ball pretty well. That was not an outing that deserved three runs on the board, that\u2019s what I\u2019d say. But it happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Palencia\u2019s outing Tuesday followed a strong performance Friday against the Mariners in which he struck out two of the three batters he faced, needing just 10 pitches to get out of the inning. Counsell wants to continue to find good spots to work in Palencia, believing his limited action this season (18 1\/3 innings) means he needs more work to get back into his top form.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always gonna have stuff in your life, it just depends how you take,\u201d Palencia said. \u201cSomething is bad when you don\u2019t learn from it, so (Tuesday) is a night for me to learn and just being ready for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Week ahead: White Sox
\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787921240_835_CTC-L-sox-rangers014_7de052.jpg\")
White Sox manager Will Venable, left, slaps hands with Tristan Peters after the left fielder scored in the fourth inning against the Rangers on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
\n- Friday: at Twins, 7:10 p.m., CHSN<\/li>\n
- Saturday: at Twins, 1:10 p.m., CHSN<\/li>\n
- Sunday: at Twins, 1:10 p.m., CHSN<\/li>\n
- Monday: at Astros, 7:10 p.m., CHSN<\/li>\n
- Tuesday: at Astros, 7:10 p.m., CHSN<\/li>\n
- Wednesday: at Astros, 7:10 p.m., CHSN<\/li>\n
- Thursday: at Astros, 1:10 p.m., CHSN<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The Sox were off Thursday after completing a stretch of 16 games in 16 days.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s huge,\u201d manager Will Venable said of the off day. \u201cAnd you know, you see it. You can see it. These guys are running on fumes here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Venable said it\u2019s common throughout baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s happening across the league,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what happens when you have 16 in a row at the end of August. It will be nice to catch our breath.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sox went 9-7 during the stretch against the Cincinnati Reds (1-2), Detroit Tigers (3-0), Cubs (1-2), Atlanta Braves (0-1), New York Mets (2-1) and Rangers (2-1). Before Thursday, they were last off Aug. 10.<\/p>\n
The Sox have games scheduled in 23 of the next 24 days, beginning Friday against the Twins. The only off day during the period will be Sept. 7.<\/p>\n
The Sox made three roster moves ahead of the Twins series, recalling pitcher Tyler Davis from Triple-A Charlotte and optioning pitcher Jonathan Cannon and infielder\/outfielder Rikuu Nishida to Charlotte on Thursday.<\/p>\n
What we\u2019re reading today<\/p>\n
Quotable<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s covering all types of pitches, obviously in a really good spot, and it\u2019s fun to watch.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Venable on Peters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Cubs used the Thursday off day to put a rough Western trip behind them. After going 2-4…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1029467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,16074,1271,1274,1816,26801,16076,5386,1818,13715,273103,13250],"class_list":["post-1029466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-baseball-report","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-craig-counsell","tag-daniel-palencia","tag-grant-taylor","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-nico-hoerner","tag-pedro-ramirez","tag-will-venable"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117173216359361380","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1029466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1029466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1029467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1029466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1029466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1029466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Cubs](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CTC-Z-CUBS-PEDRO_0f2844.jpg\")
Cubs manager Craig Counsell, right, welcomes Pedro Ram\u00edrez back to the dugout after the during the second baseman hit a grand slam against the Mariners on Monday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Seattle. (Steph Chambers\/Getty)<\/p>\n