Chicago Cubs vs Chicago White Sox Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 05/16/26

The Chicago White Sox couldn’t contain the Chicago Cubs offense on Friday night that erupted for 10 runs, helping them cruise to a 10-5 victory. Today, the White Sox are hoping for a different outcome as they send one of their more reliable starters to the mound, Davis Martin. On the season, Martin is 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and has struck out 52 hitters in 50 innings pitched. For the Cubs, they’ll hand the ball over to Jameson Taillon who is 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and has struck out 40 in 45.2 innings pitched. 

The Cubs offense was quiet over their last five games, until last night. Looking at their last 10 days, the Cubs are averaging 10 runs per game and hitting .203 while they hold a 3.48 team ERA. For the White Sox, they’re averaging 5 runs per game and hitting .262 in that same span, while holding a 4.70 team ERA. A big concern heading into this matchup, and we saw it last night, was the White Sox bullpen. Martin will be facing a tough Cubs squad, and he’ll need to eat up plenty of innings if he wants to keep his team in it. Despite the White Sox bullpen struggling last night, I like Martin and the White Sox in this spot. The White Sox did a great job at hitting the ball last night, and I trust Martin on the mound a lot more than I do Sean Burke. Look for the White Sox to rally behind Martin and help him pick up his sixth win of the season.

Cubs vs White Sox prediction: White Sox ML (-105) at the time of publishing. Playable up to -125.