Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (5/16/26): White Sox 8, Cubs 3 – Taillon Surrenders Five Homers in Loss
The Cubs had a very rough Saturday night at Rate Field against the White Sox. Starting pitcher Jameson Taillon gave up five home runs as the road squad suffered a lopsided defeat.
The South Siders wasted no time grabbing the lead with an infield single and a walk to put the first two hitters on base in the bottom of the 1st. Miguel Vargas then came up to the plate and hit a three-run homer to make it 3-0.
The Sox kept the homer barrage going with solo shots by Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery in the bottom of the 3rd. Murakami did the trick again in the bottom of the 5th with a two-run dinger that gave the home side a 7-0 advantage.
The North Siders did very little against starter Davis Martin, with the exception of a solo home run by Miguel Amaya in the top of the 6th inning. Taillon gave that tally right back in the bottom of the frame when Andrew Benintendi hit longball number five off of the big righty to bring the score to 8-1.
Pete Crow-Armstrong provided a little bit of window dressing with a two-run homer in the top of the 9th inning as the Cubs lost 8-3. (Box score)
Key Moment
The White Sox jumped ahead in the opening inning and never looked back, winning easily.
Why the Cubs Lost
The starting pitcher imploding didn’t give them much of a chance in this game.
Stats That Matter
- Taillon has already allowed 15 home runs in 2026, which is obviously a problem: 5 IP, 8 R, 8 H, 2 K, and 1 BB.
- Amaya had a single to go with his home run.
- Alex Bregman got his hitting streak up to seven with two more hits.
Bottom Line
This is just one of those games that you basically have to write off.
On Deck
The rubber match of the series is Sunday at 1:10pm CT. Colin Rea goes up against Erick Fedde in a game airing on Marquee with a radio feed on The Score.
