South Siders spark late comeback, but still fall short as the bad guys take series
The finale of the Crosstown Classic came down to the wire as the Cubs and White Sox battled it out, with the North Siders emerging victorious, 5-4. This game had a lot of avoidable mistakes by the South Siders, as their youth showed in some ugly ways this afternoon.
The Cubs tackled on early against opener Grant Taylor, as with one out Kyle Tucker doubled, followed by a Seiya Suzuki walk. Pete Crow-Armstrong showed off his star power, wasting no time with an RBI double to left, to make it a quick 2-0 lead:
With Ben Brown on the mound, Andrew Benintendi cut the lead in the bottom half of the first clubbing a two-out solo shot to right.
Sean Burke took the mound in the second inning as today’s bulk starter. He had a handful of strikeouts, along with a walk early on. But no matter how he pitched, Burke could not escape the stupidity of this White Sox team.
In the bottom of the third inning, the first mistake of the day came for the White Sox: Lenyn Sosa and Brooks Baldwin started off the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second. With one out, Chase Meidroth popped up to second baseman Nico Hoerner, which was called on the field as an infield fly. To try to confuse Sosa, Hoerner dropped the ball on purpose, prompting Sosa to run to third and get tagged out. Whether he didn’t know the rules of an infield fly or just froze is not known, but that skullduggery got the Cubs out of the jam rather quick:
The Cubs added to their lead in the top of the sixth inning, as Carson Kelly started the inning with a leadoff single, and advanced to second on a ground out. With two outs, Hoerner continued his great day with a single to plate a run and extend the lead to 3-1. Matt Shaw doubled to add to the lead 4-1, and Burke got the hook in favor of Tyler Alexander. Burke had an interesting stat line, as it took him 91 pitches to get through just 4 2⁄3 innings with five hits, two runs, one walk, and eight strikeouts, matching a career high. His ERA was shaved down to 4.17.
The Cubs went to their bullpen to start the bottom of the sixth inning, as Ben Brown finished his day at five innings with three hits, one run, and four strikeouts. Of course, he would save a solid outing for against us.
The score remained 4-1 until the top of the eighth inning against Mike Vasil. Ian Happ was the star of this inning, as he reached on a one-out walk and stole second, as Hoerner also then induced a walk. On a pickoff attempt from Edgar Quero to Hoerner at first, Happ attempted to score from second while Hoerner was caught in a pickle between first and second. When Miguel Vargas threw home to try and get Happ trying to score, third baseman Colson Montgomery, was called for interference for not giving Happ the base path to get back to third.
That extra run would make it 5-1, and would turn out to be very costly.
Describing some of these plays makes me feel like I’m recapping a Little League game.
The bottom of the eighth inning became tense for the Cubs as the White Sox started a two-out rally. Mike Tauchman singled, Meidroth doubled, and Benintendi clubbed a three-run home run (his second of the day) to cut the lead to 5-4. Craig Counsell wasted no time after that home run, summoning his lockdown closer Daniel Palencia, who struck out Vargas for the third out in the inning.
Palencia stayed in for the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, he hit Luis Robert Jr. with a pitch, but Sosa grounded out to end the game and the threat.
Overall, this was a very frustrating game that showed very clearly which team was in a playoff push, and which was on pace for a third straight 100-loss season. Obviously things would have and could have gone a lot different without a few big mistakes, but they didn’t, and that’s that.
The Cubs win the series, going 5-1 against the South Siders this year and now two up in the all-time interleague ledger, but the two teams did provide a very entertaining weekend.
The White Sox will get some quick rest before the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies come to town to start a series tomorrow night at 6:40 p.m. Davis Martin will be on the mound.
Futility Watch
White Sox 2025 Record: 38-68, the seventh–worst start in White Sox history and tied for the 133rd-worst start in baseball history. A 38-68 record projects to 58-104 over a full season. A year ago, the record-breaking White Sox were 27-79, tied for the sixth-worst start in baseball history.
All-Time White Sox Record (1901-2025, 19,311 games) 9,632-9,680 (.4988). It’s been 149 games since the White Sox had an all-time winning record. The White Sox are currently 48 games worse than .500 and falling under by 66 more games will land the team at its lowest point in its 125-year history.
Record Since the New Pope Was Revealed as a White Sox Fan 28-39
Record Needed to Avoid a third straight 100+ Loss Season 25-31
Race With the Colorado Rockies for to the Worst Record in 2025 10 ½ games better
- Race to the Worst “Modern” 162-Game Record (2024 White Sox, 41-121)
- Race to the Worst “Modern” Record in a 162-Game Season (1962 Mets, 40-120-1, finished three percentage points worse than the 2024 White Sox)
- Race to the Most White Sox Losses (2024, 121)
- Race to the Worst White Sox Record (2024, 41-121)
17 games better, in all cases