Sports
White Sox and Cubs Gear Up for Crosstown Classic, This Time With Playoff Implications
This week, Chicagoans will be choosing sides: blue vs. black, North Side vs. South Side, Cubs vs. White Sox.
For only the second time in 18 years, Chicago’s rival baseball teams will face off in a Crosstown Classic with both squads boasting winning records.
The Cubs enter Monday’s game with a slight edge at 72-53 but must fend off a hot White Sox team coming off an impressive sweep of division rival Detroit.
The White Sox currently sit on top of the American League Central at 65-58.
Mike Mulligan of 104.3 The Score and Jesse Rogers of ESPN joined “Chicago Tonight” to preview the series. Here are some things to look out for.
The White Sox have the momentum
Chicago’s South Side team is coming off a three-game sweep against the ALC’s second-place team, the Detroit Tigers. The Sox won that series by a 20-13 margin, a surprise to many who predicted the team could fall to second in the division.
“We were talking on Friday about the possibility that the Sox could be going to Wrigley Field no longer in first place,” Mulligan said. “That was by far their most important and their best series performance, certainly on the road that we’ve seen this year. The Sox just have this resiliency. This season has been a shocker.”
On the other side, the Cubs are looking to bounce back after a rough 1-2 series loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs lost that series by an 11-19 margin.
Rogers said the Cubs are still a capable team, but a recent injury to shortstop Dansby Swanson could throw a wrench in their late-season push for the National League’s top spot.
“They’re very good,” Rogers said. “They’re a well-rounded team. They have strengths in all areas of the game. They just suffered an injury at shortstop — Dansby Swanson is going to be out for a while. But they have enough to overcome. They’re as deep as they’ve been in years.”
The Cubs are still in a more comfortable spot
Despite their stumble against the Cardinals, the Cubs still find themselves only a handful of games back from the Brewers, who currently hold the best record in the MLB at 77-48.
A Cubs playoff appearance is all but assured barring a historic late-season meltdown.
“The Cubs are 19 games over .500,” Mulligan said. “I get it, they still trail Milwaukee. But if they can get that to three and a half games — they still play them (the Brewers) straight up seven times. That’s a decent strike ratio for them.”
The White Sox, even after sweeping the Tigers, have a long road ahead if they want to win the American League.
“Just given where they’ve been and where they’re at, they need more wins,” Mulligan said. “There’s 39 games left in the season. Their magic number is 36. They’re the class of the AL Central, don’t get me wrong. But like I said, they had a really good weekend, so they probably look better than they really are.”
If they can make it, the Sox are built for the playoffs
Rogers said he believes the Sox could be a problem for teams in the American League if they make the playoffs.
“I actually think the Sox are built better for the postseason,” Rogers said. “Left-handed power is very important. You face mostly righties, and you need to run into some home runs. They’ve proven that for a long time now. That’s why they have so many come-from-behind wins. They can get into the late innings and all of a sudden a left-hander comes up, and he hits a home run.”
Despite a superior record, the Cubs might find themselves lacking the tools to make a deep playoff run in the loaded National League.
“The Cubs — I think they’re great for the regular season,” Rogers said. “They may not be as built for the playoffs. They don’t have that kind of left-handed slugger outside PCA that the White Sox have. They don’t have that veteran bullpen. They’ve had a lot of injuries.”
