Chicago White Sox: Previewing series against the Cubs
Round two of the Crosstown Classic gets underway for the Chicago White Sox this weekend and this might be the most competitive one they’ve had in years.
The Chicago White Sox are getting ready to play their crosstown rivals once again in the Chicago Cubs. This is a series that has been largely Cubs dominated over the last few seasons because the Cubs have been World Series contenders since 2015 and the White Sox have been rebuilding for a few years now.
Well, the White Sox have turned the corner a little bit and the Cubs have struggled over the last month. It shows how good of a team they are when you can truly say they’ve struggled and they’re still right there for the division lead.
The White Sox have a long way to go to get to where the Cubs are at in terms of league-wide respect but it is coming. They have been hovering around .500 for a while now despite some lackluster performance from the bottom of their lineup and guys like Odrisamer Despaigne and Manny Banuelos making starts. This team is so close and it is so obvious.
The White Sox need to win both games to claim the Crosstown Cup because if they split it will be a tie and the tiebreaker is whoever has it currently and that is the Cubs. Don’t think that just because it is largely a meaningless trophy that the players and fans don’t want it. I would expect a good showing out of both teams.
Saturday’s game is one of the marquee pitching matchups across the MLB when Lucas Giolito will face John Lester. At 7-6, Lester is having a solid season and is usually a guy the Cubs can rely on to help them win games. Lucas Giolito is 11-2 and one of those two losses was to the Cubs earlier in June. Both of these two aces will try to bring their A game and head into the All-Star break feeling good. Giolito might make a start for the American League All-Stars over the break and is one of the leading candidates for the AL Cy Young award going in as well.
Sunday’s game will feature a slightly less exciting pitching matchup when the Cubs will throw Kyle Hendricks against White Sox pitcher Ivan Nova. This matchup favors the Cubs on paper, but Nova has come on strong as the season goes on and can give the team a chance to win if he is on his game. This should be an awesome series to watch for all Chicago baseball fans.
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No matter what happens in this series, Chicago fans should be confident that this upcoming decade could be the best decade of Chicago baseball in the long history of these two teams. The Cubs aren’t going anywhere and the White Sox are almost there. This is going to be a lot of fun. Join the ride now, you won’t regret it one bit.