The Crosstown Classic has already delivered the kind of chaos that makes this matchup easy to circle. After the Cubs pulled out a comeback win in the ninth and tenth innings Monday night, the series shifts to Wrigley Field with another twist: Chicago’s North Siders have a chance to press the advantage against a White Sox club going with a bullpen game.
First pitch is set for 7:05 PM CT, with the White Sox (65-59) visiting the Cubs (73-51). The game will be shown on Marquee Sports Network, and radio coverage is available on 104.3 The Score, TUDN, and WPPN 106.7 / TUDN.
The Cubs are giving Pete Crow-Armstrong another run after his monster night, the kind of performance that belongs in the record books. He had been stuck in a rough patch before Monday, hitting just .111 over his previous eight games, so this is a chance to see whether that big swing also helps him shake off the rust.
Ian Happ is in the lineup too, even though the White Sox are opening with a left-hander. Batting seventh, he may not even see Bryan Hudson before the matchup turns to right-hander Erick Fedde.
Miguel Amaya is also in, catching for Carson Kelly and hitting eighth ahead of Michael Conforto. That’s a little different from the usual setup, but Amaya has earned the look with a .313 average over his last seven games.
The White Sox are countering with a different look of their own against a right-handed starter for the Cubs. Sam Antonacci moves back to the top of the order, while Andrew Benintendi starts at DH after coming off the bench Monday and launching a huge go-ahead homer.
Colson Montgomery returns after a day off as well, and Chicago will be hoping for more from a shortstop who has been quiet for a while now. Over his last 30 games, Montgomery is hitting .195 with only three home runs.
On the mound, the question for the Cubs is simple: which Kevin Gausman shows up? His first outing after the trade deadline looked like the version Chicago wanted, as he worked seven innings against the Royals and allowed two earned runs on four hits.
The follow-up was rougher. Gausman gave up six earned runs in 4.2 innings against the Nationals, though he still struck out seven.
There’s some real power-contact risk with Gausman, which matters against a White Sox lineup that can do damage. But there’s also plenty of swing-and-miss in his game, and that lines up well for a Chicago offense that has the fifth-most strikeouts in baseball.
The White Sox are rolling with Bryan Hudson as the opener, and this will be just his seventh start of the season and his first since July 11. Erick Fedde could follow and cover multiple innings, though the Sox also don’t have a starter lined up for the series finale, so they may want to preserve him for that role. Jose Urquidy is another possibility to handle the bulk of the work.
For the Cubs, the setup looks favorable. Now it’s on them to cash in.
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For a team trying to keep its footing through the grind of the schedule, losing Swanson alters the infield picture and forces Chicago to adjust on the fly. The hope is that the absence is temporary enough to get through this patch without bigger damage, with a path back that still leaves room for him to rejoin the club when the games matter most. [Read more 🡒]