Here we go. Coming into the series, this is where you hoped the Cubs would be: facing Chris Sale with a chance to sweep, and to win the Crosstown Cup. Because of the tiebreaker, the only way the Cubs could win the thing was with a sweep. And this was always going to be the toughest game.
Sale held the Cubs down at Wrigley last month, and he faces Dan Haren, who has kept the Cubs in the game his first two starts with the team, but they’ve been far from overwhelming performances.
Throw in the Cubs’ nine-game winning streak – wouldn’t it be completely arbitrarily fun to get to ten? – and this is a pretty exciting, but unnerving, game.
In truth, and not that I’m planning on a Cubs loss (it feels like they can beat anyone right now), even if the Cubs drop this one, I feel pretty good about how this weekend series went. Although it’s fun to see the Cubs win every single game, that’s not actually going to happen over the long haul. And taking two of three from the White Sox (Samardzija-Quintana-Sale) in the Cell is great.
Of course, a sweep would be fantastic.
(Unrelated: if you ever wondered whether ERA could really be that deceptive of a stat, just check out these two gents this year.)
Game Info
Chicago Cubs (67-48) at Chicago White Sox (54-60), 1:10 CT on CSN and MLB.tv.
Game Thread and Series Preview
Your game thread is down there in the comments, so have fun.
The Series Preview lives here.
Starting Pitchers
Dan Haren (3.55 ERA, 4.71 FIP, 4.56 xFIP; 3.46 K/BB)
versus
Chris Sale (3.47 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 2.58 xFIP; 6.43 K/BB)
Chicago White Sox Lineup
1. Adam Eaton, CF
2. Tyler Saladino, 3B
3. Jose Abreu, 1B
4. Melky Cabrera, LF
5. Avisail Garcia, RF
6. Adam LaRoche, DH
7. Alexei Ramirez, SS
8. Carlos Sanchez, 2B
9. Tyler Flowers, C
Chicago Cubs Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Chris Denorfia, LF
3. Kris Bryant, DH
4. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
5. Jorge Soler, DH
6. Addison Russell, SS
7. Starlin Castro, 2B
8. Miguel Montero, C
9. Jonathan Herrera, 3B