The City Series always has juice.
But there was a noticeable additional buzz Friday that had been missing from some of the more recent gathers.
For the first time since June 2008, excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the White Sox and Cubs met with both teams above the .500 mark.
“Let’s go White Sox” echoed throughout the ballpark in the sixth inning shortly after a tying home run by third baseman Miguel Vargas.
Game 1 photos: Cubs beat White Sox 10-5 in City Series at Rate Field
And Cubs fans in attendance began a “PCA” chant when Pete Crow-Armstrong made his way to the plate in the seventh, drowned out by boos from Sox fans.
The teams matched the electric atmosphere for much of the evening, with the score tied through six innings.
But the Cubs broke loose late, scoring twice in the seventh and four more in the eighth to defeat the Sox 10-5 in front of a sellout crowd of 38,723 at Rate Field.
Catcher Carson Kelly had two singles, a double and four RBIs, leading the Cubs’ 14-hit attack. He broke the 4-all tie with a run-scoring infield hit in the seventh. And then he put the game out of reach with a two-run, ground-rule double in the eighth.
Every starter in the Cubs lineup had at least one hit.
“We just got a lot of guys on base, a lot of traffic and then timely hitting,” Kelly said. “It always just usually comes down to timely hitting and getting some traffic. All in all just a really good game for us.”
White Sox pitcher Bryan Hudson heads to the mound after loading the bases in the seventh inning against the Cubs on May 15, 2026, at Rate Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The Sox bullpen, which had been reliable lately, didn’t get the big outs down the stretch as the team’s five-game winning streak came to an end.
“Just with their lineup, they make it really tough on you to the point where you feel like you have to be perfect and can’t make any mistakes,” Sox manager Will Venable said. “A couple mistakes there, and they were able to create a lot of traffic, and obviously we weren’t able to get the outs when we needed them.”
Shortstop Colson Montgomery, Vargas and right fielder Jarred Kelenic homered in the loss.
Column: Mystery of the missing Crosstown Cup doesn’t damper enthusiasm for the City Series
Sox starter Sean Burke failed to get out of the fifth, allowing four runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and one walk in 4 1/3 innings.
“I kind of liked how my stuff was, I thought I did a pretty good job of getting ahead of guys for the most part,” Burke said. “They did a pretty good job of hitting some of my pitches too. I don’t think other than the first inning, the cutter I threw to (Ian) Happ (resulting in an RBI single), the rest of their hits were on pretty good pitches.
“Kind of frustrating outing.”
The Cubs didn’t get length out of their starter either. Edward Cabrera lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Two of the walks led to runs in the fifth as the Sox pulled within 4-3.
Vargas tied the score with a home run to right field leading off sixth against reliever Ryan Rolison.
“To tie the game with a homer feels really good,” Vargas said. “We were fighting for the tie and to take the lead in the game. It was a good moment, and I was feeling good to have helped my team.”
‘He wants to be in the middle of everything’: Chase Meidroth providing energy for Chicago White Sox
A Montgomery single and a walk to second baseman Chase Meidroth followed, but Trent Thornton entered and got a forceout, a strikeout and lineout to keep the score tied at 4.
“There’s opportunities there to take the lead,” Venable said. “These guys have been doing a good job of continuing to battle, having quality at-bats. It just wasn’t enough tonight.”
The Cubs made the most of their opportunity in the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, Kelly hit a hard grounder down the third-base line that Vargas couldn’t handle for a run-scoring infield single to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead. The run snapped Bryan Hudson’s 19-game scoreless streak spanning 17 2/3 innings.
Crow-Armstrong followed with a sharp single to center, scoring Seiya Suzuki to make it 6-4 before Matt Shaw was thrown out at the plate.
White Sox manager Will Venable, left, takes reliever Jordan Hicks out of the game in the eighth inning against the Cubs on May 15, 2026, at Rate Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Sox reliever Jordan Hicks walked four and allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning as the Cubs put the game out of reach in the eighth. A run scored on a wild pitch and a walk with Hicks on the mound. He exited with the bases loaded, and Kelly drove in two with his double against Tyler Schweitzer, making it 10-4.
“Any time I can’t really go through five or six innings, it puts the bullpen in a tough situation,” Burke said. “That’s part of the frustration too. Not able to get those quick innings I want to.”
The Cubs (29-16) went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position while sending the Sox back to .500 at 22-22.
“We played a good offensive game tonight, for sure,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I know it’s been a little bit light the last four or five days, but we played a really good offensive game all around. We made it hard every at-bat. … A bunch of hits, walks, baserunning was really good. It was a very good offensive night.”