This is the first time in over five years that both Chicago baseball teams enter the Crosstown Classic playing meaningful baseball.<\/p>\n
The Chicago Cubs<\/a> sit atop the National League Central and have consistently looked like one of baseball\u2019s most dangerous teams. To the surprise of many, the Chicago White Sox<\/a> are over .500 and just one game back in the American League Central.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Large crowds are expected at Rate Field this weekend and for good reason. This matchup has all the makings of a spectacle. Let\u2019s break down both teams entering the series.<\/p>\n What To Expect From the Cubs<\/p>\n Despite a growing list of injuries to their starting rotation, the Cubs have remained a dominant force in the National League. Their combination of offense and defense may be the best in baseball.<\/p>\n The Cubs rank sixth in baseball in both slugging percentage (.430) and wRC+ (110). They also rank first in Outs Above Average (20) and second in defensive WAR (15.7). Simply put, they can go toe-to-toe with any team in baseball.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Nico Hoerner<\/a> and Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/a> embody the Cubs\u2019 identity. Both players always seem to impact games with either their bat or glove.<\/p>\n One glaring issue for the Cubs, however, is franchise shortstop Dansby Swanson<\/a>. The 32-year-old is having the worst season of his career, hitting .189 with a .650 OPS.<\/p>\n The Cubs\u2019 bullpen has also become a strength, led by closer Daniel Palencia<\/a>. Palencia returned from injury two weeks ago and has looked sharp, including recording his third save Thursday against the Atlanta Braves<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Cubs\u2019 best healthy starter, Shota Imanaga<\/a>, will not pitch in this series. Edward Cabrera<\/a> gets the ball in Game 1, followed by Jameson Taillon<\/a> and Colin Rea<\/a>.<\/p>\n What To Expect From the White Sox<\/p>\n Who saw this coming from the White Sox? After two straight seasons with 100-plus losses, the South Side suddenly holds the second Wild Card spot in the American League.<\/p>\n This new White Sox core has become one of the most entertaining groups in baseball early this season. The trio of Munetaka Murakami<\/a>, Colson Montgomery<\/a>, and Miguel Vargas<\/a> has led the charge.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Murakami looks like one of the biggest bargains in recent baseball memory. He\u2019s tied for third in the American League with 15 home runs and owns a .904 OPS. The 26-year-old from Japan has completely revitalized the franchise.<\/p>\n Montgomery, a former first-round pick, spent years as one of the organization\u2019s top prospects. Now in the majors, he has not disappointed. The shortstop already has 11 home runs with an .831 OPS.<\/p>\n Vargas arrived from the Los Angeles Dodgers<\/a> a few seasons ago and looked like an afterthought after struggling during his first full season with the White Sox. This year, however, he has come into his own. Vargas is hitting .240 with nine home runs and an .840 OPS.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The White Sox have also received strong contributions from younger players like Chase Meidroth<\/a> and Sam Antonacci. A young core playing with confidence and no expectations can become dangerous quickly.<\/p>\n The biggest concern for the White Sox remains their rotation. Outside of Davis Martin<\/a>, the group has struggled to find consistency. The Sox will send Sean Burke<\/a> to the mound Friday, followed by Martin and Eric Fedde<\/a>.<\/p>\n It may only be May, but this Crosstown Classic has all the ingredients for fireworks. First pitch for game one is set for 6:40 p.m. CT.<\/p>\n This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on May 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is the first time in over five years that both Chicago baseball teams enter the Crosstown Classic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":699895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[152,46,5,1001,138,88147,24,49,2561,158,10448,10339,888,733,5285,4914,6559,5173,57,4154,4,73,505,1218,33,35,2003,770,396,2562],"class_list":["post-699894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-white-sox","tag-american-league","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-baseball","tag-chase-meidroth","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-baseball-teams","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-chicagowhitesox","tag-colin-rea","tag-colson-montgomery","tag-crosstown-classic","tag-daniel-palencia","tag-dansby-swanson","tag-davis-martin","tag-edward-cabrera","tag-fedde","tag-jameson-taillon","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-miguel-vargas","tag-mlb","tag-munetaka-murakami","tag-national-league","tag-national-league-central","tag-nico-hoerner","tag-pete-crow-armstrong","tag-sean-burke","tag-shota-imanaga","tag-white-sox","tag-whitesox"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}