Five things to watch in the first round of the White Sox-Cubs city series
The White Sox and Cubs meet for the first time this season Tuesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, the opener of a two-games series.
As for the excitement level heading in, this one is right up there with deciding between synthetic or conventional on your next oil change.
The misery index has been pretty high all season on both sides of town, and the Sox (41-60) and Cubs (48-51) sport losing records.
That doesn't mean the city rivals are passengers on the same sinking ship.
Even in the forgiving AL Central, the White Sox are out of it. Losing three straight to the first-place Twins over the weekend left them 12 games off the pace.
The Cubs, on the other hand, were only 6½ games behind the first-place Brewers after taking three of four from the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.
Here are five things to watch as the Cubs and White Sox compete for the Crosstown Cup. They meet again at Wrigley for a pair of games in mid-August:
1. Hug watch
Trades are often made before the Aug. 1 deadline, and the Sox are definitely going to be selling.
Starting pitchers Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn are most likely to go, and there's also a chance shortstop Tim Anderson and starter Dylan Cease are gone if general manager Rick Hahn gets offers too good to refuse.
The Cubs looked liked sellers before St. Louis arrived on Thursday.
Now, that's far from certain.
If they sweep the Sox, it's going to be even harder for club president Jed Hoyer to justify trading players like Cody Bellinger, Marcus Stroman and Kyle Hendricks.
2. Brawl brewing?
Has it really been 17 years since Cubs catcher Michael Barrett threw a punch at White Sox counterpart A.J. Pierzynski at home plate, setting off a nasty scrap on the South Side?
Benches still clear from time to time in today's game, but brawls are rare.
They usually occur when things aren't going well for teams in both dugouts, and the Sox and Cubs have plenty of reasons to be frustrated.
There are definitely going to be some fights in the stands the next two days. We'll see if any bad blood spills over to the playing field.
3. The series
There have been very few highlights for the White Sox this season, so beating the Cubs might actually provide some motivation.
The Sox have had the upper hand as of late, winning 3 of 4 vs. the Cubs last year and 8 of 10 since 2021.
The White Sox hit 19 homers and scored 64 runs over the last 10 games, but first baseman Jose Abreu did much of that damage.
Abreu hit only 15 home runs for the Sox in 2022 before exiting as a free agent and signing with the Astros. In 96 games with Houston, the power is still missing and he has 8 homers.
4. Pitching matchups
In Tuesday night's opener, Michael Kopech starts for the White Sox and Hendricks takes the mound for the Cubs.
The Cubs would be wise to take the patient approach vs. Kopech, who has walked 25 in 18⅔ innings over his last five outings.
Hendricks has been up and down in July, but if his command is locked in he can get Sox hitters to chase and get themselves out.
Lynn starts for the Sox Wednesday night against Stroman.
The White Sox's veteran righty leads MLB in home runs allowed (28) and has the second-highest ERA (6.18). Lynn also ranks No. 9 overall with 139 strikeouts.
Stroman ranks No. 8 in MLB with a 3.09 ERA, but he's had a rough month and has given up 14 earned runs on 19 hits and 11 walks in 20⅓ innings (6.20 ERA).
5. Local legend
Good luck finding a player that's going to enjoy the crosstown series more than Mike Tauchman.
The Palatine native and Fremd High School product was playing in Korea last year after spending a nondescript five seasons with the Rockies, Yankees and Giants.
Joining the Cubs on a minor-league contract in late January, the 32-year-old Tauchman opened the season with Class AAA Iowa and got the call from the Cubs in mid-May when Bellinger went down with a knee injury.
Seizing the opportunity, Tauchman has been a key contributor while slashing .258/.363/.387 with 4 home runs and 30 RBI in 50 games.