As usual, this week's Cubs-Sox series has one side trying to play spoiler
Some things you can always count on in Chicago: The weather patterns make no sense, the politicians are shady, and the two baseball teams are rarely good at the same time.
The second Cubs-White Sox series this week at Wrigley Field is another example. The Cubs (61-57) are on a roll and trying to stay in playoff contention, while the Sox (47-72) are well off the pace.
So there's a chance for the White Sox to play spoiler the next two days and help spoil the Cubs' playoff hopes. And that seems to be norm, since both teams tend to avoid the postseason often.
A search through history found these examples of the teams having lopsided playoff hopes when they met. The focus here is on the second of the two series they played, though in some years they've played four games in a row, two on each side of town:
2018: The Cubs were 29 games better than the Sox when this series began at Guaranteed Rate on Sept. 21. The Cubs won the series, but the Sox jumped on former teammate Jose Quintana for 5 runs in 5 innings in the opener and won going away 10-4.
That one game doesn't seem like a big deal out of context, but that was the year Milwaukee won 9 of its last 10 games to chase down the Cubs in the NL Central, then the Brewers won the one-game playoff at Wrigley. If the Cubs won that day against the Sox, history would be different.
Fun fact: The day after the Cubs-Sox series ended, the Cubs were stymied at Wrigley by Jameson Taillon and lost to the Pirates 5-1. Every win counted that season.
2017: The defending champion Cubs were in first place when the teams began a four-game series on July 24. The White Sox won the opener at Wrigley Field behind a solid seven innings from pitcher Miguel Gonzalez, who didn't last long on the South Side. The Cubs won the next three games, though, all comfortable victories for starters John Lackey, Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester and surged to their second-straight division title.
2016: Overall, this series wasn't a big deal. The teams split four games, with the home team winning all four. But the opener was notable for being the absolute high point of the James Shields era. He shut down the future World Series champs, tossing 7⅔ scoreless innings. The Fernando Tatis Jr. trade had some redeeming value for the White Sox after all.
2012: This is an example of the Cubs playing spoilers. They were 22 games below .500 when this series began on June 18, then won two of three at U.S. Cellular. The Cubs pounded 5 home runs in the opener, then Travis Wood won a pitchers' duel against Jake Peavy in Game 2. The White Sox finished the season 3 games behind Detroit in the NL Central.
2006: The defending champion White Sox began this series 22 games better than the Cubs and won the first two at home. But in the finale, the Cubs scored 7 first-inning runs off Mark Buehrle, capped by a 2-run homer from pitcher Carlos Zambrano. Remember when pitchers could hit? After losing that game 15-11, the Sox began a slide that produced a third-place finish in the division.
2004: Their records were similar, but the White Sox were in first place, the Cubs in second when they pulled off a three-game home sweep at Wrigley. The finale ended with a walk-off bases loaded walk, Damaso Marte to Todd Walker. Greg Maddux got career win No. 296 in Game 2 of the series.
2003: Maybe the Cubs should have known they were headed for a cursed ending to the season after losing consecutive walk-offs at The Cell on June 26-27. The Sox won on a home run by Jose Valentin, then an RBI single from D'Angelo Jimenez.
2001: The Cubs were in first place but dropped two of three at Wrigley July 12-14. Kerry Wood gave up 7 walks and lost to Mark Buehrle in the middle game, then Sox righty Sean Lowe pitched a gem in the finale.
2000: It ultimately didn't matter, because the White Sox won the Central this year. But the Sox were 22 games better than the Cubs when they dropped two of three at Wrigley on July 7-9. Two legendary Cubs — Sammy Sosa and Henry Rodriguez — homered in both victories.
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