Mike Napoletano
WRIGLEY FIELD – The first game of the Crosstown Classic on the North side did NOT disappoint! This game had everything no matter if you were touting the red & blue or visiting in black & white.
Cubs pitcher Shota “Showtime” Imanaga started off the game absolutely shoving with two strikeouts in the first inning & actually being perfect through two, & no-hitting the Sox through three with only hitting left-fielder Sam Antonacci with a pitch (that he may or may not have leaned into). Antonacci has now tied the White Sox single-season franchise record for hit by pitches with 23. This record is currently shared by Carlos Quentin (2011) & Minnie Miñoso (1956).
Perhaps more impressive than the Cubs early pitching success from a starter that has been shakier as of late, was the Cubs offense which started from the very first pitch. Center-fielder, and probable 2026 NL MVP, Pete Crow-Armstrong launched his 29th home run to right field (376 feet) on the very first pitch that the Cubs saw from Sox starter Luis Castillo. Seiya Suzuki, Cubs right-fielder, looked at a strike & two balls inside before doing the same as PCA, but to dead center (440 feet). 2-0 Cubs after one.
Antonacci getting hit by a pitch may have earned the Southsiders their first baserunner, but it wasn’t until the fourth inning when first-basemen Munetaka Murakami walked & third-baseman Miguel Vargas recorded a base hit which set the stage for a Randall Grichuk three-run-shot, the tenth home run on the season for the designated hitter. 404-feet dead center. 3-2 White Sox after four.
The stands became filled with “Let’s go White Sox!” chants that overtook all of Wrigley Field. “Playoff atmosphere” was the term being passed around & even during the 7th inning stretch, it was made mention that “the only thing that could make this game even better would be if it was being played in October”, hinting at a possible Chicago vs. Chicago World Series which hasn’t happened since 1906 (The White Sox won that series in six games).
The vibes started well before the gates even opened with a pregame pop-up concert from local Chicago EDM group Levity. I managed to talk to Josh Tarum of the group on the excitement level of the local artists to be playing at Wrigley before the Crosstown, nerves of throwing out the first pitch, as well as new music that they’ll be releasing at North Coast Festival in early September that will be held at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. The interview can be found on the WRMN & On the Rise Instagram & Facebook pages as well as my own.
The Cubs regained the lead in the 5th inning on a squib hit down the line from shortstop Nico Hoerner that had Miguel Vargas running in to barehand the ball & try to make an off-balance throw to Murakami at first base. E5 on the play, despite the difficulty as the throw goes well wide to the inside of the base & Mune could not get around the first-base umpire to corral the errand throw. What was worse, however, was the throw that right-fielder Braden Montgomery made to home trying to eliminate the second runner, Cubs left-fielder Ian Happ, & keep the game tied. The play came full-circle as B. Montgomery’s throw reached Miguel Vargas up the line as he had stayed in the vicinity of where he initially fielded the ball in-order to now back-up catcher Jake Rogers, who was making only his second start for the White Sox after being claimed by Chicago off waivers. Cubs lead 4-3 after five.
Rogers has yet to find his first hit with the Sox on the offensive side of the ball despite already playing the team that he started the season with in Detroit. The 31-year-old catcher played parts of 5 seasons with Detroit from 2019-2025 (Tommy John surgery in 2022) prior to starting the year with the Tigers this season. Earlier this year, Detroit designated him for assignment before trading him to Baltimore, who then packaged him with fellow catcher Adley Rutschman in a blockbuster trade-deadline deal with Boston. The Red Sox, who just played .840 baseball in July & went on a 15-game winning streak amidst the All-Star break & then a 9-game win streak at the beginning of August, really only needed Rutschman in the deal & placed Rogers on waivers. Another pair of Sox came calling.
The Cubs would take Shota Imanaga out of the game in the sixth inning. The lefty finished the night with 10 strikeouts, 2 hits, 3 runs (all earned), & 3 walks. Another lefty, Ryan Rolison would enter the game & only last two-thirds of an inning before walking Rogers which would force the Cubs to go to the bullpen once more for their trade-deadline acquisition in right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn.
In the 7th, White Sox manager Will Venable would pinch-hit Andrew Benintendi in-place of previous home run hitter Randall Grichuk. The Sox DH was unlikely to hit another ball out of the yard for the night & with Miguel Vargas striking out beforehand & Murakami taking yet another walk (the second of three walks Mune would see last night) to lead off the inning, the White Sox needed a jolt to their offense. Benintendi gave them just that. The crowd erupted… yes, erupted, IN WRIGLEY, as Benintendi blasted one 378-feet to right center. 5-4 White Sox.
Unfortunately for the boys in black, both closer options in RHP Grant Taylor & LHP Sean Newcomb were both unavailable for the White Sox after a grueling week which included a bullpen game on Thursday with Cincinnati after Davis Martin was ejected in the third inning. Martin hit Tyler Stephenson in the first inning & then, in the third, threw at Sal Stewart’s head… twice on two consecutive pitches, hitting him with the second; benches cleared, chaos ensued. That left the Southside bullpen depleted going into the weekend series with Detroit, & despite securing the sweep against a Tigers team that was hot on their tail for the division lead, the Sox were left vulnerable Monday night in late innings against their crosstown rivals.
Right-hander Jordan Hicks came into the game two-thirds of the way through the 8th to secure the final out, but he walked third-baseman Alex Bregman & Ian Happ in the 9th before allowing a Hoerner single to tie the contest at 5. With bases loaded & only one out, Hicks hurled 100mph consistently to get a much-needed strikeout against the pinch-hitting Miguel Amaya before Miguel Vargas raced to third base for the unassisted force out on a ground ball to end the inning. To extras we would go.
Munetaka Murakami would take another walk in the top of the 10th with second-baseman Chase Meidroth as the extra innings designated runner on second. An incredible strike-three challenge by Braden Montgomery would keep the at-bat alive long enough to draw a walk & load the bases, but with two strikeouts previously from Vargas & Benintendi, Tristan Peters, who had come into the game in the 8th to pinch hit, would ground out to Michael Busch at first as he flipped it to RHP Jacob Webb for the final out. Sox leave three stranded.
I don’t understand. I truly DO NOT understand. With Cubs catcher Carson Kelly making the final out in the 9th, he would be the designated runner & that would bring up the top of the order for the Northsiders: Pete Crow-Armstrong.
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY you would choose to pitch to THE HOTTEST BAT IN THE GAME…
Especially when rookie pitcher Hagan Smith was thrown in to start the 10th for this Sox team. Will Venable made some outstanding moves with the roster throughout the game; this was NOT one of them. I understand that if you intentionally walk PCA, you still have to face Seiya Suzuki or else you would be loading the bases with no outs, but I would avoid the even bigger bat in PCA & put him on first even if it means having to see his speed on the base path. This way you have force outs at any base & Smith can try to induce the ground ball for the double play.
First pitch of the game that the Cubs saw: PCA home run to right field.
Last pitch of the game that the Cubs saw in the 10th: PCA home run to right field.
Crow-Armstrong took two sliders as balls low & inside, respectively, before watching a 94 mph four-seamer down the middle, & then taking Smith’s 81 mph down-the-middle slider 391 feet to right field on a no-doubter to walk it off for the home side. 7-5 Cubs is your final score in ten.
Pete Crow-Armstrong becomes just the sixth player in MLB history to hit a leadoff home run & a walk-off home run in the same game: Chris Young of the Arizona Diamondbacks (8/7/10), Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers (7/19/09), Toronto Blue Jays’ Reed Johnson did it against the Cubs on 6/15/03, former White Sox Darin Erstad completed the feat with the Anaheim Angels on 6/25/00, & Vic Power & Billy Hamilton (not that one) both played for the Phillies & also achieved this feat on 5/7/57 & 6/9/1893, respectively. If you’re counting, that’s actually seven players, but in 1893, the home team could actually elect to hit first, so Hamilton’s home run in the 10th inning came in the top half of the inning.
PCA has also officially reached the 30-30 mark in consecutive seasons. Thats 30 home runs & 31 stolen bases exactly for the young Cubs phenom, making him the second Cubs player to reach this achievement only behind Sammy Sosa who did so in 1993 & 1995.
With the win the Cubs even the Crosstown Series at two games apiece through the first four contests between Chicago rivals here in 2026 with both teams having a walk-off win at their home ballpark. Déjà vu may be settling in for both teams as the Sox lost the first game of the series at Rate Field back in May after coming off of a sweep of a division rival & after the Cubs dropped two of three to an NL rival. The Sox would go on to dominate in the second game before Edgar Quero’s walk-off two-run-shot in the 10th inning sealed the rubber match & the series for the Sox at home.
The Crosstown Series resumes at 7:05PM tonight at Wrigley Field.
It is reported that returning Blackhawks superstar & 3-time Stanley Cup Champion Patrick Kane will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Kane was reportedly approached by Banana Ball a few weekends ago to make an appearance at Wrigley when the Bananas & Firefighters came to town in the final weekend of July, but timing didn’t work out for #88 as he was just resigning with Chicago earlier in the week.
The Cubs are also reporting that Blackhawks alumnus & legend Chris Chelios will be singing the 7th inning stretch. If we’ve learned anything about evenings that Chris Chelios steps up to the microphone, it’s that Patrick Kane & the visiting team tend to steal the show…