White Sox drop first round of tough crosstown test

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Any crosstown series against the Cubs is always going to have a little more juice to it for the White Sox , but the 2026 iteration began Friday night at Rate Field with more than the usual excitement. On one hand, it’s the first time the two teams have faced each other with better-than-. 500 records since 2008, which by itself shows something about the trajectory of Chicago baseball on both sides of town.

The Sox have a winning record in mid-May, which hasn’t happened since 2022. The Cubs are in first place in their division, one that they’ve been fighting to wrestle out of the Brewers’ grip for half a decade. There’s a lot of season left, but things are looking up for both teams.

The Sox came into the weekend on a five-game winning streak, and for the first time in years, they’re looking like a proper baseball team. This weekend’s series is a good barometer for the Sox, simply because they’re facing a first-place team and have a chance to gauge themselves a bit. “We’re trying to win baseball games,” manager Will Venable said.

“We certainly understand the meaning of this series for the community, and these guys will play with everything they’ve got, like they do every night. But it’s one baseball game that we’re going to try to win tonight and we’re going to go from there. ” Again, it’s early, but the Sox have been winning games at a .