White Sox: Series with Chicago Cubs has so much on the line
The Chicago White Sox have a huge series with the Chicago Cubs with a lot on the line.
The Chicago White Sox haven’t done well this week in their matchup against the Cleveland Indians. They were able to match up to Cleveland’s outstanding pitching which was an encouraging sign but the bats went quiet and they made some bad decisions from a managerial perspective. They now have a chance, however, to make it all right this weekend. A series with the Chicago Cubs looms and it means so much to both teams.
Individual Awards
Cy Young
To start off, there are some individual accolades that could be won or lost this weekend. Yu Darvish is going to start for the Cubs tonight. He has outstanding stuff this season and the numbers support him as a true Cy Young contender. An outstanding start against the White Sox could make things really interesting. If the White Sox tee off on him, chances are his Cy Young dreams are out the window.
Righties have had so much more success against the White Sox this year so Darvish has that going for him. Facing off against Dylan Cease, a former Cubs prospect means nothing to Darvish because he was on the Texas Rangers when that trade was made but it might mean a lot to the fans. It would be awesome to see Cease outpitch him and get his team the win.
MVPs
The Cubs have a former MVP on their team in Kris Bryant and a runner up in Javier Baez. None of those guys have a chance at it this year but the pedigree is normally there. The White Sox, on the other hand, has two guys who could use a big weekend to give themselves a shot at the big award.
Both Tim Anderson and Jose Abreu have a shot. Abreu probably has the lead of the two right now and there are a couple of other American League stars that are in the mix as well. Abreu absolutely owned the Cubs at Wrigley last month so it will be interesting to see how he does this series.
Team Needs
The White Sox and Cubs both have a chance to win their respective Central Divisions this weekend. The White Sox are in a tight race with the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians while the Cubs have the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds on their tails. Both teams are going to the playoffs but they would both enjoy starting their road to the World Series at home and as Division champions.
There are also seedings that could be determined. The way that the playoffs are set up this year force teams to consider matchups ahead of time. The White Sox already managed things where they can have Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel ready for the postseason which is an advantage to the Cubs here. Either way, both teams just want to be feeling good about themselves as we move into October.
Hot. Who will the White Sox use as the 3rd starter in the playoffs?. light
After a tough year here in 2020, nothing would be better than seeing the White Sox win a division title after taking a series and the Crosstown Classic Cup from the Chicago Cubs. This past week has been tough for both teams but these highly intense games are what we were missing so much when baseball was on a pause. Hopefully, the White Sox are able to get what they need out of this weekend on all accounts.