3 observations from the Crosstown Classic as the Chicago Cubs sweep the White Sox
Craig Counsell talks the Cubs Crosstown Classic sweep of the White Sox
The Cubs got back on track and swept the White Sox in a three-game Crosstown Classic series. Manager Craig Counsell talked about the sweep Sunday.
The brooms were active on Sunday. The Cubs finished off their sweep of the White Sox.
With a 6-2 win on Sunday, the Cubs swept the White Sox in the first of two Crosstown Classic series in the 2025 season.
Pete Crow-Armstrong finished Sunday's game 2-4 with a triple and double. Seiya Suzuki had two RBI. Hico Hoerner went 2-4 with two doubles. Dansby Swanson extended his on-base streak to 18 games.
The White Sox got another home run from Miguel Vargas, who went 2-3 on the afternoon. Chase Meidroth led off the game with a double. Luis Robert Jr. went 2 for 4 with a double.
Here are three observations from the three-game series from Wrigley Field this weekend.
This is Pete Crow-Armstrong's team
When this Cubs team needs him, PCA arrives.
With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Crow-Armstrong came up to bat. In an eight-pitch at-bat with Jonathan Cannon, Crow-Armstrong lined a double off the right field wall that scored Vidal Brujan.
It wasn't an RBI because the throw went from right field to second before coming home – another mental error in a series full of them for the White Sox – but the run scored all the same.
The Cubs made massive moves to get Kyle Tucker and have enjoyed Carson Kelly's breakout season so far in 2025. But, Crow-Armstrong is one of the most exciting players in baseball.
It's easy to enjoy when he's beating up on a team like the White Sox, who just had no answer for Crow-Armstrong. He recorded eight hits and eight RBI with two triples and a homer in the three-game Crosstown Classic.
The Cubs follow PCA's lead, too.
When he goes, the Cubs follow.
White Sox react to the Cubs sweeping the Crosstown Classic
The Cubs swept the White Sox in a three-game Crosstown Classic series. Manager Will Venable and starting pitcher Jonathan Cannon talk Sunday's game and the whole series.
The Sox need a shot in the arm to help Meidroth and Vargas
The Sox's version of PCA isn't walking through The Rate's gates anytime soon, but the South Siders have their own players currently putting together some success.
Chase Meidroth had six hits in three games. Miguel Vargas had three home runs, five hits and five RBI in three games.
The kids have some talent. The Sox need to help them out.
It's not as simple as getting one of the promising AAA prospects and slapping them in the lineup, either.
There are some players, like outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who are beginning rehab assignments soon. Having a veteran bat near the top of the lineup would help the White Sox. Outfielder and former Cub Mike Tauchman is getting healthier, too.
But, they need to make sure those players are right first.
"It's not necessarily results," White Sox manager Will Venable said before Sunday's game. "They know what it looks like and it feels like when they're ready to go."
The Sox need it. They came into Wrigley Field this weekend with decent momentum, and a three-game sweep has since sapped that momentum.
Crosstown Classic is all Cubs
On Saturday, the Cubs won a franchise-record seventh straight game over the White Sox. Sunday's win extended that record to eight straight wins.
Furthermore, the Cubs took the lead in the all-time series. Coming into Sunday's game, the Sox and Cubs were knotted up at 74-74 through 148 games.
The Cubs now have that lead too, taking a 75-74 lead.
The White Sox will have to take that one on the chin and wait two months before the Cubs make the trek down to the South Side in late July when the Crosstown Classic continues at Rate Field.
By then, the White Sox might have a different look. But for now, the White Sox will keep searching for their first win over the Cubs since August 15, 2023.