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Mune Mania: 1-on-1 with the White Sox superstar | Toyota Talks
On this week's Toyota Talks, Tina Nguyen goes 1-on-1 with White Sox superstar Munetaka Murakami. They chat about the transition from Japan to the United States, adjusting to MLB pitching and Mune's relationship with manager Will Venable. Also, Mune explains how much fun he's having on this White Sox team and whether his teammates have tried the bidets.
The Crosstown Classic is back in Chicago.
Only this time, there's an extra air of excitement. That's because the White Sox and Cubs are squaring off as two winning teams.
Here's what to know about the anticipated Crosstown Classic, which had gained excitement daily because of a surging White Sox team and a Cubs team that's shown it's a contender.
By the numbers:
This weekend marks the first time in 18 years both the White Sox and Cubs will play each other in a non-Covid year with each team having winning records.
The last time the two crosstown teams played each other with winning records dates back to the June 27-29 series in 2008 at Wrigley Field. The Cubs were 28-16 and the White Sox sat at 22-21.
The two will renew their northsider vs. southsider rivalry on Friday night at 6:40 to start a three-game series. The Cubs lead the all-time series 77-75.
PITCHING PROBABLES
Cubs
Friday: Edward Cabrera
Saturday: Jameson Taillon
Sunday: Colin Rea
White Sox
Friday: Sean Burke
Saturday: Davis Martin
Sunday: Erick Fedde
RECENT TOP PERFORMERS
Miguel Vargas has nine home runs, 30 walks and 23 RBIs while hitting .240 for the White Sox. Chase Meidroth is 13 for 37 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games.
Dansby Swanson has three doubles, a triple, six home runs and 25 RBIs for the Cubs. Michael Conforto is 8 for 22 with four doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES
White Sox: 6-4, .259 batting average, 4.03 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs
Cubs: 6-4, .184 batting average, 3.38 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
The White Sox:
The White Sox are officially the hottest team in the Majors.
They swept the Royals this week to move above .500 after April for the first time since October 2022. It's their third sweep of the season.
Going deeper, the Sox got win No. 20 of the season on Tuesday in game No. 41. The Sox didn’t get win No. 20 last season until June 5, which was Game No. 63.
Much of this is because of the players emerging for the White Sox.
Colson Montgomery, Munetaka Murakami and Miguel Vargas have all been power hitters for the Sox. Noah Schultz, Chase Meidroth and Drew Romo have had emerging moments, too.
There have also been reclamation projects, like Randal Grichuck, who was signed off the street in May, as well as former top-10 draft pick Jarred Kelenic and Erick Fedde, who the Sox traded in the 2024 season to the Cardinals.
At the center of it is manager Will Venable, who is getting the young White Sox to believe they can win.
The Cubs:
Before the White Sox took the mantle of the "Hottest Team in the MLB," the Cubs held onto that title firmly.
So far in 2026, the Cubs have earned two 10-game winning streaks. The last time they had two 10-game winning streaks in one season was back in 1935.
But, the Cubs are just coming off a series in Atlanta where they won Thursday night to snap a four-game skid following that 10-game winning streak. That was thanks to a reliever now in the rotation due to injury.
Ben Brown entered the rotation after Matthew Boyd had MCL surgery, Justin Steele suffered a setback in recovering from elbow injury and Cade Horton underwent elbow injury himself. Brown showed he's growing into that starting role Thursday, pitching four innings of shut-out ball.
What does also help is how the Cubs' offense is pacing the rest of the team. The Cubs have a collective .244 batting average, which is the ninth-best team batting average in MLB play.
This is a Cubs team built to win it all. They've certainly shown how talented they are early on in 2026.