Tuesday brings the renewal of the annual Crosstown Classic series between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox.
As the two-game set sees the Cubs visit Guaranteed Rate Field, the North Siders' proverbial fates have been pointing north recently -- while the South Siders' are going, well, south.
The Cubs punctuated their 10-game homestand out of the All-Star break with three straight victories against the St. Louis Cardinals to finish the run at 6-4. The Cubs enter the week 6 1/2 games behind the National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers as they begin a stretch of 12 of their next 19 games on the road.
A five-run third inning vaulted the Cubs to a 7-2 victory on Sunday afternoon. That marked the seventh time the team scored at least five runs during the homestand.
"I think you're starting to see the best version of us, to some extent," Cubs manager David Ross said. "The offense has picked it up as of late, picking up the pitching, which I thought carried us early in the season. The bullpen has figured some things out at times. We're playing all right."
Center fielder Cody Bellinger has been a big reason for the turnaround. Bellinger smacked a two-run home run against St. Louis on Sunday and is batting .436 with five homers and 15 RBIs in the second half.
While it's widely anticipated the White Sox will be sellers at the looming Aug. 1 trade deadline, Bellinger's bat has boosted organizational optimism that the Cubs can get back in the playoff race.
The White Sox started a nine-game road trip with promise after taking a series from the Atlanta Braves, they but lost five of the next six to dip to 19 games below .500.
Chicago squandered a chance to salvage a game from the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins on Sunday, blowing a 3-0 ninth-inning lead before losing 5-4 in 12 innings.
Saturday also saw the team falter down the stretch after taking an early lead in a 3-2 defeat at Minnesota. Chicago batted 3-for-23 with runners in scoring position in the last two games of the series.
"It's not going to cut it in a major league game," White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. "I know hitting's tough. We put ourselves in a good position to win (Sunday's) game. But just like we've got to win it on the pitching end, we also can't blow it away on the hitting end."
Oscar Colas collected three hits for the White Sox on Sunday, while Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez and Zach Remillard had two apiece. Jimenez has played through left groin soreness, but Grifol said resting him likely isn't in the cards as the team remains without Andrew Vaughn, who has missed the past four games with a bone bruise in his left foot.
The Cubs will send right-hander Kyle Hendricks (3-4, 3.38 ERA) to the mound against White Sox counterpart Michael Kopech (4-8, 4.29).
Hendricks, 0-1 with a 4.43 ERA in four July starts, has struggled against the White Sox, going 1-6 with a 4.83 ERA in 11 career starts.
Kopech has pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings against the Cubs over four appearances, including one start. He is coming off Thursday's 6-2 win at the New York Mets, when he pitched 5 2/3 innings of one-run, two-hit ball.
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