CHICAGO — For most of the 2024 MLB season, it’s felt like the same old, wonky song and dance routine from the Chicago White Sox. The only difference this weekend was that the Cubs were on the South Side for the Crosstown Classic, and there were over 38,000 butts in the seats to witness it.
In what was their third sellout of the MLB season, the White Sox fell to their usual ways of finding ways to squander a game away.
Here’s the breakdown of the conclusion to the 2024 Crosstown Classic.
Game Recap
Chris Flexen took the mound for the White Sox, which for those battle-hardened souls who follow along with this team know, is an omen for anything but a victory.
Over his last 16 starts heading into Saturday night, Flexen was 0-8 with a 6.09 ERA over 78.1 innings pitched, with the White Sox also losing all 16 of those starts along the way.
The last time Flexen and the White Sox won one of his starts was on May 8 against the Tampa Bay Rays, when Flexen pitched six innings and gave up a one run in a 4-1 victory.
In a fashion true to how the White Sox’s season has played out, Flexen pitched well, but not well enough (or long enough) to earn the victory.
The 6-foot-3-inch-tall righty lasted four innings, where he gave up one run on three hits, four walks and one strikeout on 78 pitches (40 strikes), pushing his winless starts streak to 17 in a row.
Offensively, the Cubs were just a tad less pedestrian at the plate than the White Sox, although both sides had some help from miscues.
Each team’s first run of the day came on questionable plays.
In the bottom of the second inning, Brooks Baldwin hit a blooper into shallow left-center in between Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong that was ruled a single, and Miguel Vargas came around to score.
At first glance, it looked like Crow-Armstrong had a better angle to catching the fly ball, but he peeled off in favor of Happ, who dove for the ball and watched it careen off his mitt as he went to the ground, allowing Vargas to scoot home.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Cody Bellinger singled to center before Isaac Paredes doubled to left, giving Bellinger enough cushion to cruise home and tie the game.
The catch on this play was that when Brooks Baldwin fielded the cutoff from Andrew Benintendi, it appeared he had plenty of time to make a relay throw home to cut down Bellinger at the plate, but he missed the play entirely, opting instead to pivot toward second as Bellinger scored with no resistance.
In the top of the 8th, Nico Hoerner led off with a walk, and Dansby Swanson hit a dribbler down the third base line for an infield hit. With runners at first and second, Crow-Armstrong sacrifice bunted Hoerner and Swanson into scoring position at second and third.
Miguel Amaya then provided a clutch, two-RBI single into left field to take the lead for the Cubs, 3-1.
The White Sox had an opportunity to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth, but like so many times this season, it was all for naught.
Baldwin got on to lead off the inning, but Lenyn Sosa flew out to Crow-Armstrong in deep right center, then Luis Robert Jr. and Benintendi struck out swinging back-to-back to end the ballgame.
Trainers Room
It’s still unclear if the White Sox are going to get back third baseman Yoan Moncada at any point this season.
“I don’t know. I know he’s been running. I know he’s still kind of feeling something there,” said White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore before their game Saturday. “I can’t tell you that we’re going to get him back or we’re not. I really just don’t know.
“With him, we’re checking in daily, hoping for the best and waiting for him to tell us when he’s feeling confident that he’s not favoring it or worried about anything else.”
Moncada was placed on the injured list back in early April with a left adductor strain suffered while running to first base during a game at the Cleveland Guardians.
He is 11-39 with three doubles, a triple, five walks and four runs scored in 11 games this season.
Up Next
After a day off Sunday, the White Sox welcome the New York Yankees into town for a three-game series at Guaranteed Rate Field.