White Sox 4, Cubs 3: Bye Wrigley, we’ll take a sweep!

What a time to be alive. The Chicago White Sox visited Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs for a quick, two-game sweep, winning 4-3 tonight and featuring clutch performances by the pitching.

The South Siders started wasted no time getting on the board and over the outfield basket with this José Abreu laser off of Kyle Hendricks to take the lead 1-0 early.

Lucas Giolito had a great first inning, inducing two strikeouts and a pop out.

The lead didn’t last for long, as Giolito got into some slight trouble in the bottom of the second inning with a walk to Frank Schwindel, followed by a two-run home run by Nico Hoerner to take the lead. It didn’t end there, as Patrick Wisdom added to the lead with a solo shot. Luckily, Nick Madrigal struck out to end the inning. Yes, I said that, because it’s funny.

Leury García finally did something, hitting a solo home run to lead off the third inning.

Giolito came back with revenge, and struck out the side in the bottom of the third inning.

Welcome back Luis Robert, we missed you yesterday. His double started off the fourth inning strong, and Yasmani Grandal followed with a single.

Gavin Sheets was able to deliver the game-tying single thanks to the shift, and his batting skills, I guess.

Madrigal was thrown out at second in the bottom of the inning due to an amazing play by Robert. (Had to throw that in there.)

After a leadoff single by Abreu in the top of the sixth and a walk by Robert, Grandal grounded into a double play. Very anticlimactic, I know, but AJ Pollock was able to hit a bloop single over the head of Madrigal (imagine) to score the go-ahead run and take the lead, 4-3.

Giolito made it into the sixth, but was pulled with two outs after a walk to Ian Happ. The ace had a solid performance after a shaky start, going 5 ⅔ innings with three hits, three runs, and 10 strikeouts.

Reynaldo López got out of the inning, thanks to another highlight play by Robert to end the inning, as he has been pretty busy out in center field. Hearts may have stopped (again) as he laid out in center field after the catch, but all is well.

Kendall Graveman pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the seventh.

The South Siders threatened with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning with one out, but a double play cursed the team again, as Pollock ended the threat.

Aaron Bummer got into some trouble, and I guess it’s time to give Madrigal some credit as he slapped a single to put runners on the corners for the Bad Guys with no outs. A liner to TA got the first out, but Bummer was replaced by Matt Foster to try and close out the tense inning.

Foster looked like his 2020 self, striking out Ian Happ to end the inning and take away any Cubs chance to tie.

Liam Hendriks is officially back.

His 1-2-3 inning to end the game was as extravagant as ever, ending the game with a strikeout on a fastball right down the middle. He may not miss another game.

The win moved the South Siders record one game closer to .500, and completing the sweep felt pretty nice, too. The team will have an off-day tomorrow and then travel to Boston to take on the Red Sox at Fenway Park starting on Friday. Vince Velásquez will be on the mound against Nathan Eovaldi.

White Sox fans, enjoy the wins, and get ready to face a different color Sox on Friday. Cubs fans, if you’re here, why?

Anyways, have a great off day and get ready for a Sox showdown over the weekend!