| Date | Location | Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 18 | Wrigley Field | Sox 3–1 | White Sox
W: Marshall L: Strop SV: Colóme. Eloy Jiménez 2-run HR off Pedro Strop. Cole Hamels’ 7 IP, 8K, 1 ER wasted.
|
| June 19 | Wrigley Field | Cubs 7–3 | Cubs
W: Lester L: Giolito. Willson Contreras grand slam in the 1st, then adds another HR. David Bote also goes deep.
|
| July 6 | Guaranteed Rate Field | Cubs 6–3 | Cubs
W: Lester L: Giolito SV: Kimbrel. Giolito walks 3 straight in the 5th. Schwarber 2-RBI pop that falls in LF. Kimbrel closes it out the hard way.
|
| July 7 | Guaranteed Rate Field | Sox 3–1 | White Sox
W: Nova L: Hendricks SV: Colóme. Jiménez homers again. Abreu adds his 21st. Cubs don’t score until the 7th (Robel Garcia HR).
|
The Cubs and White Sox played out a dead-even Crosstown Classic in 2019 — 2 wins apiece, split evenly between Wrigley and Guaranteed Rate Field. Both teams finished with 2 wins, splitting the season series. The series MVP, if you could call him that, played for the wrong team as far as Cubs fans were concerned.
Eloy Jiménez — the prospect the Cubs traded to the White Sox in the Jose Quintana deal in 2017 — homered twice against his former team, once in each South Side series game. Jiménez had been one of the most highly regarded prospects in baseball when the Cubs dealt him, and he made sure they knew it. The guy had a flair for the dramatic against Chicago’s North Side.
Game 2 at Wrigley was the highlight for Cubs fans: trailing 3-0 against Lucas Giolito (one of baseball’s best pitchers that year at 10-1, 2.22 ERA entering the game), the Cubs erupted for 4 runs in the 1st inning. Willson Contreras hit a grand slam and later added another home run. David Bote joined the fun. Jon Lester threw 114 pitches to pick up the win.
Game 3 at Rate Field had a classic Craig Kimbrel moment: with a 6-1 lead in the 9th, Kimbrel turned a routine save opportunity into a white-knuckle adventure. A wild pitch bounced back off the backstop, Jose Abreu broke for first — but Contreras recovered and threw him out easily. Kimbrel escaped. Cubs won 6-3. You couldn’t make it up.
By the way — did you know that Lucas Giolito comes from a family of actors? Here are some of the places you may have seen their work:
- Warren Frost (Grandfather): A veteran actor recognized most as Dr. Will Hayward in Twin Peaks and Mr. Ross (Susan’s dad) in Seinfeld.
- Rick Giolito (Father): Known for As the World Turns, Hunter, and Twin Peaks.
- Lindsay Frost (Mother): Known for As the World Turns, Nightmare Cafe, and The Ring.
- Mark Frost (Uncle): TV producer, screenwriter, and novelist who co-created Twin Peaks alongside David Lynch.