It’s the Cubs against the White Sox, the Crosstown Classic at Wrigley Field, and a battle for bragging rights in Chicago. Both teams are gearing up for the MLB Postseason in addition to this exciting matchup. The Cubs will be down a man for the series, playing without their starting shortstop, Dansby Swanson, who was placed on the 10-day IL. The shortstop will be out for the next couple of weeks with what they are designating as a left oblique strain, and with approximately 6 weeks remaining, it is less than ideal timing.
Dansby Swanson was pulled from Sunday’s game against the Cardinals after he was seen in major discomfort following a swing-and-miss on a fastball from Hunter Dobbins. Immediately, he grimaced in pain, and frustratingly, threw his batter’s helmet after; he then walked off the field and into the clubhouse, where he was evaluated. After the game, he was interviewed, “It just felt like my left side kind of tightened up on me,” Swanson said. “It obviously was enough that I didn’t feel like I needed to keep going.”
The veteran remains confident in his team, as echoed in his comments, “There’s not really a better group in the world to handle something like this,” Swanson said, “just with the depth of players we have, the quality of players we have, the ability for guys to play multiple positions at Gold Glove level. We never want injuries to happen, but this is part of the game.”
It’s been 6 seasons since both Chicago teams made the postseason, and that was in the pandemic-expanded format. The last time both teams made the playoffs in a traditional season was 2008, when both teams won their divisions. Surprisingly, both Chicago teams have only made the postseason in the same season three times over 100 years.
This year, the games in the Crosstown Classic from May at Rate Field saw both teams win in a blowout, and in the series finale, a high-powered 9-8 White Sox walk-off win in extras. Since the 2021 season, the Cubs have had slightly more success in this series with a record of 15-12. Both enter this series with 6-4 records over their last 10 games, but have had to rely on their offenses to score their way to wins.
The White Sox have won 3 straight entering Monday’s matchup against the Cubs, coming off a series sweep of the Tigers in Detroit. Miguel Vargas has been on a tear, hitting .310 with 4 home runs over his past 7 games, leading their offense’s 5.86 runs/game, while the pitching staff posted a team ERA of 4.11. They will need to get better and more consistent performances from their arms if they hope to make any noise in the postseason.
The Cubs have lost two in a row, and hold a team ERA of 5.14 over their previous 7 games. The offense has made up for some shaky pitching performances with 5.86 runs/game over the previous 7. While Swanson wasn’t a major impact on those numbers, he is a former All-Star shortstop and leader in the clubhouse. The Cubs will need Alex Bregman to keep swinging a hot bat, hitting .346 with 4 home runs over his past 7 games if they hope to outscore the White Sox, especially with Pete Crow-Armstrong on a bit of a cold streak at the plate, only hitting .107 in his last seven games.
Swanson was on pace for another average year, a career .248 batting average, and averages 23 home runs and 75 RBI. This season was at .216, 18 home runs, and 66 RBI at the time of his injury. A little below his standard for average, but on pace with his power numbers. Swanson is also an elite defensive shortstop, boasting a .987 fielding percentage with only 6 errors.
The Cubs need him healthy and ready to go for the postseason if they have any hopes of making it through a stacked NL featuring teams like: the Dodgers, Braves, and Brewers. Swanson isn’t a known postseason offensive performer, but having won in 2021 with the Braves brings the experience of what it feels like to win. Bregman is the only other player to have a World Series ring, with two from his time in Houston.
The Cubs will need to have Swanson back for the Postseason, or they can anticipate an early exit. Swanson’s leadership and consistency make him an easy player for Manager Craig Counsell to lean on. Without much experience of winning outside Swanson and Bregman, the Cubs clubhouse will rely on those voices and experiences to help them throughout the Postseason. The pitching staff needs to be better, and their big bats like PCA and Bregman will need to carry the load if they can’t keep teams off the scoreboard, and hope that some of the other bats can come up with timely hitting in October.
If you love sports, download Stadium Rant from the Apple App Store and join one of the fastest-growing social sports communities. Be sure to follow us on socials too — you can find all our profiles on our Linktree.
