Jameson Taillon took the ball Friday as the Cubs and White Sox opened a Crosstown Series at Rate Field that carries more weight than most late-spring games in Chicago. It is the first time since 2008 that both clubs have entered the matchup with winning records, and Cubs manager Craig Counsell said the atmosphere has already made the trip home feel different.
“It’s nice when you look at the schedule, and you see nine games of gray boxes [road games], but then you finish at home. Yeah, it is nice,’’ Counsell said after the Cubs returned Thursday night from a run through Texas and Atlanta. He was blunt about the appeal of the rivalry too: “I think this is a great series for the fans,’’ he said. “That’s what this is to me.”
The matchup arrives after the Cubs spent three games in Texas against the Rangers and three games in Atlanta against the Braves before flying home Thursday night. Counsell said he was able to sleep in his own bed Thursday night, a small luxury after a stretch of travel that ended with a 2-0 win over the Braves. He also said the three-game series was expected to draw more than 100,000 fans and was all but sold out, a gate figure that underscores how little these games feel like a standard regular-season stop.
Counsell framed the series as something bigger than the standings, even if both teams have managed to make it matter on the field. “You could sit next to your mom and dad, and they might be rooting for different teams. Or your in-laws, your friends, rooting for different teams,” he said. “This is a fan series, and that’s what makes it fun. Fans create the atmosphere of the stadium, and the atmosphere of the stadium is good every time these teams play.’’
That view comes with a hard edge. The Cubs and White Sox have not met with both teams carrying winning records since 2008, which has often taken some of the air out of the city rivalry. Counsell did not pretend players feel the same way fans do when the first pitch is thrown. “I’ll be honest,’’ he said. “Players don’t care about standings when the game starts. Nobody cares.’’
The Cubs’ weekend also carried a separate roster note with a familiar name. Liam Hendriks signed a minor-league deal with Chicago this week and has already worked with the club’s pitching gurus at the team facility in Arizona. The plan is for the 37-year-old right-hander to spend maybe two to three weeks ramping up there before an assignment to Triple-A Iowa, with the larger goal of forcing his way into the back end of the bullpen and getting to meaningful games in September.
Hendriks’ path back is steep, even by baseball’s unforgiving standards. He has beaten Stage 4 cancer and underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow 10 days after returning to the White Sox. He was released by the Twins in spring training, a reminder that his comeback is not simply about experience but about whether his body will let him pitch again at the level he once showed in 2021 and 2022, when he was one of the American League’s best closers.
For the Cubs, the setup is simple enough: a packed house, a city rivalry, and a game that carries real weight in late May. For Hendriks, the next few weeks in Arizona will decide whether this signing becomes a footnote or the start of one more remarkable return.
