Fastball

Chicago Cubs' Righty on the Wrong Side of History in Rivalry with White Sox

Chris Flexen gave up a home run to Mike Tauchman as the Northsiders dropped a Friday contest to their Chicago counterparts.
Brady Farkas|
Chicago Cubs pitcher Chris Flexen (77) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on June 10.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Chris Flexen (77) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on June 10. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

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Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs' right-hander Chris Flexen was on the wrong side of some rivalry history on Friday night as the Cubs lost to the Chicago White Sox 12-5 at Rate Field.

The loss dropped the Cubs to 60-43 while the win improved the White Sox to 38-66.

The history was made in the fourth inning when Flexen gave up a two-run homer to veteran Mike Tauchman, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

This was the first home run ever hit by an ex-Cubs batter (Tauchman) off an ex-White Sox pitcher (Flexen), or vice-versa, in a matchup of the two Chicago teams

h/t @EliasSports

Flexen, 31, is an eight-year veteran of the New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, White Sox and Cubs. He spent the 2024 season with the White Sox, becoming a dubious part of the worst team in the Modern Era of baseball history. He went 3-15 on the mound with a 4.95 ERA as the White Sox went 41-121. He's been much better this season in a mainly bullpen role for the Cubs, going 5-1 with a 3.02 in 20 appearances (one start).

Beyond Flexen, Cubs' starter Shota Imanaga really struggled, giving up seven earned runs on 12 hits in just three innings. He's now 7-4 with a 3.12 ERA.

The two teams will play again on Saturday night with first pitch coming at 7:10 p.m. ET. Cubs rookie Cade Horton will take the mound against White Sox veteran Aaron Civale. Horton, who was previously one of the top prospects in baseball, is 3-3 with a 4.04 ERA. Civale is 2-6 with a 4.76 ERA.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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