Cubs vs. Sox Lineup Notes: Busch Batting Second, Can Cabrera Bounce Back? More

Pour yourself a shot of Malort and order a dipped Italian Beef – the Crosstown Classic has arrived!

The Chicago Cubs and White Sox will enter this upcoming series on very different terms. The North Side crew finally broke out of their four-game skid with a slim 2-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday. Meanwhile, the South Siders just shocked the AL by moving over .500 for the first time this season with their third series sweep of the year.

To be sure, most money will likely still be on the Cubs to pull off the series victory. But the odds aren't nearly what fans have grown used to in recent years. This isn't your same old Sox team, and they can make that very clear with a competitive three-game set this weekend.

Game Info

Who: Chicago Cubs (28-16) at Chicago White Sox (21-20)
Where: Rate Field
When: 6:40 PM CT
Watch: Marquee Sports Network, Chicago Sports Network,
Listen: 104.3 The Score, ESPN 1000

MLB.TV has also made this Crosstown Classic opener its free game of the day, while WCIU TV has grabbed the rights to air it for free over antenna. Baseball for everyone!

Chicago Cubs Lineup

1. Nico Hoerner, 2B
2. Michael Busch, 1B
3. Alex Bregman, 3B
4. Ian Happ, LF
5. Seiya Suzuki, RF
6. Moisés Ballesteros, DH
7. Carson Kelly, C
8. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
9. Dansby Swanson, SS

Craig Counsell is going with some extra power at the top of the lineup for the series opener on the South Side. Following up Nico Hoerner will be lefty Michael Busch, who finished the Braves series with only one hit. Regardless, there is no question he's been better than Moisés Ballesteros in recent weeks, who was previously starting plenty of games against righties in that two-hole. Busch's 14.4 percent walk rate sits in the league's 88th percentile.

Speaking of Ballesteros, he will still return to the lineup after sitting against Chris Sale. It sure doesn't feel like a coincidence that the Cubs' massive offensive slump has come amid his 2-for-43 stretch. The Cubs need him to bounce back ASAP, and this could be the matchup that makes it happen. As well as Burke has pitched this season, he throws a lot of pitches in the zone and allows a fair amount of contact.

By the way, does anyone else feel like this will be a big PCA series? I know that may sound somewhat surprising to say considered his relatively cold start to the year, but the young star has this innate ability to show up in big moments. A tense series in enemy territory? He is almost certainly licking his chops. I can already see him screaming at the crowd after an RBI triple. I know that's not great analysis, but sometimes you might as well share what your gut is telling you!

Chicago White Sox Lineup

1. Sam Antonacci, LF
2. Munetaka Murakami, 1B
3. Miguel Vargas, 3B
4. Colson Montgomery, SS
5. Chase Meidroth, 2B
6. Andrew Benintendi, DH
7. Jarred Kelenic, RF
8. Tristan Peters, CF
9. Drew Romo, C

The White Sox have loaded up on left-handed hitters, as Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth are the only righties in the order. What has made the White Sox so special in recent weeks has been their ability to get production from across the lineup. Even Jarred Kelenic and Drew Romo have come through in some big spots.

With that said, this will be the Cubs first time facing the Sox' scary top of the lineup. Sam Antonacci has been ridiculously difficult to strike out, only recording 11 Ks over his 26 games so far. It's made him a very solid lead-off man. Then, there is the dynamic duo of Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery. It almost feels inevitable that Murakami will send at least one over the fence in his first Crosstown Classic. The Japanese slugger currently has 15 on the board.

As for Montgomery, he has only looked more and more like the star the Sox have expected him to be. The shortstop sits at 11 homers with 29 RBIs. His latest blast came on May 13, when he tallied six total bases in a win over the Kansas City Royals.

At the end of the day, this is the kind of series where stars need to be stars. If the Sox want to win, both Murakami and Montgomery are going to have to continue to show up.

On the Mound ...

May 9, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Edward Cabrera (30) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the second inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Cubs – Edward Cabrera, RHP

Edward Cabrera is coming off one of his worst nights of the year. The former Marlins pitcher gave up seven hits and a season-high five earned runs to the Rangers. While he did manage to record six strikeouts in his 5.0 innings of work, the hard contact he gave up was a somewhat scary sight when thinking about the matchup tonight. Still, Cabrera is 3-1 with a 3.88 ERA this season for a reason. He's got some great offspeed stuff and can take full control of games when he's at his best.

White Sox – Sean Burke, RHP

Like Cabrera, Sean Burke is also in need of a bounce-back performance. The Sox' righty just gave up six hits and six earned runs in one of his shortest outings of the year against the Mariners. He isn't one to stack many strikeouts, and the Cubs should be able to get a fair share of his balls in the air. However, Burke does have just a 5.6 percent walk rate, which could be huge against a Cubs team that leads the league in trips to first.

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