Game Thread: White Sox (65-59) at Cubs (73-53)

The White Sox are looking to rebound on the North Side after a heartbreaking, walk-off loss to the Cubs in extra innings Monday. With a chance to even the series tonight, they are turning to a (fairly) exhausted bullpen to handle Tuesday’s game, with lefthander Bryan Hudson getting the ball first for the seventh time this season.

Hudson has been excellent as an opener when called upon, holding a 1.29 ERA across seven frames while allowing just one run on three hits and five strikeouts — with a solo homer serving as the only major blemish in those outings. Hudson has amassed a 3.14 ERA in 51 2/3 innings, alongside a 1.277 WHIP, and has given up just two home runs all season in 54 games. He tends to thrive more in low- to medium-leverage situations and has the lowest ERA (0.34) with the bases empty (26 2/3 innings), making the lefty the perfect candidate for an opener.

Without any corresponding roster moves from the Good Guys, it seems that the White Sox will roll with either Erick Fedde or José Urquidy as the long reliever options, likely hoping to get deep enough in the game — with a lead, ideally — to turn to Sean Newcomb, Huascar Brazobán, and Grant Taylor, maybe even in that order.

Since the Cubs will have a righty on the mound with Kevin Gausman making the start, the lineup looks much more solid from the South Siders tonight, especially with Colson Montgomery returning to the batting order, hitting sixth and playing shortstop. With the right-handed matchup, Sam Antonacci will slot back into leadoff, followed by Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and our clutch king, Andrew Benintendi. Tonight would be the perfect night for the Mune and Miguel combo to blast off with a pair of homers, but I’ll take anyone stepping up to be the hero if it means we don’t have to witness the Sox lose the way they did yesterday.

Chicago White Sox Lineup

Gausman will have a whole bunch of lefties to face in the White Sox lineup, though his splits are similar against both right- and left-handed hitters. From the left side of the plate, batters are hitting .252 with a .697 OPS versus Gausman, who has a 1.28 WHIP against them. Righties are batting .262 with a .732 OPS, with essentially the same WHIP (1.27). This will be just the third start in a Cubs uniform for Gausman, who has struggled so far with a 6.17 ERA and eight runs allowed in 11 2/3 innings. With only two starts to work with, however, it’s probably best to take those numbers with a grain of salt.

Overall, Gausman holds a 4.53 ERA in 139 innings across 25 starts in 2026, though his 3.53 FIP suggests he has pitched better than that ERA would indicate. The righty isn’t necessarily a strikeout pitcher, but his 6.5% walk rate is one of his strengths to keep batters off the base paths. He still tends to get his opponents to chase pitches, and his splitter can be a weapon in his arsenal, racking up a 40.4% whiff rate.

As we know, South Side pitchers certainly need to watch out for Pete Crow-Armstrong in the leadoff spot. PCA has mashed six homers so far in August, trailing only Matt Olson, and two of those came last night — one on the very first pitch of the game and another on the very last. So far this month, PCA has slugged .636 with a 1.013 OPS and consistently comes through in clutch moments.

And that’s not to sleep on the rest of the Cubs lineup, who hold the third-highest SLG (.419) and second-most RBIs in MLB, also posting the highest WAR as a team at 28.2, 6.4 more WAR than the next team (the Los Angeles Dodgers). Seiya Suzuki is almost just as much of a threat as PCA is, and Nico Hoerner posted a four-hit night in the series opener, including the game-tying RBI base hit in the bottom of the ninth.

Chicago Cubs Lineup

For once, there are all kinds of places to tune into Game 2 of the Crosstown Classic! If you’re in the Chicago market, you can still tune in on the usual spots with CHSN and Marquee Network; however, the game will also air locally on The U and nationally on TBS. On the radio, you can catch the White Sox broadcast at ESPN Chicago AM 1000, or the Cubs on AM 670 (or 104.3 FM). First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. CT at Wrigley Field. Hopefully, this one ends with a White Sox win.