The Cubs seemed to approach this year’s home-and-home city series with the White Sox as more of a nuisance than a cause for excitement. That was in part because of the team’s newfound stature and high expectations–as no less than Sports Illustrated’s pick to win the World Series, they considered their National League games, especially in the Central Division, more “important”–but also because of the schedule. The Cubs prepped for their first meeting with the Sox by playing a critical three-game set in Saint Louis, then sandwiched three home games against their other top division rivals, the Houston Astros, between the two Sox weekend series.
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The south-side games were much the more enjoyable of the two series, perhaps because the crowds were more evenly divided. From the moment Jon Garland was being cheered all down the left-field grandstand as he trudged in from the bullpen Friday following his pregame warm-up, while his Cubs counterpart, Mark Prior, was being equally applauded along the right-field line, the games had the feel of a tribal competition. The Cubs entered as the more talented and better balanced squad, and Prior–the epitome of the Cubs’ newfound pride–had it all over Garland on this afternoon, though he continued to struggle to regain his full mastery. Making only his fifth start of the year, Prior couldn’t seem to cut loose with his fastball without losing control of it, and the Sox and Garland were remarkably gracious even after several pitches sailed high and tight to right-handed batters. Prior uncharacteristically walked two in the first, but amid chants of “Paulie! Paulie!” worked out of a bases-loaded jam by retiring Paul Konerko. He fell behind in the fourth on a walk, a stolen base, an infield hit, and a wild pitch, but the Cubs, helped by some patchy Sox defense, staked him to a big lead in the fifth.
The Cubs seemed ready to ride roughshod over the Sox. They had Carlos Zambrano set up to face rookie Felix Diaz–recalled from the minors when Scott Schoeneweis went on the disabled list with a tender elbow–and Greg Maddux to face Esteban Loaiza in the series finale. Yet the unfamiliar Diaz confounded the Cubs Saturday while Zambrano had a rare off day. The Sox won 6-3, then pounded lumps on Maddux Sunday in a 9-4 victory that sent the Cubs yelping home to Wrigley.
Maddux wanted his own revenge on Saturday, and–greeted by what might best be called polite applause as he walked down the left-field line from the bullpen–he went about serving it up cold. He gave up a harmless single to Aaron Rowand in the first, then retired 12 straight batters. By the time he walked Perez with one out in the fifth, the Cubs were up 3-0, and the only question was whether Maddux would get the last outs in the top of the fifth to make the game official. There had already been two rain delays over a total of 45 minutes, and the dark clouds forecast for 3 PM (the Western Open at Cog Hill’s Dubsdread had moved up its tee times to get the third round completed) were closing in. Maddux got Crede to fly to Alou, but gave up a single to Sandy Alomar Jr., and Sox manager Ozzie Guillen–assuming rain–called on Frank Thomas to pinch-hit for the pitcher. Maddux threw a fastball for a called strike, a changeup for another, wasted a pitch, then–with the partisan crowd on its feet and yelling–fanned the Big Hurt on another change to end the inning and make the game official.
