AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The Rundown: Crown White Sox Temporarily, Brewers Invade Wrigley, Phillies Getting Hot Under Mattingly

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterMay 18, 2026

“And when it comes to baseball, we have two favorite clubs. The Go-Go White Sox… and whoever plays the Cubs!” – Southside Irish by The Irish Choir

The White Sox own bragging rights between Chicago’s two MLB entities, at least for now. Holy Cow, who would have seen that coming when this season’s schedule dropped? The Cubs dropped two of three to their South Side brethren at The Rate, a stadium that sounds like it’s named after an HBO series about loan sharks and gamblers, appropriate given the history of the city’s American League franchise.

That said, “Say it ain’t so” applies strictly to the Cubbies, though the series was as exciting and as fun as it was disappointing. Could you imagine these two playing in the World Series? Wake up the ghosts of Arnold Rothstein, Chick Gandil, Happy Felsch, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, and Lefty Williams. It could happen this year, believe it or not. If the season ended today, both Chicago ballclubs would make the playoffs. So chin up, Cubs fans. Let’s win them when they really count just in case it comes to that.

The North Siders will get their chance to regroup against a surging Brewers team starting this evening at Wrigley Field. Expect a lot of Milwaukeeans to traverse through the Cheddar Curtain to attend this week’s festivities. How will you spot a Brewers fan at Wrigley Field? This informative video will help you.

The Cubs-Brewers rivalry has become one of the best in baseball, and though you won’t see much emotion from Craig Counsell, you can bet your ice-cold Old Style and your favorite undershirt that he badly wants to sweep the club he once managed. Milwaukee has been a pesky thorn in the side of Chicago’s North Side baseballers for far too long. The Bears earned a measure of revenge against the Packers last season, and now it’s the Cubs’ turn to follow suit.

I’m not just trying to be cheeky, either. This year’s Crosstown Classic was about as fun as baseball gets. Things get real, however, starting tonight. The Brewers have dominated the Cubs for the better part of a decade, and it’s time to flip that script.

Cubs News & Notes

Ball Four

Chicago sports teams should never be “owned” by any professional team that calls Wisconsin its home. Period. It’s time to put the Brewers on their backsides.

Central Intelligence

  • Chicago (29-18): The DraftKings Sporstbook at Wrigley Field is shutting down. A marriage between legalized gambling and professional sports has never made sense to me, particularly given the dark past of teams like the 1919 White Sox and professional athletes like Pete Rose and Art Schlichter.
  • Milwaukee (26-18): Here’s your origin story of the two-fisted slopper.
  • St. Louis (27-19): Cardinals fans are now going “tarps off” to celebrate each victory. The Wrigley Field cup snakes don’t look so bad in comparison, but St. Louis fans are copping a trend the Bleacher Bums started way back in 1969.
  • Pittsburgh (24-23): Pirates fans are now using traffic cones to catch home run balls. We are witnessing the beginning of the end of human civilization.
  • Cincinnati (24-23): The Reds entered May with the second-best record in baseball and a chance to bully the Cubs. They’ve lost 12 of 16 since and find themselves in last place, five games behind Chicago.

How About That!

Break up the Phillies! They’ve won 15 of 19 tilts since interim manager Don Mattingly took over.

The Cardinals hot start doesn’t seem sustainable, but the White Sox, Pirates, and Rays should factor into this season’s playoff races.

The Mets had lost 96 straight games they’ve trailed entering the 9th inning…until yesterday.

Shohei Ohtani finally hit a home run. It was his first in 11 games and just his second over the last 27.

The Houston dynasty might just be ending, so the Astros could be among baseball’s biggest sellers at this year’s deadline.

Three from the Bill Chuck Files

  1. Aaron Ashby of the Brewers, who are magical with pitchers, has appeared in 21 games this season. He started once, pitched 2.1 innings, and allowed two runs (7.71 ERA). No decision. In his 20 relief appearances, he has thrown 26.2 IP and allowed six runs (five earned). That’s a 1.69 ERA. He is 8-0, the most wins in the majors.
  2. Last season, the Red Sox traded pitcher Quinn Priester to the Brewers. Priester went 13-3. His .813 winning pct. was the best in the majors. Boston got two minor leaguers and a draft pick (and a lot of grief). This season, Boston traded pitcher Kyle Harrison to Milwaukee. Harrison is 4-1 and has a 2.09 ERA and 30% strikeout rate with 48 strikeouts in 38.2 IP in eight starts.
  3. CJ Abrams leads all shortstops with seven errors, but at least he’s hitting .301. Otto López is second among shortstops this season with seven errors, but at least he’s hitting .344.

Extra Innings

Michael Conforto is going to earn himself a Cody Bellinger-like contract if he keeps this up. Jed Hoyer should ask for stock in the Boras Corporation. Conforto is going to walk off at least one playoff win this October. Save the receipt.

Apropos of Nothing

I had minor back surgery last week to relieve pressure on my L3/L4 vertebrae that was causing some annoying sciatica. Still feeling a little rough around the margins but at least I can sit upright now. I’ve now had 20 surgeries in my life and the scars are equally frightening and fascinating.

Son of Apropos

Rank the following Cubs’ rivalries, please and thank you:

  1. White Sox
  2. Brewers
  3. Cardinals
  4. Padres
  5. Mets

They Said It

  • “I think this is a great series for the fans. That’s what this is to me. This is a fan series because your mom and your dad might be rooting for different teams, right? Or your in-laws might be rooting for different teams. Your friends are rooting for the different teams. This is a fans’ series, and that’s what makes it fun. The fans also create the atmosphere of the stadium, and the atmosphere in the stadium is good every single time these two teams play.” – Counsell
  • “I never thought this team … I knew they [would] compete every day, I saw that coming, but I never thought they’re going to be the talk of baseball. I never thought they’re going to be the talk of the city. Because you know, the Cubs are playing well, there’s no doubt about it. But the Cubs, they’re built to play well, they’re built to win the division. Now, the White Sox [are] in that spot, like, oh, wait a minute, what happened here?” – Ozzie Guillen

Monday Walk-Up Song

Kind of a crummy road trip but at least the Cubs are still in first place.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterMay 18, 2026
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