Chicago Cubs vs Chicago White Sox – Series Preview (June 4-5): Overview, Game and Broadcast Info, Starting Pitchers, W2W4
The Cubs (29-31) lost two of three against the Reds to drop their sixth consecutive series as their May slide continued into June. This recent stretch has been rife with sloppy play in the form of errors and baserunning mishaps as frustration mounts among everyone involved. Next up on the schedule is a matchup with one of the few teams playing worse right now, as the cross-town White Sox come to Wrigley for a pair starting Tuesday.
It has been a complete disaster for the South Siders (15-45) so far in 2024 and it’s somehow getting bleaker with the squad currently mired in an 11-game losing streak. At their current pace, the 1962 New York Mets’ record for most losses in a season (120) is within reach.
The White Sox offense is the worst in baseball in basically every category, with their .607 team OPS sitting well below the .641 of the second-worst Marlins. Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert Jr., expected to be big pieces in the lineup, have missed almost the entire year with injuries. The ever-annoying Paul DeJong leads the team with nine home runs as he works his way toward an inevitable midseason trade.
If not for the Colorado Rockies, the Pale Hose would also have the worst pitching staff in baseball with a 4.85 ERA. Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde have been decent at the top of the rotation, but the rest of the starting unit has been bad. Former top prospect Michael Kopech understandably hasn’t gotten many save opportunities to close games.
The Cubs are not playing well at all right now and they can’t take anyone lightly, not even this putrid White Sox team. They really just have to play better and this is definitely an opportunity to turn things around. The big question is whether they’re going to seize this opportunity.
Game Time and Broadcast Info
- Tuesday, June 4 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee.
- Wednesday, June 5 at 7:05pm CT on Marquee.
Starting Pitchers
| Date | Pitcher | Age | T | ERA | W/L | FIP | K/BB |
| 6/4 | Shōta Imanaga | 30 | L | 1.86 | 5-1 | 2.75 | 5.90 |
| Chris Flexen | 29 | R | 5.50 | 2-5 | 4.74 | 1.91 | |
| 6/5 | Jameson Taillon | 32 | R | 2.84 | 3-2 | 4.11 | 2.42 |
| Erick Fedde | 31 | R | 3.12 | 4–1 | 3.78 | 3.00 |
What to Watch For
- Imanaga got roughed up for the first time in his career against the Brewers last start and it will be interesting to see how he responds.
- Cody Bellinger had three hits in his last game.
- Nico Hoerner reached base six times against the Reds.