A viral fight, a rain delay and a pair of walk-offs have made Cubs-White Sox unforgettable

CHICAGO — As the jam-packed crowd of 40,354 marched toward the Wrigley Field exits late Monday night, still buzzing from an instant classic in Chicago’s long-running baseball rivalry, a unifying chant broke out for fans of the Cubs and White Sox: “Green Bay sucks! Green Bay sucks!”

It felt like everyone stayed until the end, when Cubs superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong created another highlight for his MVP campaign with a two-run, walk-off homer in the 10th inning of a 7-5 victory. Well, maybe everyone except for the fans escorted out of the right-field bleachers after brawling, another clip that went viral on social media.

As the media huddled around his locker in Wrigley Field’s underground home clubhouse, Crow-Armstrong raised his eyes, chuckled and shook his head at the totality of the scene.

“This is just really good for the city,” Crow-Armstrong said. “You got a second-place team in us, but a first-place team in them, and it’s the first time they’ve been really competitive in a while. It’s just really frickin’ cool that we get to put that product out on the field together and go compete.

“The fights in the stands are unfortunate and somewhat nauseating. But you got people in the stands competing, too. Aside from that, all jokes aside, too, it’s really good for the city having both of us playing the kind of baseball we are.”

On the North Side, the anti-Green Bay chant mixed in with the frequent calls for “P-C-A” and “M-V-P” during a back-and-forth game that lasted three hours, 21 minutes and featured 10 pitchers. The White Sox went 4-for-33 with eight walks and 14 strikeouts — and their defense committed two errors — yet they still held a one-run lead entering the ninth inning.

White Sox manager Will Venable, who spent three seasons as a well-respected coach on the Cubs’ major-league staff (2018-20), described Monday’s atmosphere as “probably the biggest, most intense and kind of crazy environment on the road that we’ve experienced.”

“It was over the top and exciting and a great representation of Chicago sports,” Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “Two great teams playing well on a beautiful summer night at Wrigley is kind of as good as it gets.”

The last time the Bears played the Packers, reports surfaced that the Cubs had reached an agreement with All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman on a five-year, $175 million contract. On that January night, right around the same time Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams started directing an epic comeback playoff win over the Green Bay at Soldier Field, the Cubs sent a clear signal that they were planning for October baseball at the Friendly Confines.

No such expectations followed the rebuilding White Sox, an organization that set a major-league record with 121 losses in 2024 and finished last season with a 60-102 record. But Cubs and White Sox fans could be in playoff mode when the Bears next play at Lambeau Field on Oct. 11.

A young, confident team has taken advantage of the weakened state of the American League, seeing the results from forward-looking trades, solid draft picks and the smart investment in Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami.

“These are all really important games and moments for them to experience,” Venable said. “Hopefully, it serves us well. Hopefully, there’s big plays and big opportunities for these guys to have the experience. And I think every time you go through that, you learn a little more and you get better for the next time.”

Alex Bregman won it the ninth on Tuesday after he hit a tying single in the seventh inning. (Patrick Gorski / Imagn Images via Reuters Connect)

The White Sox gained more exposure the hard way Tuesday night when Bregman’s ninth-inning base hit handed them another walk-off loss. Patrick Kane, the three-time Stanley Cup winner now back with the Blackhawks, threw out a ceremonial first pitch. Matas Buzelis, the young Bulls forward who grew up in the Chicago area, was shown on the video board for the crowd of 40,304.

Crow-Armstrong blasted another leadoff home run, this time off White Sox opener Bryan Hudson, a one-time Cubs prospect who also gave up a homer to Michael Busch in the first inning. Murakami launched his 29th home run off the massive screen above the left-field bleachers. Someone threw the ball back onto the field, per tradition.

New Cubs starter Kevin Gausman, one of several pitching reinforcements acquired before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, gave up three runs across 4 1/3 innings before exiting with a cramp in his left/non-throwing hand.

During the seventh inning, fans brought back the “Green Bay sucks” chants and some added “Let’s go, White Sox!” Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios, a Blackhawks legend and frequent Wrigley Field visitor, led the crowd in singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.” And Bregman, who’s showing why he was such a coveted free agent, preceded his game-winning heroics with a two-out RBI single to left that tied the score at 3-3.

At 9:47 p.m., the grounds crew frantically began rolling out the tarp, preparing for a rain delay that lasted one hour, 28 minutes. Shirtless dudes flooded the VIP seats behind home plate, chanting “U-S-A” during a “Tarps Off” demonstration while ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” blared from the ballpark’s sound system.

Once play resumed, Cubs closer Jacob Webb maintained order, extending his scoreless streak to 23 appearances. The Cubs are clearly comfortable in these situations. Carson Kelly led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a double, and a half-empty stadium booed Venable’s decision to intentionally walk Crow-Armstrong with one out. The game finally ended at 11:36 p.m. with Bregman’s second two-out hit. The next crosstown pitch is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:20 p.m.

“I’ve only been in Chicago for a little bit, but that’s kind of the first question that people ask: ‘Are you a Cubs or a Sox fan?’” Gausman said. “They kind of treat you based on how you answer, but I respect it. That’s the cool thing about having two teams in one city. That rivalry is always going to be big, and the fans are always going to want great games when they match up.”