None of that changes the bigger picture: Chicago is playing for a division title, and Pittsburgh is playing out the string. That's the story of this series before either team throws a pitch.
Pittsburgh and Chicago open this set on Tuesday, September 8, and play again Wednesday before this finale, so whatever form either club is carrying right now is a snapshot, not a forecast — a lot can happen over two more games against the same opponent. What's steadier is the season-long shape: the White Sox have run down a rebuild years in the making to sit atop the AL Central, while the Pirates' second half has undone a first half that once had them in the thick of the NL Wild Card race.
Jones has been nails in September — four starts, one earned run allowed across three of them, strikeouts piling up — and if he brings that into Guaranteed Rate Field it's a real problem for a White Sox lineup that's leaned on Munetaka Murakami's power since his return from the injured list. But Pittsburgh's margin for error elsewhere is thin, and Chicago's got far more on the line.