None of it showed up in the price beforehand, either. Chicago went off as the favorite behind a lineup that had won two straight in this series, including a walk-off single from Alex Bregman two nights earlier — the market had this one leaning north side before Newcomb and Holmes turned it into a bullpen chess match instead.
Both dugouts arrived with real recent form behind them. The Cubs came in off consecutive wins in this set — a 7-5 decision and the Bregman walk-off that erased a late deficit — while the White Sox had beaten Detroit 3 straight just before dropping those same two games to their crosstown rivals.
The injury sheets told two very different stories going in. Chicago's rotation is stretched with Davis Martin and Drew Thorpe both out, and the bullpen is missing Chris Murphy, Jordan Leasure and Prelander Berroa — a big part of why Newcomb was on opener duty instead of a traditional turn through the order. The Cubs, meanwhile, are without Swanson and Shaw up the middle and still waiting on Justin Steele, Ben Brown and a handful of relievers to work back.
None of that mattered once the White Sox bats finally got moving. Chicago scratched a run across in the 6th and tacked on two more in the 8th, and that was more than enough behind a bullpen that shut the Cubs out across all 9 innings.
It's the kind of finale that flips the pecking order for this crosstown set on its head — the Cubs still own the better season record, but Wednesday belonged entirely to the visitors.