Cubs creep up to edge of NL Wild Card conversation with Crosstown Classic sweep

The reaction in the dugout didn’t look like that of a team slow to push runs across the plate – players on the top step, banging on the padded railing as the Cubs took a 3-1 lead against the White Sox in the eighth inning.

That lead, claimed on catcher Miguel Amaya’s two-run single into left field, would hold for the Cubs. It was the first game of a four-game season series that didn’t end in a 7-6 Cubs win. And with the win, the Cubs swept the four-game Crosstown Classic across a pair of two-game sets.

“Things have been awesome here in the clubhouse," Amaya said. "Everybody's together. The vibes, the energy here is: this is a brotherhood, and we pick each other up.”

With the win, the Cubs (59-60) had crept to within a game of .500, on the edge of the Wild Card conversation, 3 ½ games back of a playoff berth.

Starting pitcher Justin Steele, who held the White Sox to one unearned run through six innings, has taken “one day at a time” to an extreme. He hasn’t been paying attention to the Cubs’ record all season. But that’s not the case across the board.

“I know where we are,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “It does feel like it is still within our grasp, as far as controlling what we can. It doesn't feel like we're watching the scoreboard making sure other teams are losing or anything like that.

“The first thing you can do is control your end of it, and we've done a nice job, considering we put ourselves in a hole with how we played for an extended stretch. But I do think we're seeing a very complete version of us right now as far as starting pitching, both in defense and a full lineup.”

It wasn’t the Cubs’ best series of the year. White haven’t exactly been juggernauts this season, but the White Sox have the worst record in MLB by more than 15 losses. But it was their third straight series win.

“For years now, we've played really competitive games with them,” left fielder Ian Happ said of the Crosstown Cup. “… Great energy in the stands the last two days, and it’s the big leagues. If you win by one run or win by two runs, they’re wins, and it’s hard to win in the big-leagues.”

The Cubs tied up the game Saturday on one of the strangest plays of the year. Isaac Paredes hit a double to left field, and Cody Bellinger raced from first around the bases. But when White Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi threw to his cutoff, shortstop Brooks Baldwin, the rookie turned to second base first, instead of home plate, and held the ball as Bellinger scored.

“Obviously it's awesome when things do go your way,” Steele said. “As far as it goes for me, pitching being tied or pitching with the lead is so much better than pitching down. Because you know when you're down, you're just trying your best to not give up any more runs, keep it within distance. So definitely being tied up definitely gives you confidence out there on the mound.”

The Cubs’ game-winning rally was a round of small ball. Hoerner led off the inning with a walk. Dansby Swanson, who reached 1,000 career hits on Saturday, hit a chopper for a single. Pete Crow-Armstrong moved them over with a sacrifice bunt. And Amaya drove them in.