Chicago Cubs News: Chicago White Sox series preview

As they get set to renew their rivalry, Chicago’s baseball teams are in desperate need of a spark heading into October.

With three games remaining, both the Chicago Cubs (32-25) and Chicago White Sox (34-23) struggle as they head into their regular-season finale this weekend. The good news is one team’s losing streak will have to end.

Let’s start with the Cubs, who have lost five of their last six contests after winning five straight games. In their latest slump of the season, the Cubs dropped three of four to the National League’s worst team, the Pittsburgh Pirates (18-39).

The Cubs’ offense has looked pitiful during this stretch, managing just four runs in their last five losses while getting shutout in two of those games. It’s been the same story all season for this ball-club who cannot find a way to drive-in runs: last three games with RISP (0-for-15).

It’s one thing to get shut down by excellent starting pitching, but to get dominated by the Pirates? Really? No offense to Trevor Williams (2-8, 6.18 ERA), but for him to hold this offense to one run, just a week before the postseason starts is pathetic for the Cubs.

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Still, as frustrating as it is, it happens all the time in baseball. While they couldn’t take care of business against the last-place team, Cubs did run into a lot of bad luck in the series. It seemed like the only pitches they managed to square up found Pirates defenders who were in the right spots at the right time.

It’s safe to say the Cubs are due for some good fortune, and thankfully their rivals are slumping as they get set to meet.

The White Sox have lost five straight games, including six of seven losses since they clinched their first playoff berth in 12 seasons.

After getting swept in a four-game series by the Cleveland Indians (33-24), the team on the South Side has gone from being the top overall seed in the American League to potentially falling into one of the Wild Card spots.

All four of the games in the Sox-Tribe series were relatively close, but Cleveland had an answer for each time the White Sox would tie the ballgame or take the lead.

The last three losses for the White Sox were decided by one run, with two games ending in walk-off fashion. Those kinds of defeats are tough to come back from for any team.

I’m not going to lie, with the amount of trash-talking that goes on amongst my family and friends who are White Sox fans, nothing would be sweeter than the Cubs adding to their collapse right before October begins.

Still, the Cubs have their issues that need to be figured out, and they’re running out of time.

Chicago Cubs: Jon Lester will look to continue his string of solid outings when he takes the ball in game two.

Game Two: Saturday 6:10 pm Jon Lester (3-2, 4.40 ERA) vs. Dane Dunning (2-0, 3.19 ERA)

The first outing against the White Sox for Jon Lester is one he would probably like to forget: 3 2/3 IP 9 H 8 ER 0 BB 3 SO.

The Sox offense scored all eight of their earned runs off Lester via the home run ball (four) during that stint.

Big Jon has had a few rough outings this season but has been solid of late. The lefty has surrendered just two earned runs in his last three outings, including six shutout innings against the Pirates on Thursday.

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His opponent, Dane Dunning, was brought into the White Sox rotation in mid-August and has performed nicely on the South Side.

The young right-hander allowed a season-high four earned runs in his last start against Cleveland on Thursday while pitching just four innings.

Dunning has held teams to just ten walks, three home runs, and 22 hits in 31 innings pitched this season. If the Cubs offense plans on having any success, I think they have to be extra aggressive.

It’s unlikely Dunning will be wild around the plate, so there’s no sense in trying to work a deep count and take a walk. The way I see it, as soon as a Cub hitter sees a pitch he likes, ideally first-pitch fastballs, they need to be swinging away.

If you look at the offensive approach for the White

Sox against Lester earlier this season, they pounded nine hits and scored eight runs without taking a single walk.

This is the same game plan the Cubs should implement at some point in the series.

Chicago Cubs: While the game three starter for the Cubs has not been announced, all signs point to Kyle Hendricks.

Game Three: Sunday 2:10 pm Undecided vs. Reynaldo Lopez (1-2, 4.68 ERA)

It has not yet been announced who manager David Ross plans on sending to the mound for the series finale.

If I had to guess, it would be Kyle Hendricks (6-5, 2.88 ERA) who would be pitching on four days rest. I say this because the Professor last pitched on Wednesday, and if he starts the first game of the playoffs (September 30), that would be seven days in between starts.

If the Cubs went with Darvish for game one of the Wild Card Series, the rest for Hendricks would be even longer, which is something Ross might not want to do. Though, if this is the case, that means he would likely not pitch until game three (if necessary) in the first round.

Let’s say it is Hendricks who starts; his outing earlier this year against the White Sox was not his best: 5 1/3 IP 7 H 3 ER 1 BB 3 SO.

Hendricks has been lights out of late, allowing just six earned runs in five quality starts in September.

Reynaldo Lopez did not face the Cubs during the first meeting and has recently pitched his way back into the White Sox rotation.

Lopez has yet to go more than 5 1/3 IP in his seven starts this season and is susceptible to the home-run ball (seven).

Hopefully, by this point in the series, the Cubs’ offense has found some consistency that has been lacking lately, and they add to the struggles of Lopez.

If Hendricks doesn’t start, could we see Brailyn Marquez make his big league debut? There have been rumblings of late about the possibility of seeing the hard-throwing lefty before the playoffs, though nothing has been confirmed.

The Cubs desperately need another left-handed weapon, having already clinched a playoff spot, I see no harm in throwing Marquez out there and seeing if he can be useful in the playoffs.

Ultimately, I believe the success of the Cubs in this series will come from their offense. The team’s pitching can only do so much; it asks a lot to shut out a high-powered White Sox offense for three straight games.

If they plan on winning, I imagine the Cubs will need to score at least four or more runs a few times this weekend. The scary part is this is something that has happened just once in their last eight games.

This will not get it done come playoff time, and if the Cubs plan on making a postseason run, it’s now or never to figure it out.