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Sports Wednesday, August 19, 2026 | | |
| | | | | Good morning, Chicago. Pete Crow-Armstrong's walk-off home run in the opener of the City Series was still the talk of the town heading into last night's Game 2 at Wrigley Field. It was only one moment in one game in a 162-game season. But in a city that takes baseball seriously, with two teams competing for postseason spots and fans looking for bragging rights, it was much, much bigger than one game. Add in the backstory from the first round of the City Series, when Crow-Armstrong had an incident with a taunting White Sox fan that went viral, and it just adds another layer to the long-running drama. Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong crosses home plate after his solo home run in the first inning against the White Sox at Wrigley Field on Aug. 18, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) As a full-fledged villain to Sox fans in only his third full season, Crow-Armstrong's dominant show will long be remembered in City Series history, even as he couldn't remember much of it afterward: "I usually black out during those types of things. I did get a good bat flip in, I
know that." It was reminiscent of a July afternoon in 2006, when A.J. Pierzynski's two-out, three-run home run off Cubs closer Ryan Dempster in the top of the ninth vaulted the Sox to a shocking 8-6 win at Wrigley. Pierzynski had been booed in every at-bat all weekend because of his fight with Michael Barrett in the first round of the City Series at the Cell, becoming public enemy No. 1 on the North Side. But unlike Crow-Armstrong, writes Paul Sullivan, Pierzynski outwardly relished being a villain to Cubs fans. | | | | The Chicago Cubs secured their major-league-leading 13th walk-off win over the White Sox on Tuesday, tying the 2015 team for their most in a season within the last 90 years. | | | | | Munetaka Murakami homered and Erick Fedde pitched well in a bulk role for the White Sox in the 4-3 loss to the Cubs in the City Series on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. | | | | | Photos from the Chicago Cubs’ 4-3 win over the White Sox in the City Series on Aug. 18, 2026, at Wrigley Field. | | | | | Three of the four teams in the CCL Blue begin the season in the top 25, led by 2025 state champions Mount Carmel and Brother Rice. | | | | | Just after the Cubs beat the White Sox in Monday night’s City Series opener, Chicago police were called to Wrigley Field and found paramedics attending to a man with a nosebleed. | | | | | For the Chicago Bears defense to make meaningful improvements in 2026, Montez Sweat might have to take his game to another level in his eighth season. | | | | | Backup QB Tyson Bagent didn’t participate Tuesday as the Chicago Bears held a physical practice during training camp at Halas Hall. | | | | | The Chicago Bears can count themselves fortunate Kyle Monangai’s injury, reportedly a hyperextended knee, wasn’t worse. | | | | | Brayden Parks picks Notre Dame and gets to work for Brother Rice, which is No. 2 in the Daily Southtown preseason rankings. | | | | | NIU-bound Brennon Zeng leads talented receiver trio for Batavia, which is No. 2 in Beacon-News/Courier-News preseason rankings. | | | |
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