BOX SCORE

CHICAGO — The Cubs opened the 2025 Crosstown Series with a bang Friday at Wrigley Field, beating the White Sox 13-3 behind a six-run second inning.

The Cubs (26-19) now have won six consecutive matchups against their South Side rivals (14-31), bringing their all-time head-to-head record to 73-74.

Here are three things we learned from another big Cubs victory:

Windy Windy City

With the wind blowing out to left field at up to 27 mph, Cubs rookie right-hander Cade Horton faced a tough task in his first MLB start. Horton has been a fly-ball pitcher in his minor league career, though he did reduce that percentage in Triple-A between 2024 (53.2 percent) and 2025 (45.9 percent).

The White Sox quickly took advantage of that when Miguel Vargas sent Horton’s hanging two-strike slider 402 feet to the left field bleachers in the top of the first inning. The two-out blast put the White Sox up 2-0 early and left Horton with a 27-pitch opening frame.

Vargas took Horton deep again in the third — this time a solo shot to straightaway center field.

Vargas’ first career multi-homer game proved to be the only damage Horton sustained in the start. The righty settled in behind run support from his offense, finishing the five-inning outing with three earned runs on seven hits.

Horton threw 52 of his 79 pitches for strikes, striking out two in the process.

Horton now has collected the win in each of his first two MLB outings, and he holds a 6.00 ERA across nine innings.

Big Three are a big deal

The top of the Cubs’ batting order was as dangerous as ever.

Pete Crow-Armstrong has settled back into the leadoff spot, posting a four-hit game for the second time in his career and his first since Aug. 28, 2024 in Pittsburgh. Among those was a three-run homer in the second inning that broke the deadlock and opened the floodgates for the Cubs.

Crow-Armstrong drove in six runs, and his 12 home runs and 35 RBI rank fourth in each category in MLB.

Kyle Tucker, who on Thursday shared a picture of his Giordano’s Pizza order with the caption “Hoping (it) has some knocks in it,” was rewarded with his first multi-hit game since May 6.

Tucker’s triple in the second inning was his fourth of the year and his second in the last four games. His four triples tie him for the second-most in MLB. 

Seiya Suzuki rounded out the trio with two doubles and two RBI. His 37 total RBI stand alone as the second-most in MLB, just four behind league leader Aaron Judge.

Suzuki is breaking out of his 2-for-30 slump from earlier in the month, and his slash line now is back up to .246/.301/.521 with an .822 OPS. 

A day of firsts

Horton and Moises Ballesteros, who have been teammates in the Cubs organization since 2022, started an MLB game together for the first time Friday.

Both made their second MLB appearance, but Horton started his first game as a member of the Cubs’ rotation, filling in for Shota Imanaga. It also was Horton’s first Wrigley appearance after he made his debut last week at Citi Field against the New York Mets.

Ballesteros rejoined the Cubs’ lineup after he debuted as a designated hitter Tuesday against the Miami Marlins. His biggest moment came in the eighth inning when he ripped his first MLB hit to right-center for an RBI single.

Ballesteros also collected his first MLB RBI on a fielder’s choice in the second inning.

Both rookies ended on a high note, as Horton came away with the win. 

The rivalry continues Saturday at 1:20 p.m. CT with Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd (3-2, 2.78 ERA) taking the mound opposite White Sox right-hander Sean Burke (2-4, 4.15 ERA). Fans can watch the game on Marquee Sports Network or stream it live on the Marquee Sports Network app.