Plenty to scream and shout about
Regardless of what happens in this regular-season finale between the Cubs and White Sox, both teams are guaranteed to be in first place 81 games into the season.
In case you don't appreciate how rare this is in Chicago, both teams haven't been in first place at the season's midpoint since 1977. Before that, it was 1907.
And before that? Well, there hasn't been a before that.
"I never remember about this city being so excited about these ballclubs," said Sox manager Ozzie Guillen.
It's just the third time in 108 seasons, so enjoy the double dose of pennant fever as the races unfold.
The Sox kick off their second half with today's home game against Cleveland, while the Cubs began their final 81 games Sunday night.
Here's how it went down at U.S. Cellular Field before another sellout of 39,573.
First inning
The Cubs head to San Francisco immediately after this game, but it's Sox starter Mark Buehrle who's pitching like he has a plane to catch. He needs just 9 pitches to set down the visitors.
Cubs lefty Sean Marshall doesn't diddle around either. He requires 13 pitches for his 1-2-3 frame.
Second inning
Who thought it would take this long for Lou Piniella to earn his first ejection of the year?
When first-base umpire Chad Fairchild blows a check-swing call on Joe Crede - costing Marshall a strikeout with runners on second and third and nobody out - Piniella storms out of the dugout as quickly as he has moved all year.
While Piniella yells in Fairchild's direction, home-plate ump Rob Drake ejects Piniella behind his back. That increases his fury, which he spreads around to everyone except second-base ump Mark Wegner.
The upshot? Crede eventually strikes out on another failed check-swing and the Sox go on to squander a big threat.
In that regard, they share misery with the Cubs.
With two outs and Geovany Soto on second, Buehrle saves himself a run when he sticks out his right foot and deflects Jim Edmonds' hard grounder ticketed for center field toward first base.
Edmonds reaches on the infield single and Henry Blanco walks to load the bases, but Buehrle induces a Ronny Cedeno popup to end the threat.
Third inning
While taking groundballs from Joey Cora during batting practice, Sox second baseman Alexei Ramirez works on his glove-hand flips to the shortstop.
Practice makes perfect as Ramirez catches a Ryan Theriot grounder and, in one swift motion, flips it from his glove to Orlando Cabrera for a forceout that nearly becomes a double play.
Hard to believe Ramirez is considered to be a better shortstop.
Fourth inning
Carlos Quentin jumps on Marshall's first pitch and pulls it 405 feet down the left-field line to give the Sox a 1-0 lead ˆ- and himself a share of the American League home run lead.
Perhaps because he took Carlos Marmol deep to right field Saturday, it seems like Quentin rarely pulls the ball for his homers.
But his spray chart on MLB.com provides this info: Eleven of his 19 homers have been to left or left-center. Four others have been to center.
Fifth inning
Who thought it would take so little time for Alan Trammell to come within moments of his first ejection of the year?
When Fairchild calls Mark DeRosa out on a bang-bang 5-4-3 double play at first, acting manager Trammell rushes out to argue with him as well as Drake.
The replay proves Trammell to be right, but he leaves the field when Drake warns him he's about to go involuntarily.
Minutes later, Brian Anderson pumps the Sox lead to 3-0 with a 2-run shot into the second row of the bleachers.
Sixth inning
Aramis Ramirez pops out to right, which makes him 0-for-12 this series.
Last weekend he hit just as many homers (4) and came within 2 RBI (10) of the Sox all by himself.
Seventh inning
Start up your cellphone cameras, there's yet another fight - this time in the first few rows of the left-center field bleachers.
For the weekend's best brawl, check YouTube for footage of Saturday's knockdown-dragout in the upper deck.
Oh, and the Cubs finagle an unearned run to cut the margin to 3-1.
Eighth inning
Ramirez's series just gets more toxic for the Cubs. Sox setup man Scott Linebrink issues a leadoff walk to Theriot, but he fans Derrek Lee with a 95-mph fastball and gets Ramirez to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play. Jim Thome, who had been 0-for-6 in the series coming into this game, caps a nice night with a 421-foot blast to right off Jose Ascanio. It's his 522nd career homer, which pushes him past Ted Williams and Willie McCovey for 16th on the all-time list.
Ninth inning
With help from DeRosa's baserunning blunder with no outs and two runners in scoring position - he doesn't let Jim Edmonds' line drive get through the infield and gets doubled off second - Bobby Jenks nails down the Sox' 5-1 win. That maintains the Sox' 1-game lead over Minnesota in the AL Central, while the Cubs' margin over St. Louis shrinks to 2 games in the NL Central. And to think, it's only going to get crazier from here.