CHICAGO (Interstat) — Munetaka Murakami hit two home runs and drove in three runs as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field. Davis Martin struck out seven over six innings, allowing one earned run and five hits to improve to 6-1. Miguel Vargas added a three-run homer in the first inning. Andrew Benintendi and Colson Montgomery also homered for the White Sox. Both teams finished with eight hits. The Cubs scored on solo shots by Miguel Amaya in the sixth and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer in the ninth. Jameson Taillon took the loss, falling to 2-3. Attendance was 38,795. The game lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes. The White Sox improved to 23-22, while the Cubs dropped to 29-17. The teams conclude the series Sunday.

CHICAGO (Interstat) — Munetaka Murakami homered twice and drove in three runs, and Davis Martin pitched six strong innings as the Chicago White Sox defeated the Chicago Cubs 8-3 on Saturday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox jumped on Cubs starter Jameson Taillon early, scoring three runs in the first inning. Sam Antonacci led off with a single, and Murakami drew a walk before Miguel Vargas launched a three-run home run to left-center field, his 11th of the season. Vargas finished with three RBIs despite going 1 for 4. Chicago White Sox added two runs in the third inning on back-to-back solo home runs by Murakami and Colson Montgomery. Murakami’s shot to center field was his 16th, and Montgomery’s drive to right field, his 13th, was upheld after a replay review. The White Sox led 5-0 after three. The Cubs got on the board in the sixth inning when catcher Miguel Amaya homered to left-center field, his third of the year. But the White Sox answered in the bottom half when Andrew Benintendi hit a solo home run to right-center field, his third, extending the lead to 8-1. Murakami struck again in the fifth inning with another two-run homer, his 17th, after Antonacci singled. That gave the White Sox a 7-0 advantage. The White Sox totaled eight hits, matching the Cubs’ output. Martin (6-1) allowed five hits and one earned run while striking out seven over six innings. He retired the side in order in the second and third innings and worked out of a jam in the fourth when the Cubs put runners on first and second with one out but failed to score. Taillon (2-3) took the loss, giving up seven runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three. The Cubs bullpen combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings, with Ethan Roberts striking out three over two hitless innings and Ryan Rolison adding a scoreless inning with one strikeout. The Cubs mounted a late rally in the ninth inning. Michael Conforto led off with a double, and after Matt Shaw struck out, Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-run home run to right field, his fifth, cutting the deficit to 8-3. But White Sox reliever Trevor Richards, who allowed two earned runs on two hits over two innings, induced a flyout and a groundout to end the game. The announced attendance was 38,795, and the game lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes. The victory evened the four-game crosstown series at one game apiece after the Cubs won 10-5 on Friday. The White Sox improved to 23-22, while the Cubs fell to 29-17. The most critical stretch occurred in the first three innings, when the White Sox built a five-run lead and never let the Cubs recover. Vargas’s three-run blast in the first inning set the tone, and Murakami’s two solo shots — one in the third and another in the fifth — kept the White Sox comfortably ahead. The Cubs managed only two runs in the ninth, their only runs outside of Amaya’s solo homer. Both teams conclude the series Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Cubs then host the Milwaukee Brewers for three games starting Monday, while the White Sox travel to Seattle for a three-game set against the Mariners. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Chicago Cubs 6, Chicago White Sox 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected the Cubs with a 64.90 percent probability to win. The Cubs had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over/under line of 8.

CHICAGO (Interstat) — The Chicago Cubs (28-16) visit the Chicago White Sox (22-21) at Guaranteed Rate Field on Saturday at a time to be determined, with first pitch expected under clear skies and 72-degree conditions. Right-hander Jameson Taillon (2-2) is scheduled to start for the Cubs. The White Sox will counter with right-hander Davis Martin (5-1). The Cubs enter the game following a 2-0 win Thursday against the Atlanta Braves, a game in which reliever Ben Brown threw four scoreless innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts. Brown, who also earned the win, has been a dominant force out of the bullpen in recent weeks, allowing only two hits and one earned run over his last 12 2/3 innings across seven appearances, striking out 18. The White Sox took their series opener against the Kansas City Royals with a 6-2 victory Thursday, powered by left fielder Randal Grichuk, who went 2 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs. Grichuk has been productive at the plate this month, with three home runs and six RBIs in his last six games. In the most recent head-to-head matchup Friday, the Cubs routed the White Sox 10-4. Chicago’s North Side club has won seven of its last 10 regular-season games, while the South Side club has won four straight following Thursday’s victory. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-5 final score in favor of the Cubs, and the ELO system gives Chicago a 64.9 percent probability of winning. The Cubs are favored by 1.5 runs, and the over/under is set at 8 total runs. Following Saturday’s contest, the rivalry series concludes Sunday at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Cubs then return home for a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers, while the White Sox begin a six-game road trip Monday in Seattle.