>> It's time to get Wild.

Chicago.

The MLB playoffs are nearly here.

And for the first time since 2020 baseball fans on both sides of town have something to root for as the Cubs and White Sox have made it to the postseason.

The best of 3 wild-card series begins tomorrow with the Cubs taking on the Padres and San Diego and the Sox facing the Astros in Houston.

Joining us to talk about their upcoming matchups.

Our Alex Cohen play-by-play broadcaster with Cubs Marquee Sports Network and Jeff Miller, the Prairie and postgame host, 4 White Sox radio broadcast on ESPN, Chicago.

Welcome to the studio.

Good to have you both in here.

It's great to be so.

A lot of excitement around both teams getting this far.

We are the only city with 2 MLB franchises to have both teams make it to this year's postseason.

Alex, what is having both the Cubs and the White Sox in the postseason?

What does that do for the city and for baseball fit happy city?

I mean, you be able to extend some are just a little bit longer from.

>> The dog days to September even October.

I mean, even the biggest Chicago sports fans, I'm no expectation that both the Cubs and the White Sox would make the postseason.

So.

>> You know, they say like make the best team win.

We'll have both teams Let's bring some playoff baseball back to Chicago for the divisional round.

I think it's really special for the city.

>> Geoff Cubs and White Sox.

They don't always get to share the spotlight.

We were joking earlier about how often the 2 of you are even in the same room.

But with both teams in the playoffs, does this postseason bring a little bit more energy to the crosstown rivalry?

Oh, absolutely.

I think welcome to baseball City USA Brand it's a >> a time where there's a short period where both teams have to play at their best to extend this.

Otherwise it will feel extremely brief anticlimactic.

If both teams don't advance.

But at the same time, it does extend that Cross town rivalry that I think most Chicagoans know very much exists.

And whether we can continue to dream about a cross time World Series at the very least.

I think both teams not only want to win and that's the place, but they want their fan bases to be able to have bragging rights moving forward as well.

They're going to come back to chances of across World Series to on that.

Jeff, the White Sox achievement, especially great, considering their dramatic turnaround.

>> From setting the record for the most losses in a season in 2024, they're now the first team in MLB history to reach the playoffs immediately following consecutive 100 game last season.

How do they turn it around from being basically, you know, such a losing team to make it to the playoffs?

Yeah, it's unprecedented and not just winning are making the playoffs for the first time after losing 100 games in consecutive seasons.

They actually did 3 years in a row.

So some history made by the White Sox and it starts with Chris Getz.

>> Who Jerry Reinsdorf hired as the GM in 2024, he took over and really you know, reset what the franchise was doing.

So it begins with him and everybody that he's brought into the franchise.

And then you can't underestimate the job that Will Venable has done as the manager he took over last season in 2025.

Laid the foundation.

I think and you saw some of what he did kind of come to fruition in the 2nd half of the season last year and they've been able to build on that.

A lot of young exciting players to now they're facing the Astros.

Astros have a lot more postseason experience.

How do you think they're gonna?

>> you expecting of that matchup?

Yeah, I think the truth is that the astro's for all their history there kind of in the dying embers of their dynasty, they made it with the first team to ever win their division without having a winning record.

>> They finished 81 81.

So they got here and by no means are they a juggernaut that they once were?

There are still some remaining champions from their roster, but they're definitely not in the spot where White Sox, the White Sox roster is fairing them in any I think they think it's a real opportunity to take advantage of a weak American League for the White Sox.

Alex had even the Cubs are going to stack up against Padres.

I mean, you look back to 2025 or they played the Padres in the postseason.

>> I do think that both the White Sox and the Cubs.

I mean, this might be my Chicago talking, but I think they're both gonna win their series.

I feel very confident that the White Sox are going to beat the Astros because they're better team.

And I think the Cubs are going to be the Padres because when they beat him in the postseason 2025, and to you look at their matchup over the course of the season, the Cubs dominated the Padres.

So I'm very confident both the White Sox and the Cubs are wanting walk or 2.

I love that optimism because I also want to stay with cubs for a little bit.

A peak or Armstrong.

He's at a historic season.

>> Becoming just the 7th player in MLB history to join the 40 40 club.

How important has he been to the team this year?

Mvp baseball, MVP of the National League.

24 years old.

Second full season.

>> In the big leagues Elliott's 45 homers, 41 stolen bases and is the best offensive player on the planet and just seeing his growth from when he made his big league debut in 2023.

Didn't have it when he had the 2nd half of last season where he really struggled just to be able to recover from that and be the best player in the National League and the Most valuable player in all of baseball.

The war.

It's been pretty special to watch.

He is the X factor.

He is the main factor in Pete Crow-armstrong goes well, the Cubs will go far Jeff, some of the Sox big hitters.

They've been struggling lately.

Do you think they can recapture some of that magic from the early season?

Yeah.

So Miguel Vargas, he's been up and down.

It points.

But >> for the most part, he's the heartbeat of the club.

And I think going into the playoffs, he's in a really good spot.

Want to talk to me lately.

He's starting to show signs of coming out of it.

Of course, he is a Japanese superstar that not only took the city by storm, but I think all of Major League Baseball before he suffered a hamstring injury at the end of May that, you know, put him in a spot where he had no work his way back.

It took a little bit.

I think he rushed back just because partially he wanted to be part of the All-Star festivities.

He to play part in the home run Derby.

So I think he rushed his way back a little bit.

He finally showed signs of getting back to the guy who was just a phenom to begin the 1st half of the season.

Colson Montgomery, on the other hand, not so much.

The White Sox the only team in baseball to have 3 hitters with at least 30 home runs.

Costa, Montgomery is one of those.

He also set the record for most strikeouts by hitter with 227 in a season this past weekend.

So he's absolutely in a funk.

He's on Sunday spoke about this being a reset and opportunity for a reset for a player like him.

But at the same time at the plate, he hasn't showed no signs.

So I think even though he is selfless as a player and teammate, I'm not sure that he can really bring what he's brought throughout the regular season.

Alex comes been pitching.

They've had some pitching injuries this year aiming to bulk up bulk up the bullpen with How critical will really pictures.

I just like the new acquisitions to the Cubs will be very important, whether that is Clay Holmes weather.

That is Kevin Gausman.

>> And David Peterson, who they got prior to the trade deadline, whether they are starters, whether they're in the bullpen.

>> They're gets a major big-time important out for the Cubs against the Padres in any capacity.

Craig Counsell talks about getting 27 outs doesn't matter if it's the first the 3rd inning or the 4th, the 6 inning, the 8th inning.

And I you got to get 27 outs.

So I think that all those 3 acquisitions at the Cup set to go along with the ride's John will play huge roles for the Cubs in the wild-card series.

All Right.

And Jeff White Sox pitching been somewhat piece together.

What is the group in order for the team to make the playoff from?

I think bigger I think someone is being generous because the truth is that they lead all of baseball in terms of relief innings pitched.

So conversely, if you lead all of baseball and relief innings, you also have the least amount of starting pitching innings.

And that has been an issue credit to Will Venable and entire coaching staff because they found a way.

>> Each and every game to as Alex was just talking about cover those 27 out.

And I think that's something that a class baseball little bit more of a modern mentality where, you know, it's not traditional starters, give you 6 or 7 innings and you're going to ride those guys.

You know, as much as you can call us or the Yes, yes, but not every team has that paper to this that I think.

Well, that extraordinary job with his bullpen and more so than anything.

I think the harder thing, Alex, you could probably agree with this or disagree, but I think that it for the hardest thing in baseball as a manager like Will Venable is to get buy-in from pitchers who aren't necessarily used to that type of mentality.

They all want to go out there and, you give you 100 120 pitches and give you everything they have.

But the truth is it's not the most effective usually for baseball teams in this era.

All right.

Less than a minute left Alex, first to you.

You think think Chicago could be headed for a red line?

Double header.

>> I would love I think there's some really good teams in baseball right now.

Obviously in the National League.

The Brewers are great.

You know, the Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series and then you go to the American League in.

When you look at teams like the Yankees and the Rays and you know, the Red Sox their turnaround from from the 1st half of the season.

But anything's possible Kevin Garnet.

And when you have both teams in the playoffs, yeah, of course there's a chance to a nice little exposure is here in Chicago it comes to the second.

Yeah, I think it's it's absolutely a possibility.

The randomness of the playoffs, though it's vastly different than what regular season baseball is.

And I actually think it could play to both teams strengths, though, that the Cubs can slide with the best of him and the White have proven they can win with their bullpen all season long.

So I'm not ruling anything out right then.

You know what I'm going I'm not going ask about the World