The Chicago Cubs and host Chicago White Sox have alternated lopsided victories to begin the first leg of their annual crosstown series.

Any kind of win will suffice on Sunday afternoon, however, as the clubs meet in the deciding game of a three-game weekend set.

Munetaka Murakami delivered his first career multi-homer game on Saturday to key an 8-3 victory for the White Sox, who regrouped from Friday’s 10-5 loss.

Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery went deep for the second straight night for the White Sox, while Andrew Benintendi also connected.

Vargas is hitting .406 with five home runs and 10 RBIs against the Cubs in nine games over the past two seasons.

“I just want to compete out there. I want to be the best I can be in the field,” Vargas said. “We’ve got a lot of excitement for this series, and I just want to be part of it with the boys. We had a good game today, and hopefully we’ve got another one tomorrow.”

The Cubs were out-homered 5-2 in Saturday’s loss, with Miguel Amaya and Pete Crow-Armstrong connecting.

“The ball was flying today,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I’m not saying that they hit any real cheapies. … They came out swinging. They played their tails off.”

The Cubs’ Alex Bregman joined Amaya with a two-hit game to extend his hitting streak to seven. Bregman is batting .333 (10-for-30) during that span.

The White Sox and Cubs will meet again for a three-game series in August at Wrigley Field.

On Sunday, right-hander Erick Fedde will try to pitch the White Sox to their fifth series victory in the past six sets, which would secure a 6-3 finish to a nine-game homestand.

Fedde (0-4, 3.77 ERA) was in line for his first victory on Tuesday before the bullpen squandered a three-run lead against the Kansas City Royals in a game the White Sox won 6-5.

Fedde scattered two runs and six hits in five innings, but the individual accomplishment didn’t seem to matter to him, as he called the team’s victory one “that kind of proves the growth of this team and where it’s headed.”

For the Cubs, right-hander Colin Rea (4-2, 4.68 ERA) will aim to regroup Sunday from a shaky outing in his most recent start.

After yielding two home runs in a 5-2 loss at Atlanta on Tuesday, Rea pledged to be more confident and resilient. He spaced five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Braves while recording just one strikeout.

“When they’re putting good swings on good pitches, sometimes it can make it tough to still trust it and still go after them,” Rea said. “And sometimes you think you’ve got to make a better pitch, or like a perfect pitch, and you don’t necessarily have to do that. You just have to continue to execute.”

Fedde is 0-3 with an 8.54 ERA in six career starts against the Cubs, with 28 strikeouts in 26 1/3 innings.

Rea has pitched to a decision-less record and a 2.45 ERA over 7 1/3 innings in two previous appearances against the White Sox, including one start.

–Field Level Media

The Kansas City Royals are approaching desperation mode as they enter Sunday afternoon’s finale of a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals on a six-game losing streak.

The visiting Royals have been in contention in the first two games of the I-70 Series, but an end to their slide continues to elude them. They lost 5-4 in 11 innings on Friday, 4-2 on Saturday, and are in last place in the American League Central.

After a sweep by the Chicago White Sox, the Royals are 0-5 on their six-game road trip.

Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said the team’s effort on Saturday didn’t match the results.

“I thought there were positives with the at-bats,” Quatraro said. “We’re going to give ourselves chances. That’s the best you can do to start out, and then hopefully some of them fall in. But the approaches were pretty good.”

The Royals scored a run on five hits and three walks in six innings off Cardinals starter Kyle Leahy but didn’t manage a game-breaking hit, leaving the bases loaded in the second without scoring. A solo home run by Jac Caglianone in the ninth offered little consolation in another defeat.

Still, Quatraro said he knows — positive signs aside — that his team is going to need to turn this skid around in a hurry.

“Nobody wants to hear about encouragement. They want to hear about wins and losses and runs scored,” he said. “It doesn’t do us any good to talk about that, other than there’s no choice but to keep pushing forward.”

Right-hander Stephen Kolek (1-0, 6.75 ERA) is scheduled to start for Kansas City on Sunday.

Kolek, 29, was part of the trade that sent catcher Freddy Fermin from the Royals to the San Diego Padres last July. Kolek took a no-decision in his most recent start on Tuesday, when he allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings in a 6-5 to the White Sox.

Kolek is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA against St Louis in two career appearances (one start).

The Cardinals will start Andre Pallante (4-3, 4.46 ERA) on Sunday. The 27-year-old right-hander has decisions in his past six starts and is 3-3, as he has alternated wins and losses.

His most recent start was a win when he gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in five innings of the Cardinals’ 6-4 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday. In his two May starts — the first was a 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers — he has allowed eight runs in 11 innings.

He is 1-1 all-time vs. the Royals, with a 5.68 ERA in five appearances (four starts).

St. Louis got a big offensive contribution Saturday from No. 9 hitter Victor Scott II, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

The 25-year-old center fielder, a Gold Glove finalist last season, is known for his defensive prowess, but manager Oliver Marmol said Scott is working to improve offensively.

In 234 career games, he has a .204 batting average but is hitting only .193 this season.

“He’s been working hard at a couple things, physically and mentally,” Marmol said. “Aand it’s good to see some of the contact we’ve been seeing as of late — even the ones that aren’t falling in for him. The approach and the overall swing is where we want it.”

–Field Level Media

Having dropped three consecutive series and five of their previous six, the Houston Astros acknowledged the accomplishment of claiming a three-game set against the visiting Texas Rangers with their 4-1 victory on Saturday.

The Astros will seek their second sweep of the season on Sunday. A win in the finale of the Silver Boot Series would represent a step in the right direction for a club attempting to claw back into contention.

“It builds momentum, it builds confidence,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “We just won a series; we haven’t won one in a while.

“But let’s not get complacent, winning two games in a series. Let’s go show up (Sunday) and sweep these guys. That’s how you build a good winning streak and get back in the race.”

Part of building that momentum could come in the form of reinforcements arriving in short order. Shortstop Jeremy Pena (hamstring) and center fielder Jake Meyers (oblique) played for Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday and are nearing completion of their rehab assignments.

Right-hander Nate Pearson (elbow) is slated to pitch for Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, and barring any setbacks, all three could be reinstated from the injured list and join the Astros in Minnesota next week.

“There is a chance that you will see those guys at some point, hopefully in that series (against the Twins) if everything goes well in the next two days,” Espada said.

However, the Astros have a new injury concern. Veteran second baseman Jose Altuve left the game Saturday after his at-bat in the eighth inning with what was described as soreness on the left side. He is set for an MRI.

Right-hander Peter Lambert (2-3, 2.76 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Astros on Sunday.

Lambert was the pitcher of record in a 3-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners on Monday despite posting his second consecutive quality start, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts across seven innings. It marked the second straight start that Lambert logged seven innings, matching his previous career high.

Lambert has faced the Rangers once previously as a member of the Colorado Rockies. He allowed two runs on three hits with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings of relief on May 19, 2023. He did not factor into the decision of a 7-2 loss.

Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (4-4, 4.15) has the starting assignment in the finale for the Rangers.

Eovaldi was scratched from his previous outing on Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks with left side tightness, however he threw a bullpen session on Wednesday. Before missing his turn in the rotation, Eovaldi recorded back-to-back wins over the New York Yankees, allowing one run on seven hits and one walk with 15 strikeouts across 15 combined innings.

Eovaldi, a Houston native, is 4-5 with a 3.74 ERA in 14 career starts against the Astros. He faced the Astros twice last season, going 1-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings.

Rangers shortstop Corey Seager was unavailable Saturday after suffering from back spasms that morning. Seager was a healthy scratch in the series opener on Friday, and the club will monitor his progress in the coming days before determining his availability in the near term.

“I don’t know. We’ll see what happens,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. “I’ve had them before. One day it’s great, and a couple of days later you still have them. I think they’re finicky.

“I don’t have a ton of concern. You never want to hear anything with your superstar player about anything, but I’m fairly confident that he will be back soon.”

–Field Level Media