| Date | Location | Score | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| May Series — Wrigley Field | |||
| May 18 | Wrigley Field | Sox 3–2 | White Sox W: Thornton (2-3) L: Samardzija (4-2) SV: Reed (4). HR: Konerko (8), Beckham (3). Konerko HR off Samardzija in the 1st, then Samardzija plunks him in the face next AB. Konerko leaves the game. Fill-in mgr Jamie Quirk (replacing ejected Sveum) leaves Samardzija in to bat — he singles to tie the game. Beckham solo HR wins it. Kerry Wood retires after striking out Viciedo, walks off to a standing ovation, gets hugged by his son on the field. |
| May 19 | Wrigley Field | Sox 7–4 | White Sox W: Danks (3-4) L: Dempster (0-2). HR: Viciedo (7), Pierzynski (6), Dunn (13), Mather (3), Soriano (3). Adam Dunn redemption tour, year two — on his way to 41 HRs in 2012. |
| May 20 | Wrigley Field | Sox 6–0 | White Sox Sox sweep Wrigley. Cubs shut out for the second time in three games. |
| June Series — U.S. Cellular Field | |||
| June 18 | U.S. Cellular Field | Cubs 12–3 | Cubs Cubs demolish the Sox at the Cell. 12-3. The North Side remembered how to hit. |
| June 19 | U.S. Cellular Field | Cubs 2–1 | Cubs Cubs win back-to-back at the Cell to make the series competitive. |
| June 20 | U.S. Cellular Field | Sox 7–0 | White Sox Sox shut out the Cubs to take the series and the Crosstown Classic for the fourth straight year. Q: What does Cubs stand for? A: Completely Useless By September. |
Four straight years. The Sox took the Crosstown Classic for the fourth consecutive season in 2012, and did it in typically dramatic fashion — complete with a beaning, a retirement, and a Cubs collapse.
May 18 at Wrigley was the game of the year. Paul Konerko homered off Jeff Samardzija in the 1st inning. Next time up, Samardzija hit Konerko in the face with a pitch. Konerko left the game. Samardzija claimed it got away from him. The count was 2-2 at the time. You decide. Cubs manager Dale Sveum was already ejected by then, and fill-in Jamie Quirk left Samardzija in to bat in the 8th — he singled to tie the game. Gordon Beckham hit a solo HR to win it. Then Kerry Wood came in, faced one batter, struck out Dayan Viciedo, and walked off the Wrigley mound for the last time. His son ran out and hugged him on the field. The whole park stood.
The Cubs answered back at the Cell in June — a 12-3 demolition in Game 4 and a 2-1 win in Game 5. For a moment it looked like they might take the series. Then the Sox shut them out 7-0 in the finale to close it out. Four straight. Q: What does Cubs stand for? A: Completely Useless By September. (That’s from the original notes, not our words. Well, our words now.)