1997
Wilson Alvarez’s four-hit shutout June 18 gave the host Sox the series two games to one, but there’s always something special about the first of anything. On June 16, Evanston native Kevin Foster of the Cubs was the starter and winner of the first “for real” game between the rivals since the 1906 World Series. Foster was staked to a 6-0 lead after three as even guys such as Scott Servais, Kevin Orie and Rey Sanchez hit rockets off ex-Cub Jaime Navarro, who was roundly booed by Cubs and Sox fans alike.
1998
The Cubs, with Sammy Sosa homering in each game as his miraculous June continued, swept the three-game set at Wrigley. With two out and Wil Cordero at first in the eighth inning of the series opener, Magglio Ordonez lined a double to right-center that should have scored the run easily. But Sosa signaled the ball was stuck in the vines and Cordero was ordered to return to third base on the ground-rule double. The Cubs got out of the jam and Brant Brown homered leading off the 12th to win the game 6-5.
1999
The Cubs entered the June 11 series opener at Wrigley on a roll, at 32-24, two games back of NL Central leader Houston. In came the lowly Sox, along with the rain. The Sox won a rain-shortened game Friday and romped 8-2 in nine Saturday. And then came the killer. After a long rain delay Sunday, Sox shortstop Mike Caruso, not exactly your prototypical power hitter, launched a two-run eighth-inning homer off Rick Aguilera for a 6-4 lead that held up and gave the Sox the sweep. The Cubs lost six of their next seven and, incredibly, finished 67-95.
2000
Friday night, June 9 at The Cell before 44,140, the Sox one out from another victory in what would be a division-championship season. Facing Sox closer Keith Foulke, Sosa crushed one into the seats in left to tie the game, which dragged on till the 14th inning. That’s when Ray Durham doubled past third to score Herbert Perry with the winning run.
2001
A crowd of 45,936 turned out on Friday night, June 8 — the last Sox-Cubs night game on the South Side and one of David Wells’ last starts in a Sox uniform. Wells injured his back and departed during the Cubs’ two-run first inning. Sean Lowe came on to pitch five scoreless innings and the game moved to the 10th tied 3-3. With the bases loaded, Courtney Duncan struck out Ordonez for the second out, but Carlos Lee followed with a game-ending grand slam.
2002
In the finale of the Wrigley Field series, Lee hit another grand slam (off Kerry Wood) and a three-run shot (off Carlos Zambrano) in a 10-7 Sox win. But the weekend belonged to the Cubs and the much-maligned Todd Hundley. He went 5-for-11 with three home runs on what had to be his biggest weekend as a Cub.
2003
There was yet another Sox grand slam, not by Lee but by second-year catcher Miguel Olivo — off lefty Shawn Estes at Wrigley Field to cap a six-run first inning in the opener of the season series. The most dramatic blow, however, was Aaron Rowand’s two-run, game-tying homer off Antonio Alfonseca in the eighth inning of the June 28 game at The Cell. The Sox went on to win 7-6 in the ninth on a surprise single up the middle by D’Angelo Jimenez, almost as maligned as Hundley.
2004
The 4th of July weekend was all Cubs, who swept the series at Wrigley and won the season series 4-2. The highlight was the holiday game, ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” matchup. Derrek Lee homered in the second off Mark Buehrle, and that was it — until the ninth. Facing LaTroy Hawkins with one out, Carlos Lee homered to tie it 1-1. In the last of the ninth, Moises Alou singled off Shingo Takatsu and went to second on Derrek Lee’s sacrifice bunt. Michael Barrett was walked intentionally, Ramon Martinez unintentionally. Out went Takatsu and in came Damaso Marte, who promptly walked Todd Walker to force in the winning run.
2005
The World Series-champions-to-be were denied a season series victory by two Cubs once thought to be saviors: Mark Prior and Corey Patterson. On June 28 on the South Side, Patterson homered off Jon Garland to break a scoreless tie in the sixth, and Prior — making his first start in a month — threw six innings of one-hit ball. Jerome Williams and Ryan Dempster finished up the 2-0 triumph, Dempster getting the save when Carl Everett bounced into a game-ending double play.
2006
As usual, A.J. Pierzynski was at the center of things. In the second inning of the series’ second game at The Cell, he scored on a short fly to left, and then, when he touched home plate a bit too emphatically to suit the Cubs’ Barrett, he caught a Barrett punch in the face, starting a benches-clearing brawl. The brawl was followed soon by Tadahito Iguchi’s grand slam. On the North Side a month later, Pierzynski, with two on, two out and the Cubs up 6-5, blasted a game-winning homer off Dempster.
