Wrigleyville's Biggest Week Yet: Pirates Series Opens Tomorrow With a Sammy Sosa Bobblehead Sunday, Then the Braves Roll In for a Playoff-Stakes Showdown
By Socialhood News · Wrigleyville ·
Wrigleyville neighbors, clear your weekend calendar — and maybe the one after it, too. The block around Clark and Addison is about to enter one of the most consequential seven-day stretches of the entire 2026 season, with seven consecutive home games across two marquee opponents arriving just as the Cubs' playoff push is hitting its most urgent chapter.
It starts tomorrow, Friday, September 11, when the Pittsburgh Pirates arrive at Wrigley Field for a four-game homestand. First pitch Friday is set for 1:20 p.m. CT, with Saturday's game also scheduled for 1:20 p.m. CT. Sunday, September 13, tips off at 1:20 p.m. CT as well — and that Sunday game carries a bonus for the first fans through the gates: a Sammy Sosa Bobblehead giveaway. Sosa, of course, is one of the most electrifying figures in Cubs history, and a bobblehead in his likeness is the kind of collectible that will have neighbors queuing up early on Clark Street. Tickets for all four Pirates games are available through Ticketmaster.
Then, without so much as a day off, the Atlanta Braves pull into Wrigleyville starting Monday, September 14, for a three-game set. All three Braves games — Monday the 14th, Tuesday the 15th, and Wednesday the 16th — are scheduled for a 6:40 p.m. CT first pitch, meaning three consecutive evening games that will light up Clark Street well into the night. The Braves are a perennial National League contender, and a mid-September visit from Atlanta carries genuine stakes for both clubs as the wild card picture sharpens.
The backdrop for all of this is a Cubs squad that has been one of the better stories in the National League all year. Craig Counsell's club enters this homestand at 79-62 on the season, a .560 winning percentage that reflects the depth of a roster built around a core that includes Pete Crow-Armstrong — whose MVP campaign bid has become one of the most talked-about storylines in the league this September, according to the Cubs' own August/September 2026 program. The team is coming off a 92-70 season in 2025 that ended in a five-game NL Division Series against Milwaukee, and the 2026 version has clearly picked up where that postseason run left off.
For Wrigleyville as a neighborhood, the timing of this homestand matters. After the historic volleyball doubleheader on September 6, the block around Clark and Addison now pivots immediately back to baseball — and back to baseball with consequence. Evening games against the Braves in particular mean that Clark Street's bars, restaurants, and rooftop clubs will be operating at full September capacity on a Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night, a mid-week jolt of energy that the neighborhood's hospitality corridor runs on heading into the final weeks of the season.
If you're planning to be at Wrigley for the Sosa Bobblehead giveaway on Sunday the 13th, experienced neighbors know the drill: arrive well before first pitch at 1:20 p.m. CT, as promotional giveaways go to the first fans through the gates and supplies are always limited. Tickets for the Pirates series and the Braves series are available now on Ticketmaster, with Cubs tickets starting as low as $12.24 depending on seat location and game. All tickets are mobile-only via the MLB Ballpark app.
Neighbors, are you heading out for the Sosa Bobblehead on Sunday? And who's grabbing seats for one of the Braves evening games next week? Drop your seat section and your pre-game spot in the comments — and let your neighbors know where to be on Clark Street this weekend.
Sources:
1. https://www.ticketmaster.com/Wrigley-Field-tickets-Chicago/venue/32839
2. https://www.wrigleyvillesports.com/products/chicago-baseball-august-september-2026-issue-program-scorecard
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Chicago_Cubs_season
4. https://www.eventticketscenter.com/chicago-cubs-tickets/354/e
5. https://www.ticketmaster.com/chicago-cubs-tickets/artist/805915