Cubs lose rivalry game against White Sox |
CHICAGO - Granted, every game is essential during a 162-game MLB season, but some wins are more important than others, especially this late in the season. With less than 45 games to go, the Chicago Cubs (61-58) are entering a stretch that could make or break their season, as the next 12 games could decide their playoff fate.
With the Brewers playing the likes of the Dodgers, Rangers, Padres, and Phillies, you have the Cubs getting a much softer schedule with Pittsburgh, Detroit, Kansas City, and Chicago over the next two weeks, as it is now or never for them to make a move. Looking to start this massive stretch off on the right foot, the Cubs welcomed their hated Chicago White Sox (48-72) to Wrigley Field as the Crosstown Cup continued. Needing just one win to clinch the 2023 cup, the Cubs turned to Kyle Hendricks in hopes of him finding his mojo again. Granted, he wasn't great, but Hendricks still managed to give the Cubs a quality start allowing three runs in six innings. His effort wasn't quite good enough as the Sox started strong and finished stronger the Luis Robert homer in the seventh proved to be the winning run as the White Sox tacked on a ninth-inning insurance run to win 5-3. One of Hendricks's most significant issues as of late is his inability to start well, which was once again the problem. Hendricks struggled to locate his pitches the first few innings walking Andrew Benintendi with one out in the first before singles from Robert and Eloy Jimenez loaded the bases with one out. Hendricks did his best to get out of the inning and got Yoan Moncada to ground out, which did push across the game's first run for an early 1-0 Sox lead. With guys like Lucas Giolitto and Lance Lynn dealt at the trade deadline, the White Sox staff is very thin as they turned to Touki Toussaint on the mound. Toussaint was shaky early as his command was an issue as he lasted just three innings after allowing three runs. All three of those runs came off the long ball, with Ian Happ touching him up in the first to put the Cubs in front 2-1. Ian Happ - Chicago Cubs (14) pic.twitter.com/3ND1jD2C9W
Their lead didn't last long as the White Sox continued to hit Hendricks hard in the second. What started with a leadoff single from Yasmani Grandal was followed by a one-out single from Zach Remilard as the White Sox had runners on the corners with one out. Remilard would later steal second to put himself in scoring position ahead of the third single of the inning from Elvis Andrus to put the White Sox back in front 3-2. From then on, Hendricks was very good as he worked around a few baserunners but didn't allow a run the rest of the way, giving his offense a chance to rally. Despite Toussaint struggling in the third, the Cubs couldn't get anything done against him and had to rely on the long ball once again in the fourth. This time, Seiya Suzuki came through as he left the building for a solo shot to bring things back to even 3-3. Since his four-day benching, Suzuki is much more dialed in at the plate as he looks more locked in. Seiya Suzuki - Chicago Cubs (11) pic.twitter.com/S8u9iRTpoX
With Hendricks starting to make things look easy on the mound, the White Sox knew their bullpen had their work cut out for them as they would be tested the rest of the way. Tanner Banks was the first out of the pen and worked around a leadoff walk to Nico Hoerner in the fifth. He was followed by Lane Ramsey, who allowed a leadoff single to Jeimer Candelario before keeping the Cubs off the board. As the seventh inning started, it was time for Andy Green to go to his pen as David Ross was ejected. First out was Julian Merryweather, who has quietly been getting on a nice roll again. Merryweather got off to a great start by retiring the first two hitters he faced, only to see Robert Jr unload on a hanging slider and deposit it over the left field fence to make things 4-3. That homer proved to be the game-winning run, as the Cub's offense was basically lifeless all night. The key play of the game came in the bottom of the seventh when Hoerner picked up a one-out single against Aaron Bummer. Hoerner would elect to try and steal second base only to be thrown out by Grandal on a perfect. Upon replay footage, Hoerner may have gotten in there, but the Cubs elected not to challenge. Another essential play came one inning later when Cody Bellinger just missed a game-tying solo shot only to have Oscar Colas catch the ball on the track. That was about as much excitement as they would have the rest of the way, with Gregory Santos coming in to strike out three of the five hitters he faced while Benintendi picked up a massive insurance run off Adbert Alzolay in the ninth to lead the White Sox to the series opening 5-3 win. Despite the loss, the Cubs didn't drop in the division standings, as both the Reds and Brewers lost their games on Tuesday. Chicago had five hits in the loss, with Hoerner leading the way with two. The Cubs will look to split the series tomorrow and claim the crosstown Cup as Javier Assad will take the ball against Mike Clevinger. Initially slated to be Marcus Stroman, the righty was scratched from his start after experiencing ribcage soreness.
