The Chicago Cubs’ probability to earn a London Series sweep and make up extra floor slipped by means of their fingers.
The Cubs are attempting to turn into solely the third crew in franchise historical past to fall 10 video games underneath .500 and get again to .500 in the identical season. They return residence to Wrigley Field on Tuesday after a memorable abroad journey with an ideal alternative to construct off the momentum they’ve discovered the final two weeks.
The White Sox didn’t have a lot success throughout a June 13-18 West Coast journey, going 2-4 in opposition to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners. They’ll goal for a greater consequence this week as they head west once more to face the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics.
Every Monday all through the season, Tribune baseball writers will present an replace on what occurred — and what’s forward — for the Cubs and Sox.
Michael Fulmer gives steering for Brandon Hughes
The dialog first got here up throughout spring coaching.
Cubs left-hander Brandon Hughes approached veteran reliever Michael Fulmer to debate a bothersome degenerative left knee challenge that derived from Hughes’ meniscus surgical procedure in 2015. Fulmer acknowledged Hughes was experiencing a variety of the identical issues he endured resulting in a distal femoral osteotomy in 2019 with the Detroit Tigers. Fulmer had Tommy John surgical procedure on the identical time, resulting in a double rehab.
“Looking back at it, it saved my career because there was no way I was going to pitch on the knee with the way it was,” Fulmer advised the Tribune on Sunday. “(Hughes) was still able to pitch, so I don’t know if his pain tolerance is better than mine or what, but we had the same thing going on, bone on bone and no cartilage with the meniscus. One of those freak things, but he’s done a heck of a job trying to work through it.”
Hughes will bear a distal femoral osteotomy on the finish of the month and is anticipated to be sidelined 9 months.
“I think it’s going to help his career long term and it definitely saved my career,” Fulmer stated. “And looking back at it, everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t be pitching now unless I had the surgery.”
Fulmer tried pitching by means of his knee issues and believes he harm his arm, subsequently requiring Tommy John surgical procedure, due to the stress his decrease physique placed on his elbow. Hughes’ surgical procedure can be carried out by the identical surgeon who did Fulmer’s process, which requires breaking the femur for a realignment.
“Watching him go through this process, it’s finally like, OK, enough is enough,” supervisor David Ross stated. “And when you come to this conclusion to have this type of surgery, it’s a major surgery and the frustration is real. I think he wants to pitch for a really long time and feels like this is on the front end the best way to take care of that.”
Hughes’ left knee, which had been drained six instances this yr as a part of the hassle to maintain him on the sector, additionally was affecting his high quality of life when he wasn’t pitching.
“I wake up and I feel like so many of my hours are spent trying to deal with the knee or trying to make the knee better, and it’s debilitating a little bit,” Hughes stated Sunday. “So the surgery and physics behind the surgery should be working to my advantage and then (I can) come back stronger.”
Elvis Andrus milestones including up
Elvis Andrus jumped into Eloy Jiménez’s arms, celebrating Saturday’s walk-off single within the White Sox’s 5-4 victory in opposition to the Boston Red Sox.
It was a memorable week for the White Sox infielder, who performed the two,000th sport of his profession Wednesday in opposition to the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“I was not aware (I was reaching the mark) until a few days ago, somebody mentioned it to me,” Andrus advised the Tribune on Wednesday. “It’s an honor. One of the things I always feel proud about, showing up every day and preparing myself to play every day. I accomplished something like that, it means a lot for sure.”
He turned the 247th participant to achieve the milestone.
“What he’s done is difficult because you have to stay healthy and you have to perform,” Sox supervisor Pedro Grifol stated Wednesday. “There’s always someone trying to take your job, trying to push you out, and for the last 15 years nobody has done that. That’s a credit to his work ethic, his talent, his makeup, his drive, his will just to be a major-leaguer.”
Earlier this season, Andrus collected the two,000th hit of his profession. His first got here April 6, 2009, in his major-league debut for the Rangers. Andrus spent the primary 12 years of his big-league profession with the Rangers (1,652 video games), giving added which means to Wednesday’s achievement.
“That’s the crazy part of the game,” Andrus stated. “Sometimes when stuff happens like that, it’s crazy. Too much coincidence. Something to celebrate a little bit, but at the same time, get back to work.”
Week forward: Cubs
The Cubs get Monday to regroup after a late-night return to Chicago following Sunday’s finale within the London Series. Jameson Taillon is lined as much as begin Tuesday’s sequence opener in opposition to the Philadelphia Phillies with Drew Smyly and Kyle Hendricks prone to observe in an undetermined order as of Sunday afternoon.
Marcus Stroman’s availability to pitch within the weekend sequence versus the Guardians could possibly be a day-to-day growth primarily based on how the blister on his proper index finger heals. Ideally he’ll make two extra begins earlier than the July 10-13 All-Star break. The Cubs rotation continues to be a power, and a robust end earlier than the break would set them up properly to turn into trade-deadline sellers.
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: vs. Phillies, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: vs. Phillies, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
- Thursday: vs. Phillies, 7:05 p.m., Marquee
- Friday: vs. Guardians, 1:20 p.m. Marquee
- Saturday: vs. Guardians, 6:15 p.m., Fox-32
- Sunday: vs. Guardians, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
Week forward: White Sox
The Sox noticed what Angels celebrity Shohei Ohtani can do on the plate when he hit three homers and drove in 5 throughout a three-game sequence in late May at Guaranteed Rate Field.
They’ll see Ohtani on the mound Tuesday as a part of a four-game sequence at Angel Stadium.
Ohtani leads the majors in homers (tied, 25), RBIs (61) and OPS (1.000). He’s tenth within the American League with a 3.13 ERA and third with 117 strikeouts.
“To be able to see a guy every night that’s probably one of the best power hitters in the game — and when he’s on the mound he’s one of the best pitchers in the game — it’s a generational talent,” Grifol stated Sunday. “You don’t see this that often.”
- Monday: at Angels, 8:38 p.m., NBCSCH
- Tuesday: at Angels, 8:38 p.m., NBCSCH
- Wednesday: at Angels, 8:38 p.m., NBCSCH
- Thursday: at Angels, 3:07 p.m., NBCSCH
- Friday: at Athletics, 8:40 p.m., NBCSCH
- Saturday: at Athletics, 3:07 p.m., NBCSCH
- Sunday: at Athletics, 3:07 p.m., NBCSCH
What we’re studying this morning
This week in Chicago baseball
June 26, 1916: Indians put on numbers on their sleeves in a sport in opposition to the White Sox.
It marked the primary time gamers had been recognized by numbers similar to the scorecard.
June 27, 1958: White Sox’s Billy Pierce retires 26 straight Senators batters earlier than pinch hitter Ed FitzGerald doubles for the one hit.
Pierce had an ideal sport, and FitzGerald, a first-ball, fastball hitter, was the villain. He hit a first-pitch, knee-high curveball to the other discipline for a double that sailed about 20 to 30 toes over the pinnacle of first baseman Ray Boone. It was not a smash however was well-hit, not a bloop. Pierce fanned Albie Pearson, the following batter, on three pitches to finish the sport — a 3-0 win.
In the clubhouse after the sport, Nellie Fox, Pierce’s longtime buddy and roommate, expressed remorse that he was unable to get his glove on the ball, which might have elevated the potential for an error. But Fox needed to be joking. The ball landed virtually midway down the right-field line, honest by not more than a foot or two.
“It was a clean hit,” Pierce stated. “If it had been questionable, it would have been tough to take.”
June 27, 2016: Cubs’ Kris Bryant turns into the primary major-leaguer to hit three homers and two doubles in a sport.
Bryant went 5-for-5 with six RBIs within the 11-8 win over the Reds. He set a franchise report with 16 whole bases, surpassing the earlier mark of 14. He additionally turned the youngest participant in Cubs historical past to hit three residence runs in a sport.
“It’s definitely the best game of my whole life,” Bryant stated. “I just feel so fortunate and so thankful for this opportunity to play on a stage like this every day.”
June 28, 1910: Cubs’ Joe Tinker turns into the primary major-leaguer to steal residence twice in the identical sport, an 11-1 win over the Reds.
June 28, 2007: Frank Thomas hits his five hundredth residence run to turn into the twenty first major-leaguer to achieve the mark.
The former White Sox slugger hit the three-run shot with the Blue Jays, connecting in opposition to the Twins’ Carlos Silva. Thankfully for Thomas, he hit the homer early sufficient for his spouse, three kids and father-in-law to see him make historical past.
“They had to leave for the airport at 1:45,” he stated. “My daughter said, ‘Dad, you’ve got to do it in the first couple of at-bats.’”
In the ninth, Thomas was ejected by plate umpire Mark Wegner after being referred to as out on strikes for the second time within the sport.
“I’m probably the first to get 500 home runs and get thrown out of the ballgame,” Thomas stated. “That’s something I didn’t want to happen, but the moment just got the best of me.”
When Thomas left the Sox in 2005, he was the franchise’s profession chief in lots of classes, together with runs, on-base share, walks, doubles and RBIs along with residence runs (448).
June 28, 2017: Cubs go to President Donald Trump on the White House
Just a little greater than 5 months after a sturdy East Room celebration with President Barack Obama, a number of Cubs gamers, coaches and executives had a extra modest celebration within the West Wing with President Donald Trump.
“This is a great team,” Trump advised reporters of the 2016 World Series champions. “They were actually here, but they wanted to be here with Trump.”
Trump famous that he tried to deliver Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts’ brother, Todd Ricketts, into his administration as deputy commerce secretary. He additionally singled out Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, one other brother, calling him a “great governor.”
The whole Cubs roster didn’t attend. Manager Joe Maddon, star sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant and pitchers John Lackey and Jon Lester had been amongst these current.
July 1, 1943: The first night time sport is performed at Wrigley Field, a profit All-Star contest that includes the All-American Girls Professional Ball League.
“Let it be known,” Sugar Koehn stated, “that it was not the Chicago Cubs that played the first night game under lights at Wrigley Field. On July 1, 1943, two all-star teams from the AAGPBL played a night exhibition game as part of a gigantic WAC recruiting rally.”
The Cubs’ first night time sport at Wrigley would come 45 years in a while Aug. 8, 1988.
Quotable
“It’s weird to be in a stadium so big and to see so many people in stands so far away, which is very unique and very different. It felt like it was a soccer game. I’ve been to a few (Paris Saint-Germain) games and an AC Milan game, and it felt very similar to the vibe of the soccer game. It’s pretty incredible.” — Marcus Stroman on the expertise of pitching in London Stadium on Sunday
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com