A 3-game sweep determined by three runs will not be how the Chicago Cubs needed to start their seven-game journey.
Even extra irritating, 4 walks scored throughout their sequence in Miami, a quantity that loomed giant to supervisor David Ross after Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Marlins.
“I don’t think we played bad baseball,” Ross stated. “We didn’t get the massive hit this sequence. They did. A pair issues go our approach right here or there …
“We can do some little things better. But, again, that’s just baseball. They played better than we did this series.”
The Cubs (14-13) went 4-for-25 with runners in scoring place and left 24 runners on base en path to getting swept for the primary time this season.
The White Sox (8-21) appeared headed for an additional setback Sunday earlier than pulling off a shocking ninth-inning rally for a 12-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. Andrew Vaughn’s three-run homer capped a seven-run inning to snap a 10-game shedding streak.
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.
Justin Steele retains rolling
The Marlins turned the most recent staff stored in examine by Justin Steele.
The Cubs lefty scattered seven hits in six innings Sunday, permitting three runs (two earned) with one stroll and three strikeouts. Steele didn’t look as sharp as his first 5 begins, however he exited with the sport tied.
“It was a tough game throughout, every single inning,” Steele stated. “Made some good pitches. They did a good job of putting wood on it and finding ways to get on.”
Steele has surrendered two earned runs or fewer in 13 consecutive begins courting to July 22. It’s the longest stretch by a Cubs pitcher since Jake Arrieta’s 14 consecutive begins from July 30, 2015, to April 4, 2016.
Steele owns a 1.23 ERA in that span (10 earned runs in 73 innings) — one of the best in baseball amongst pitchers with at the least 12 begins — with 24 walks and 79 strikeouts.
Cubs rotation may see veterans return quickly
Kyle Hendricks’ first rehab begin at Triple-A Iowa was all about how he felt.
“Purposely for me, I wanted to not give him anything to focus on, just to go out and compete and see how he wanted to go about his business, get back in the flow,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy stated Sunday.
Hottovy talked with Hendricks on Friday, the day after his outing, about simplifying his strategy and getting again to what makes him profitable. Much of it comes right down to pitch execution. The Cubs weren’t apprehensive about Hendricks’ pitching line in his first begin since July 5.
“No matter how long you pitch in this game, when you have eight, nine months off, it’s going to take you a bit to get back in the flow of that,” Hottovy stated. “So the great part is he felt good, we thought a lot of the mechanical stuff looked really good. … He’s like, ‘All right, now it’s time to go. It’s time to turn it up a notch.’”
Hendricks is scheduled to make his subsequent begin for Iowa on Tuesday. Ideally, the Cubs need him constructed as much as 80-85 pitches earlier than he rejoins the staff.
But, Hottovy added, different components might be concerned within the timing of Hendricks’ return, together with when the Cubs want a starter, the form of the bullpen and days off. An necessary marker comes with attending to 80-plus pitches in a rehab begin: totally testing how the shoulder and physique get better the following day.
If Hendricks continues on this pattern, he must be ready to return off the injured checklist by mid-May.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon (left groin pressure) felt good popping out of his bullpen session Saturday. Taillon is eligible to return off the 15-day IL on Tuesday, when he’s scheduled to throw his subsequent bullpen. Hottovy hopes Taillon gained’t want a rehab begin earlier than being activated.
“It’s still kind of early for me to tell,” Hottovy stated. “(Tuesday) is going to be a higher-intense bullpen that we should have good feedback from that.”
Sox make the flawed kind of historical past in April
The Sox made the flawed kind of historical past final week.
Their 7-21 file after Saturday’s disastrous 12-3 loss to the Rays at Guaranteed Rate Field tied the 1948 membership for the worst 28-game begin in franchise historical past.
“It’s been obviously a rough start that nobody expected,” hitting coach José Castro stated Sunday morning. “The complete group — from the very prime to the very backside (and) ex-players that do so much for the White Sox — everyone is like, ‘OK, time to get going here.’ And that’s what we’re working for.
“We’re working to get these guys better, get them in a good frame of mind. I think they’re trying to do a little bit too much. But we won’t stop the work and the message and the whole deal.”
Saturday’s defeat assured one other sequence loss. The Sox are 0-8-1 in sequence this season.
The subject of “pressing” has come up usually throughout the shedding streak. Manager Pedro Grifol stated Sunday morning that combating that’s “hard because you’re not winning as a ballclub and some of the guys haven’t started off the way they wanted to start off.”
“Maybe that’s a part of human nature, that we press a little bit,” Grifol stated. “The only thing I can say to that is just go play. Just go have some fun, play to win every day and it will turn.”
That got here into view Sunday because the shedding streak resulted in dramatic style.
“It was the highest of highs to the lowest of lows back to the highest of highs,” pitcher Mike Clevinger stated. “Definitely the most fun game of the season.”
Stat of the week
The Sox have been outscored 70-25 throughout their 10-game skid.
Week forward: Cubs
The Cubs are nearing the midpoint of taking part in 16 consecutive days and may make the most of a struggling Washington Nationals staff to get again on observe to shut out the seven-game journey. In one other scheduling quirk, the Cubs once more face the Marlins at Wrigley Field to wrap up their season sequence.
Drew Smyly, Hayden Wesneski and Marcus Stroman are the possible starters for the primary three video games in Washington. Thursday’s sequence finale is listed as TBD.
- Monday: at Nationals, 6:05 p.m., Marquee
- Tuesday: at Nationals, 6:05 p.m., Marquee
- Wednesday: at Nationals, 6:05 p.m., Marquee
- Thursday: at Nationals, 12:05 p.m., Marquee
- Friday: vs. Marlins, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Saturday: vs. Marlins, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
- Sunday: vs. Marlins, 1:20 p.m., Marquee
Week forward: White Sox
The Sox have been with out Tim Anderson since he exited an April 10 recreation at Minnesota with a sprained left knee. The shortstop spent the weekend on a rehab project with Triple-A Charlotte and is anticipated to be again for Tuesday’s sequence opener in opposition to the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field.
“He’s the heart and soul of the club,” Grifol stated. “As he goes, we go. He’s the energy. It takes 26 guys to do what we want to do, but he’s a really big piece to this thing.”
His absence has been noticeable. The Sox are 3-15 for the reason that All-Star went on the injured checklist April 11.
Since the beginning of the 2020 season, the Sox are 150-112 (.573) when Anderson is within the beginning lineup and 67-84 (.444) when he isn’t.
Anderson was off to a powerful begin this season, hitting .298 with 5 doubles, 4 RBIs, 5 stolen bases, two walks and 9 runs in 11 video games. He was 2-for-10 with one run and one RBI by three video games with the Knights.
- Monday: off
- Tuesday: vs. Twins, 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Wednesday: vs. Twins, 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Thursday: vs. Twins, 1:10 p.m., NBCSCH
- Friday: at Reds, 5:40 p.m., Apple TV+
- Saturday: at Reds, 5:40 p.m., NBCSCH
- Sunday: at Reds, 3:10 p.m., NBCSCH
What we’re studying this morning
This week in Chicago baseball
May 1, 1951: Minnie Miñoso turns into the White Sox’s first Black participant
After spending 1950 within the Pacific Coast League, Miñoso returned to the majors with Cleveland earlier than being dealt to the White Sox as a part of a three-way deal on April 30. He homered in his first at-bat with the Sox on May 1, 1951, in opposition to Vic Raschi of the New York Yankees.
Miñoso hit .326 with 10 dwelling runs, 76 RBIs and 112 runs in 146 video games with Cleveland and the Sox, earned his first American League All-Star choice and positioned fourth in AL MVP voting and second for AL Rookie of the Year. He ranked first within the AL in triples (14), stolen bases (31) and hit by pitches (16). He was second in common and runs and fourth in hits (173).
May 1, 1960: Comiskey Park’s exploding scoreboard debuts
Al Smith stepped up within the dwelling half of the primary inning of a doubleheader on May 1, 1960, and put the defending AL champs forward with a two-run homer off Jim Bunning. Then the enjoyable started.
Smith triggered the general public debut of Bill Veeck’s greatest, baddest pinball machine — his exploding scoreboard. The custom of saluting Sox dwelling runs continues to at the present time.
The concept for one in all baseball’s best spectacles got here whereas Veeck was watching Jimmy Cagney in “The Time of Your Life.”
“This character in the film was always playing pinball machines,” Veeck informed the Tribune in April 1960. “Toward the finish he finally hit the jackpot and there was the darndest racket and flashing of lights you ever heard or saw.”
May 1, 1901: White Sox’s Herm McFarland hits the primary grand slam in AL historical past
Dummy Hoy additionally homered within the 19-9 rout of the Tigers, who dedicated an AL-record 12 errors, 10 by the infield.
May 2, 1917: Hippo Vaughn of the Cubs and Fred Toney of the Reds each pitch hitless ball for 9 innings
The Reds gained on two hits within the tenth at Weeghman Park, and Toney maintained his no-hitter. The recreation is not thought-about a no-hitter for Vaughn however stays the one recreation in MLB historical past during which a regulation 9 innings have been performed with out both staff logging successful.
May 2, 1992: Ryne Sandberg indicators a 4-year extension with the Cubs
At the time it was the best price ticket in baseball, value $7.1 million per season for the All-Star second baseman.
Sandberg was named to the All-Star Game 10 occasions and gained 9 Gold Glove awards and 7 Silver Slugger awards in 15 seasons with the Cubs. He was the National League MVP in 1984 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005. And quickly he’ll be the fifth Cubs participant to have a statue exterior Wrigley Field.
May 4, 1980: White Sox’s Mike Squires catches the ultimate inning of an 11-1 loss to the Brewers
The first baseman was the primary left-handed catcher to play in major-league baseball since Dale Long in 1958.
May 6, 1998: Cubs’ Kerry Wood strikes out 20 batters
The Cubs right-hander allowed just one hit — an infield single to start out the third. Otherwise he was in complete management together with his 122 pitches. From the primary hitter — Craig Biggio, who went down swinging on a scorching, excessive fastball — till the final.
It was a efficiency for the ages by a phenom with barely sufficient stubble to shave and an enormous shot within the arm for a franchise in determined want of a franchise participant. With one nine-inning gem in solely the fifth begin of his budding profession, Wood put himself within the file books alongside fellow Texan Roger Clemens.
“That’s the greatest thrill anyone could have, to be associated with Roger,” Wood stated. “He’s a great pitcher and he has established himself. I’m still trying to settle in a little.”
Quotable
“The process is strong. The talent is there. It’s a matter of getting that to translate into results.” — Sox basic supervisor Rick Hahn
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Source: www.bostonherald.com