Cubs close out Crosstown Classic with commanding win |
CHICAGO — Securing an outright victory in their six-game season series with the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Cubs earned the Crosstown Cup by defeating the rival South Siders 6-1 at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday afternoon. Scoring six runs in the first three innings, the Cubs coasted to their second victory in the three-game set.
Starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks came through with a great performance for the Cubs by pitching 7.2 innings of one-run ball to improve to 13-11. Hendricks struck out five and walked no one. White Sox starting hurler Carlos Rodon experienced a short-lived outing on the hill, as he was pulled after giving up six runs on nine hits in just 2.1 innings pitched. 7 2/3 tidy innings from @kylehendricks28! ?? pic.twitter.com/uPDtDc62cg The Cubs racked up three hits in the top of the first. The North Siders attained back-to-back singles to start the game. Then, with one out, Anthony Rizzo smacked a double to deep right field that drove home Daniel Murphy. Thereafter, Ben Zobrist came home on a groundout by Albert Almora Jr. David Bote capped off the scoring action with a two-out chopper down the third-base line. Beating out the throw at first base, Bote enabled Rizzo to score. .@ARizzo44 knocks in his 96th run of the season to get the scoring started.#Cubs lead 3-0 in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/PAKzEwxgA4 On the first pitch of the second inning, Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber went yard for the first time since returning from his recent injury layoff. Schwarber's 26th dinger of the year was blasted 444 feet to right-center, putting the Cubs up 4-0. Schwarber chased Rodon from the game in the next frame with a double that one-hopped the wall in right-center and scored Almora. Following the pitching change, Bote scored on a fielder's choice to make the score 6-0. Shortstop Tim Anderson provided the White Sox with their lone run of the afternoon on an RBI ground-rule double in the fifth. Limited to just four hits, the White Sox failed to produce on a special day for the franchise. Longtime White Sox broadcaster Ken "Hawk" Harrelson called his final game on Sunday. In honor of his retirement, Cubs announcers Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies imitated Hawk's signature home-run call on Schwarber's bomb. Say what you want about the Cubs... this is a really cool move by @LenKasper & @JimDeshaies pic.twitter.com/rmGQfRbsRu With 15 hits and four walks, the Cubs came through at the dish to win the Crosstown Classic 4-2 on the year. Five different Cubs tallied multiple hits, including Zobrist, who went 3-6. Schwarber had a productive day with the bat, too, as he went 2-2 with two walks. As a result of the 6-1 triumph, the North Siders moved to 91-64 on the season while dropping the White Sox to 61-94.
