Cubs with biggest comeback in history against White Sox |
CHICAGO - Over the course of a 162-game Major League season, you will have several games you have no explanations for. This was one of those games for the Chicago Cubs (50-51) at Guaranteed Rate Field as the Cubs looked to pick up the two-game sweep against the Chicago White Sox (41-62). In a matchup that featured two of the most talked about pitchers on the trade market, Marcus Stroman and Lance Lynn, you had to like the Cub's chances, as Stroman has had a fantastic season while Lynn has struggled.
Despite his numbers, Stroman has struggled in his last five starts, and that continued on Wednesday as he was knocked around for seven runs on nine hits in just 3 1/3 inning. That makes three rough starts in his last four, as he is trending in the wrong direction. Once Stroman left, the Cubs bullpen settled in as they tossed 5 2/3 combined innings on the mound and didn't allow a run as the Cubs used a six-run fifth inning to rally from a 7-2 deficit and win 10-7. Like Stroman, Lynn struggled, but he managed to limit the damage early on after stranding a pair of runners in the first. The same couldn't be said for Stroman, as an infield single from Tim Anderson gave the Sox a runner in the bottom of the first before he advanced to third on the Luis Robert double. Following that double, the former Cubs farmhand Eloy Jimenez came through again as he delivered an RBI single to make things 2-0 as he continued to dominate the Cubs. After leaving a pair of runners on base in the first, the Cubs responded in the second with a one-out hit by a pitch to Christopher Morel, getting things going. That was followed by singles from Miles Mastrobuoni and Tucker Barnhardt as the Barnhardt made things 2-1. Two hitters later saw Nico Hoerner come through with another RBI single as the Cubs pulled even 2-2. Not only did Stroman continue to struggle in the bottom of the second with Anderson putting the White Sox back in front with a single, it was the fourth inning when he came unglued as the White Sox plated four runs to open up a 7-2 lead. Jake Berger opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with his 22nd homer, while Oscar Colas and Andrew Benintendi picked up a pair of singles to put two runners on. A rare walk by Anderson loaded the bases ahead of the Robert double that extended the Sox lead to 5-2. That double was followed by the Jimenez double to give the Sox a 7-2 lead as Stroman was yanked after that hitter and replaced by Javier Assad. Stroman now has an ERA of 3.51 as he continues to get hammered on the mound. With Assad now pitching, the Cubs knew it would be up to the pen to keep things close, and boy, did they ever as Assad got through the rest of the fourth before turning things over to the offense. Through four innings, Lynn did a great job keeping the Cubs offense grounded, but when you look at how his season has gone, it was only a matter of time until the wheels fell off. They began to fall off in that fifth inning as the Cubs came out with an entirely different mindset. Mike Tauchman led things off with an infield single before advancing to second on a hit-by-pitch. That was followed by the Ian Happ single to make things 7-3, as the Cubs still didn't have anyone out. Seiya Suzuki picked up one of his three walks two batters later to load the bases, but with two outs, the Cubs were in danger of blowing a huge opportunity. Leave it to Morel to start a two-out rally as his single to left brought home a pair while a fielding error allowed Suzuki an extra 90 feet. The White Sox defense continued to gift-wrap the Cubs some runs as missed strike three allowed Mastrobuoni to reach and plated Suzuki as the Cubs climbed all the way back to make things 7-6. Even with Joe Kelly now on the mound, the Cubs continued to have the momentum on their side as Tauchman and Hoerner each worked bases-loaded walks to not only tie the game but put the Cubs in front 8-7. It was a lead they would never give back as the Cubs bullpen was nearly flawless, with Assad starting things off before giving the ball to Julian Merryweather and his two scoreless frames. Although Kelly struggled on the mound, the rest of the White Sox pen had their moments apart from Keynan Middleton, who didn't get off to a good start in the eighth. Not only did Happ take him deep to lead things off, but Cody Bellinger followed that up with another Belli-Bomb as the Cubs went back-to-back for the second straight night and opened up a 10-7 lead. Happ & Belli go back-to-back! 😄💣 pic.twitter.com/WExV4EHF6a That would be it for them offensively, but as the fans saw on this night, no lead would be safe. Fortunately for David Ross, he had two of his best relievers waiting in the wings as Mark Leiter Jr came on to pitch the eighth and did so, retiring the Sox in order. Leiter Jr was given a gift inning as he faced three left-handed hitters and continues to carve up lefties this season. Ross then went to his closer, Adbert Alzolay, in the ninth, and he continued to do great work needing less than 13 pitches to retire the Sox in order as he picked up his 11th save in 12 chances to secure the Cub's comeback 10-7 win. The Cubs had 10 hits in the win, with Happ and Hoerner leading the way with two hits and a combined four RBIs. The Cubs will now head to St. Louis for the first and only time this season as they open a four-game set with the Cardinals. Justin Steele is slated to start that game against Miles Mikolas, as this will be the final time these teams meet this season. The Cubs took three of four from the Cardinals last weekend as Steele has dominated them his last two times. That ✋in a row feeling! pic.twitter.com/6pasteB5cg Cubs complete the all-time longest comeback win against the White Sox!
Happ: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Hoerner: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 R
Cubs Offense: Eight unanswered runs pic.twitter.com/5qTWnj39Gd
