Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga reacts after throwing the ball late to first baseman Michael Busch to catch Chicago White Sox’s Lenyn Sosa during the second inning of a baseball game on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Chicago.
13:07 JST, June 5, 2024
CHICAGO (AP) — Ian Happ’s second double of the night drove in two runs to put the Chicago Cubs ahead in the eighth inning, and the North Siders came back twice to beat the crosstown White Sox 7-6 Tuesday night at Wrigley Field.
Happ’s third goal of the game, a line drive into the right corner by Jordan Leasure, brought in Cody Bellinger and Christopher Morel to erase a one-run White Sox lead and hand them a twelfth straight loss.
Luis Robert Jr. launched a 400-foot solo shot into the left-center stands in his return to the lineup to break a tie in the seventh and put the White Sox ahead 6–5. The All-Star center fielder singled in his first game in nearly two months after being sidelined with a right hip flexor strain.
Morel and pinch-hitter Patrick Wisdom each hit two-run homers in the sixth to erase the White Sox’ four-run lead and tie the game at 5. The Cubs won for just the third time in 12 games .
Light hitter Lenyn Sosa lined for two runs and Korey Lee drove in two runs with a double in the White Sox’ five-run rally in the fourth inning off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga.
Morel hit his team-leading 11th homer. But the third baseman also made a mistake setting up Paul DeJong’s chopper, sparking the White Sox’ rally in the fourth.
Luke Little (2-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win. Hector Neris worked around a walk in the ninth for his eighth save.
White Sox starter Chris Flexen allowed one run on three hits in five innings, striking out four and issuing no walks before the bullpen faltered. Leasure (0-1), the last of four White Sox relievers, allowed two runs on two hits in the eight.
Imanaga was charged with five runs (one earned) on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings in his eleventh start. The 30-year-old southpaw from Japan struckout six and walked none, while his ERA rose to 1.88.
Imanaga was relieved by Tyson Miller after a 42-minute rain delay in the top of the fifth inning.
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga throws at a Chicago White Sox batter during the first inning of a baseball game on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Chicago.
The White Sox took a 5-0 lead in the fourth. Four of the points in the rally were unearned
With runners on first and second, Morel failed on an attempt to backhand DeJong’s bouncer down the line. That allowed Andrew Vaughn to race home from second place and open the scoring.
Lee hit a line drive double into the left field corner to make it 3-0. He came home on Sosa’s homer, his first this season and eighth of his career.
Robert, who hit 38 home runs and drove in 80 runs in a breakout season in 2023, had been out since April 6.
