Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ both had two hits and two RBIs and the bullpen delivered 5 2/3 innings of one-hit, scoreless relief to boost the visiting Chicago Cubs to a 10-7 win against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.
The Cubs closed with eight unanswered runs on the way to their fifth consecutive victory. Happ and Cody Bellinger connected for back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning to cap the spurt.
A 7-2 lead after four innings didn’t hold up for the White Sox, who have lost five in a row and seven of eight.
Eloy Jimenez paced the White Sox with two hits and four RBIs while Tim Anderson had two hits, an RBI and two runs. Jake Burger homered for the White Sox, who couldn’t solve the Cubs’ relief corps.
Javier Assad (1-2) was the winner with 1 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Adbert Alzolay earned his 11th save, his second in the two-game set against the White Sox, with a perfect ninth.
Jimenez lined a two-run single to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Cubs responded in the top of the second behind RBI singles from Tucker Barnhart and Hoerner. An error and the first of two hit-by-pitches from White Sox starter Lance Lynn aided the Cubs.
Anderson put the hosts ahead 3-2 with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the second. Jimenez had a two-run double to punctuate the White Sox’s four-run fourth, making it 7-2.
No worries for the Cubs, it turned out. They sent 12 men to the plate en route to scoring six times in the top of the fifth. Christopher Morel delivered a two-run single in the inning, but the Cubs also benefited from three walks, two hit-by-pitches and a third-strike wild pitch that scored Morel and drew the visitors to within a run.
Mike Tauchman and Hoerner worked bases-loaded walks from Joe Kelly (1-5) as the Cubs took an 8-7 lead.
Lynn allowed seven runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings with two walks and five strikeouts. Cubs counterpart Marcus Stroman yielded seven runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four.
The Cubs had four stolen bases Wednesday and nine in the two-game series.
–Field Level Media
