Nico Hoerner on Monday scored the tying run from second base on a wild pitch in the ninth inning, then delivered the go-ahead single in the 11th as the Chicago Cubs rallied past the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2.
“His baserunning play in the ninth was spectacular,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “We’ve seen him have some baserunning plays like that, so it was a huge play, and the big hit obviously in the 11th.”
Michael Busch homered for the Cubs leading off the second inning on an 0-2 pitch from Merrill Kelly. It was the rookie’s sixth of the season and a fifth straight game with a home run, equaling the franchise record.
Photo: Joe Camporeale-USA Today
Hack Wilson, Ryne Sandberg, Sammy Sosa and teammate Christopher Morel also homered in five consecutive games for the Cubs. Morel did it last year.
Busch walked in the 11th inning and Garrett Cooper singled, moving automatic runner Nick Madrigal to third against Kevin Jarvis (0-1) and loading the bases. Hoerner followed with a single to right field, advancing all three runners one base.
Chicago were unable to tack on, but Keegan Thompson (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, walking one and striking out three. He fanned Christian Walker with the potential tying run on third to end it.
Arizona were held to just three hits.
Corbin Carroll’s two-out RBI single off reliever Drew Smyly in the eighth inning gave the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead, but the Cubs tied it in the ninth against Kevin Ginkel.
Hoerner and Mike Tauchman singled with one out. After a strikeout, Ginkel bounced a pitch that rolled away from catcher Gabriel Moreno and Hoerner raced all the way around from second.
“I was definitely thinking, especially with two outs, [about] scoring and I was going to run until somebody stopped me in that situation,” Hoerner said. “Glad it worked out.”
Ginkel, who spotted where the ball rolled to before Moreno did, took the blame for the wild pitch and the hits that preceded it.
“I feel terrible for not getting out of that spot. It bounced off Gabby and went to the farthest spot from the plate,” Ginkel said. “I just needed to make better pitches.”
Cubs rookie Ben Brown, making his second career start and fourth appearance, retired his final 13 batters and gave up only one hit in six innings, but it was an RBI single by Jake McCarthy that followed two walks in the second. Brown struck out four.
“Ben Brown was excellent. It’s pretty exciting to see what he’s done,” Counsell said. “One hit through six innings is really good stuff.”
Kelly lasted five innings, throwing 95 pitches. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out five.
Arizona could not score in either extra inning, despite starting them with the automatic runner on second.
“There were some opportunities for us, but we didn’t capitalize,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “These are tough games to digest.”
Elsewhere, the Royals blanked the White Sox 2-0, the Braves battered the Astros 6-1, the Guardians routed the Red Sox 6-0, the Nationals downed the Dodgers 6-4, the Rangers tamed the Tigers 1-0, the Orioles overcame the Twins 7-4 and the Giants mastered the Marlins 4-3.
The Angels stung the Rays 7-3, the Mets sank the Pirates 6-3, the Blue Jays beat the Yankees 3-1, the Padres defeated the Brewers 7-3, the Mariners routed the Reds 9-3, the Cardinals cruised past the Athletics 3-1 and the Phillies edged the Rockies 2-1 in 10 innings.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS