Cubs take second game of Crosstown Series in 13th straight loss for White Sox
CHICAGO (AP) — Mike Tauchman hit a game-ending homer, and the Chicago Cubs handed the Chicago White Sox their 13th consecutive loss with a 7-6 victory Wednesday night.
Tauchman drove Michael Kopech's second pitch in the ninth — a 98.4 mph fastball — deep to center for his fifth of the season. It was his first career game-ending homer.
Tauchman had two hits and scored three times as the Cubs got back to .500 with their third victory in four games. Héctor Neris (6-0) got three outs for the win.
The White Sox have led by at least two runs at one point in each of their last five losses. The 13-game slide is the longest in the majors this year and matches the single-season franchise record set in 1924.
Corey Julks hit his first career leadoff homer for the South Siders, who dropped to a major league-low 5-26 on the road.
The Cubs erased a 5-3 deficit with three runs in the seventh, capped by Ian Happ's broken-bat single for the only hit of the inning. Michael Soroka committed a balk — the second one of the night for the White Sox — and threw a run-scoring wild pitch during an 11-pitch at-bat by Tauchman. Cody Bellinger set up Happ's go-ahead blooper with a sacrifice fly.
But Paul DeJong tied it again when he greeted Hayden Wesneski with a 407-foot leadoff drive to left in the eighth for his 10th homer.
Julks drove Jameson Taillon's first pitch of the game deep to left for his second homer, and the White Sox added four more runs in the fourth on six singles.
Oscar Colás' hard-hit grounder back up the middle drove in Gavin Sheets for a 2-1 lead. Consecutive one-out singles by Korey Lee and Lenyn Sosa made it 4-1, and a hustling Lee slid in safely on Nicky Lopez's two-out liner to right.
The Cubs got two back in the fifth, taking advantage of some sloppiness for the White Sox.
Seiya Suzuki's grounder to second turned into an infield single when an out-of-position Sheets was late getting over to first base. That loaded the bases for Bellinger, who drove in Dansby Swanson with a fielder's choice. A balk on Erick Fedde brought home another run.
The Cubs finished the game without second baseman Nico Hoerner, who was ejected in the fourth by home plate umpire Vic Carapazza. Hoerner protested after he struck out looking on a ball that appeared to be outside, and he was thrown out for the first time in 452 appearances in the majors.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Cubs: 3B Christopher Morel departed in the seventh inning after he fouled a ball off his left foot. He ended up with a walk, and then was replaced by a pinch runner. ... LHP Jordan Wicks (left forearm strain) is back with the big league team, but there has been no word on when he might be activated from the injured list. He has a 3.12 ERA over three rehab starts with Triple-A Iowa, and he was scheduled for a bullpen session on Wednesday. "We can activate him. We can start him. He could pitch out of the bullpen. He could go make another start in Iowa," manager Craig Counsell said. "We'll get a little farther along in the week to figure that out."
UP NEXT
White Sox: RHP Jake Woodford (0-1, 6.23 ERA) starts on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series against Boston. RHP Tanner Houck (5-5, 1.85 ERA) goes for the visiting Red Sox.
Cubs: Next up for Chicago is a four-game set at Cincinnati. The Cubs haven't announced their rotation for the series, and the Reds are going with RHP Hunter Greene (3-2, 3.44 ERA) on Thursday night.
