Chicago Sports

Michael Kopech picked a bad day to have a bad day.

The White Sox are trying to catch the first-place Twins in the AL Central, and the Sox right-hander got roughed up for four homers in an 8-2 loss.

The Twins expanded their lead over the Sox to 6 1/2 games and will go for a three-game sweep Wednesday afternoon.

“Obviously it’s a big series,” Kopech said. “We want to beat these guys, so it’s tough right now.”

Kopech gave up six runs on eight hits in his fourth undistinguished outing since exiting a start with a sore right knee on June 13. He walked four and struck out five over 4 2/3 innings.

“There’s a couple of things they’ll be working on to get him fixed,” manager Tony La Russa said. “I don’t want to get into [specifics]. It’s all fixable.”

La Russa and Kopech said the pitcher is OK physically.

“It’s more about getting back to the drawing board, figuring some things out,” Kopech said. “Obviously I didn’t make some well-executed pitches today. I left a lot over the middle of the plate and got taken advantage of a lot.

“We’re going to figure it out. It’s not like there’s any defined answer. I know what that was. It wasn’t good. We’re going to work.”

The homers by Max Kepler, Jose Miranda, Alex Kirilloff and Jorge Polanco gave Sox opponents 52 at Guaranteed Rate Field. By comparison, the Sox have 32. Kirilloff homered again in the seventh against Vince Velasquez, giving the Twins an 8-2 lead.

Kopech owned a 1.92 ERA when he left his start against the Rangers after 13 pitches with a sore right knee. He made his next start a week later, but has allowed 16 earned runs in 21 innings since, raising his ERA to 3.34. La Russa said the knee is “not an issue.”

“Good question to ask, but that’s not a problem,” La Russa said.

The Sox began a pivotal stretch of 18 consecutive games against AL Central opponents Monday. They entered the series after sweeping the Giants on the road and getting to within a game of .500.

“Everybody is looking forward to turning it around, however it comes,” Kopech said. “The effort and energy has been there from the guys on and off the field in the clubhouse. As a starter, I’ve got to do my part to set the tone and that goes a long way. Everything’s good. It’s not how we want to play, especially the first two in a series against these guys, but we’re capable of turning it around.”

Josh Winder pitched five innings of two-run ball on short notice after scheduled starter Chris Archer went on the 15-day injured list because of tightness in his left hip.

“We have to keep plugging away,” said second baseman Josh Harrison, who collected his 1,000th career hit before mopping up on the mound as a pitcher in the (scoreless) ninth inning. “I don’t know how many games we’ve played against them but we know what lies ahead of us. This is what our job requires us to do, show up and not worry about the standings or what’s going to happen over the next couple of months. We have to take it one day at a time. We do that, we’ll be where want to be.”

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A troubling thing happened Tuesday on the way to the White Sox having their starting rotation together.

Right-hander Michael Kopech had his fourth straight undistinguished or bad start since leaving a game with a sore right knee on June 13, and this one against the Twins was the worst of the lot. After walking three batters but escaping in the first inning, Kopech was ambushed for four homers as the Sox struggled to even an important series at Guaranteed Rate Field.

A night after a perplexing Sox baserunning gaffe resulted in the first center field to third base triple play ever, the Twins knocked Kopech out in the fifth inning. Kopech allowed six runs on eight hits and four walks while striking out five over 4 2/3 innings and exited trailing 6-1.

The Twins led 8-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning when the game was delayed by rain.

The homers by Max Kepler, Jose Miranda, Alex Kirilloff and Jorge Polanco gave Sox opponents 52 at Guaranteed Rate Field. By comparison, the Sox have 32. Kirilloff homered again in the seventh against Vince Velasquez, giving the Twins an 8-2 lead.

Kopech owned a 1.92 ERA when he left his start against the Rangers after 13 pitches with a sore right knee. He made his next start a week later, but has allowed 16 earned runs in 21 innings since, raising his ERA to 3.34.

Kopech was 2-2 with a 2.17 ERA in five starts against first-place teams before Tuesday, including five scoreless innings at Minnesota April 22. He was trying to keep the Sox from falling to 0-5 against the Twins and to 5 1/2 games behind them in the AL Central standings.

The Sox began a stretch of 18 consecutive games against AL Central opponents Monday.

Grandal goes on rehab assignment

Yasmani Grandal leaves for a rehab assignment Wednesday and expects to rejoin the team July 22 after the All-Star break. Granda willl be at Double-A Birmingham through the weekend and then at Triple-A Charlotte, where he’ll work with Sox catching coordinator Julio Mosquera.

Grandal went on the IL with low back spasms June 13.

“My left leg actually pretty much turned off,” Grandal said. “Just because whatever was happening with my back hit a nerve and it like just completely shut the leg off.

“That was the biggest thing because if I wouldn’t have gotten the strength back in that left side, we would have gone in and gotten surgery. That was pretty much what concerned me. Thank God that wasn’t the case and we’ve been working back slowly.”

Jimenez back, but where?

Where Eloy Jimenez gets the bulk of his time — left field or designated hitter — when he comes off the injured list remains to be seen, although DH makes the most sense considering his defensive limitations and coming off an injury.

“You just go day to day,” manager Tony La Russa said. “I don’t know how realistic it is to play him three straight days in the outfield.”

A sore right leg has limited Andrew Vaughn to DH and first base since June 17, but he was working in the outfield with coach Daryl Boston Tuesday.

Jimenez’ arrival could bump third baseman Jake Burger, who is batting .250/.302/.458 with eight homers (and six errors) in 50 games, off the roster. Burger had one plate appearance on the west coast road trip last week, his time cut by Yoan Moncada’s return from the IL.

1,000 hit club

Josh Harrison had a double and single for his 999th and 1,000 career hits. Harrison is batting .353/.423/.500 since May 30.

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MILWAUKEE – Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman rejoined the team in Milwaukee after one rehab start, but Cubs manager David Ross wouldn’t say if Stroman (right shoulder inflammation) would pitch another before returning from the 10-day injured list.

The same went for Drew Smyly (right oblique strain).

“We haven’t gotten a full plan yet,” Ross said Tuesday, adding that he’d talk with both of them and map out their next steps.

Stroman threw 2 2/3 innings for Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, and Smyly threw four innings for Single-A South Bend on Monday. They’ve been on a similar throwing schedule for the last couple of weeks, and that’s expected to continue through their returns.

Before penciling Stroman and Smyly into the rotation, whether that comes during this turn or later, the Cubs have a hole to fill.

Cubs right-hander Alec Mills left seven pitches into his last start with a low back strain, landing on the 10-day IL on Sunday. His next start would have been Thursday, opening a four-game series against the Dodgers.

The Cubs have options. When Mills left the game Saturday, Mark Leiter Jr. replaced him and threw 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball to earn the win in the Cubs’ 3-1 victory against the Red Sox. Leiter could fill in again, if he isn’t needed for length out of the bullpen before Thursday.

Neither Stroman nor Smyly is likely to return Thursday, four and three days out from their respective rehab outings. So, when would it make sense to slot them in?

Between an off day next Monday and the All-Star break the week after, the Cubs have plenty of flexibility to skip starts and shift around the rotation. Plus, lefty Justin Steele, who announced this spring that he and his fiancee are expecting the birth of their first child in July, is expected to go on paternity leave sometime this month.

Hendricks exits after three innings

Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks left the game after throwing 69 pitches in three innings. His sinker velocity averaged 85.7 mph Tuesday, down from his 86.5 mph season average. It improved in the third inning but hit a low of 83.8 mph in the first inning.

Hendricks allowed two runs, both in the first inning.

Contreras day-to-day

Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (left hamstring tightness) was out of the lineup against the Brewers on Tuesday, after leaving the Cubs’ 5-2 loss Monday before the bottom half of the 10th inning. Ross described Contreras as “day-to-day” and did not rule out Contreras being available off the bench Tuesday.

“Very similar to what he felt last time,” Ross said. “Very precautious, was smart on his behalf [to pull himself].”

Last time, in late May, Contreras missed three games with hamstring tightness.

In other injury news …

Cubs reliever Daniel Norris (sprained left index finger) threw a 22-pitch live batting practice session on Tuesday, according to the team. Second baseman Nick Madrigal (left groin strain) and first baseman Frank Schwindel (low back strain) stood in against him.

Madrigal also went through a full slate of baseball activities, and Schwindel ran the bases.

Schwindel is scheduled to take ground balls on Wednesday. The Cubs have yet to announce next steps for Norris and Madrigal, but they’ll likely head out on rehab assignments in the coming days.

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MILWAUKEE — It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Cubs baseball, that is.

The Cubs were supposed to be more like the Brewers. Come to think of it, they were supposed to be better than the Brewers. Market sizes, franchise values, ballparks — shouldn’t the Cubs always be better than the Brewers?

But no. Here we are. Instead, Brewers $215 million man Christian Yelich is leaning back into his locker and waxing nostalgic about how sneaky-great his team’s rivalry with the Cubs recently was, which is another way of saying isn’t anymore.

“When you’d think of the Cubs, you would think [Anthony] Rizzo, [Kris] Bryant, [Javy] Baez, [Willson] Contreras, [Jon] Lester, [Kyle] Hendricks, [Jose] Quintana,” Yelich says. “We’d roll our guys out, they’d roll their guys out, we’d sweep them sometimes, they’d sweep us sometimes, we’d split, we’d have good battles, there’d be extra-inning games. It was just a lot of fun, man — a lot of fun.”

Those Cubs were Anthony Rizzo’s teams. Someone else might disagree with that assessment, but Brewers outfielder Andrew McCutchen — who played nine seasons in Pittsburgh, through 2017, and is on team No. 4 since — remembers it that way clearly.

“Rizzo was the guy,” he says. “Rizzo more than Bryant, more than Baez, more than any other guy that came through. He was the heartbeat of the team. He was — and I’m sure, to a lot of fans, still is — a Cub.”

But there was no romance in the end for Rizzo, just as there hadn’t been for McCutchen with the Pirates. Rizzo got shipped out along with Bryant and Baez, like Yu Darvish was before them and like Contreras and Hendricks — Tuesday’s starter against the National League Central leaders — might soon be. McCutchen, a five-time All-Star with the team that drafted him in 2005, died on the vine in Pittsburgh after a winning thing there was blown up.

“We had really good teams from 2013 to 2015, and nothing after that,” McCutchen says. “I asked myself for years, What happened? Why didn’t we build off it? Why didn’t we go grab a big name? You ask all those questions, but you’re not going to get answers you’re looking for.

“Am I surprised the Cubs are rebuilding? No, because the game’s not as loyal as it used to be. It’s just not. There’s no loyalty. There ain’t one person I played with over there at the Pirates, and [soon] there won’t be one person Rizzo played with over there at the Cubs.”

But maybe, just maybe, the Brewers are different than that. And if they aren’t necessarily more loyal than the next organization — than the Cubs — then they’re certainly more wise. How can one not feel that way about a team in this modest market that’s pointed toward its franchise-record fifth consecutive postseason appearance? And there are no signs — zero — that a winning window will be slammed before the streak reaches six years or seven. Ride the postseason lightning to a World Series title one of these times, and president of baseball operations David Stearns and the Brewers will be able to make the claim that they surpassed what the filthy-rich Cubs of 2015 to 2020 accomplished.

In some ways, they already have. They have Yelich on a long-term extension, starter Freddy Peralta on a club-friendly deal, starters Corbin Burns and Brandon Woodruff not going anywhere. Will they pony up to extend lefty reliever Josh Hader? Around here, that’s as stressful a question as there is.

“I do expect [the winning] to continue, yeah,” manager Craig Counsell says. “I don’t think I can say it any other way. I think we’ve got a good team. I think we’ve got young players. There’s always challenges with the way the game works, but our front office has done a great job of kind of managing that process.”

Counsell himself, in his eighth season and signed through 2023, already is the longest-tenured manager in the National League and the winningest one in franchise history. The Brewers are more likely to erect a statue of him than they are to dead-man-walk him out of town as the Cubs did with Joe Maddon.

The Brewers beat the daylights out of the Cubs in 2021 — the year the Cubs officially capitulated — going 15-4 and winning all six series head-to-head. They haven’t been as dominant against the Cubs this season, but there’s not an ounce of drama or suspense in terms of the standings. At present, it’s a rivalry in name only.

And speaking of names, did you catch the one belonging to Tuesday’s Brewers starting pitcher? It’s Jason Alexander, who went seven innings against the Cubs in his major league debut on June 1 at Wrigley Field. An old “Seinfeld” fan with limited range to his sense of humor couldn’t resist placing a couple of the character George Costanza’s greatest lines in the Cubs-Brewers context.

“It’s not you, it’s me,” the Brewers might as well have said before leaving the rebuilding Cubs behind.

And as for the Cubs not wanting to use the word “rebuild,” not wanting to admit the truth that a monster-market team with every advantage under the sun should always be better than this?

As George hilariously, pathetically put it, “It’s not a lie if you believe it.”

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The hugs and smiles from teammates said it all.

The White Sox are happy to have Eloy Jimenez back.

The question didn’t need to be asked but it was presented to Jose Abreu anyway.

Good to see Eloy?

Looking across the way at Jimenez at his locker, Abreu nodded approvingly with a smile.

The Sox need more offense and more home runs in particular, and Jimenez, who returned to the team from his minor league rehab assignment but was not reinstated from the injured list, has the potential to provide it when he suits up, probably Wednesday.

Jimenez hit 31 homers as a rookie in 2019 and was a Silver Slugger winner in 2020 but injuries have limited his time since.

He hit one homer in 11 games before going down April 23 with a hamstring tear that required surgery, and hit just two homers with a .246/.318/.351 hitting line in a 17-game minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte. So getting home run power from him doesn’t feel like a given.

“We just have to get back to being us,” said catcher Yasmani Grandal, who revealed Tuesday that he’s starting a rehab assignment at Double-A Birmingham Wednesday and expects be return after the All-Star break – the second bit of welcome news before the Sox played the Twins Tuesday at Guaranteed Rate Field. “First and foremost in order to win games you have to score runs. The offense has to get back on hunting and attacking and whatever happens, happens.”

The Sox ranked 11th in the majors homers in 2021, when they won 93 games and the AL Central Division. They ranked 26th Tuesday, sitting in third place with a 38-40 record.

“It’s obvious the home run ball has played a huge part in our success,” Grandal said. “I also think it plays a huge part in any team’s success. The good thing is we figured out different ways to manufacture runs. It’s made us a better team. So once the home runs come back it’s going to be a well-rounded offense where we’re not only winning games with the long ball but we’re winning without the long ball.”

Grandal hit 23 in 93 games last season but was struggling with a .185/.294/.237 hitting line and two homers in 50 games before went down with back spasms. Jimenez hit 10 homers in 55 games last season.

When Jimenez and Grandal are back, barring injuries the lineup will include Tim Anderson, Andrew Vaughn, Robert, Abreu, Moncada and Grandal for the first time this season.

Injuries have riddled the Sox roster since Opening Day, but with everyone coming back to the lineup, the starting rotation actually rotating with its five top pieces and Liam Hendriks back from his forearm injury, there should be no more excuses.

“Everybody is ready and healthy to play and then we’ll be prosperous,” Moncada said through translator Billy Russo. “If everybody is healthy, the rest is going to take care of itself. Health is a big if.”

The Sox’ brand of baseball – bad baserunning and shaky defense have in particular – has been iffy, too. And that must end.

“Just looking good on paper doesn’t take you very far,” manager Tony La Russa said Tuesday. “It’s taking it on the field and pitching, making plays and hitting.”

La Russa said the accountability chain starts with him. It’s also on coaches and players.

“You’ve got to pay attention, look deep,” he said.

“You’ve got to really analyze the situation. And the guys who are supposed to analyze it are the guys in uniform. Especially here, you’ve got expectations that you’re supposed to win. And if you don’t win, people get upset.

“I guarantee we’re as upset when we get beat as the fans are. But you just can’t [say], ‘Oh I see that’ … There’s more to it than that. The payoff is in analyzing, being honest and creating an atmosphere where guys recognize that when we do something wrong we’ve got to address it and we’ve got to fix it to get better.”

Maybe having Jimenez back in the lineup will make the Sox better.

It can’t hurt.

“They say he’s ready to go,” La Russa said. “We’re different when he’s around.”

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MONTREAL –Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson and the NHL’s 31 other GMs will meet for several hours Wednesday afternoon in Montreal ahead of the draft Thursday and Friday.

Trades won’t officially be on the meeting agenda, but from an external standpoint, the spin-off trade discussions the meeting might produce is clearly the most intriguing part.

Davidson will likely be an active player in said discussions, too, and remain so into Thursday and Friday. The Hawks have made it clear their top priority is to accumulate as many future-oriented assets –namely picks and prospects — as possible, and they’re willing to listen to offers on any current players.

Alex DeBrincat obviously headlines that list; he might headline the list of players on the block across the entire NHL, although it remains unclear if he will be moved this week. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported recently the Flyers have talked with the Hawks about DeBrincat, but the Flyers’ unwillingness to part with the No. 5 overall pick cooled off those negotiations.

DeBrincat isn’t the only player for whom Davidson will be trying to find a suitor, though. With pending restricted free agent forwards Dylan Strome and Dominik Kubalik seemingly not in the Hawks’ plans moving forward, trading their RFA rights to more interested teams would be prudent.

The issue is whether any teams will be willing to give up anything — even a mid-round pick — for either guy. Even if the Hawks do get another team to bite, they probably won’t get very much in return.

The Hawks have backed themselves into somewhat of a corner here, given that it’s practically common knowledge now that they don’t plan to issue a qualifying offer to either player by Sunday’s deadline. By next Wednesday, they’ll likely both be unrestricted free agents.

That’s because of several reasons. Strome’s QO would come in at $3.6 million and Kubalik’s at $4 million, both potentially above fair market value. Strome, at age 25, and Kubalik, a month away from turning 27, won’t still be in their primes when the Hawks try to contend again in a few years. And both can be significant offensive contributors when hot, which would be counterintuitive to the Hawks’ tanking objective.

So the only advantages for another team trading for Strome or Kubalik would be the opportunity to either sign him to an extension in the next few days or to qualify him Sunday –at the aforementioned price — and figure out an extension later this summer. And in Kubalik’s case, it’s really just the former, because it’s unlikely any team would be willing to pay him $4 million coming off his highly disappointing 32-point 2021-22 season.

The Hawks would theoretically have been much better off dealing them back in March at the trade deadline, or even before that, but it’s hard to hold them at fault for not.

Kubalik’s value was already depressed then, and they likely hoped he would eventually find his game again. Strome never received much trade interest from other teams all season long, per sources, despite the Hawks’ continued efforts to shop him.

Now the very end of the two enigmatic forwards’ tenures in Chicago has (probably) arrived, and Davidson will presumably take pretty much whatever he can get for them. But given his lack of leverage here, there’s no guarantee that mindset will lead to actual trades coming to fruition.

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Michael Jordan will grace the cover of a special edition for NBA 2K23 which is set to release this September

Michael Jordan is back.

Well, sort of. The G.O.A.T. will once again grace the cover of the NBA 2K video game for the 2k23 version later this year, the publisher confirmed on Tuesday. Jordan will be on the cover of the Michael Jordan Edition and the limited Championship Editions that will release on September 9th.

But it’s not just the 23 that got Jordan on the cover. The game says that Jordan’s spirit matches the theme for the game’s campaign mode.

“After making 23 the most recognizable number in sports, it was only fitting that for NBA 2K23 we introduce the Michael Jordan Edition,” said Alfie Brody, vice president of global marketing strategy for NBA 2K via IGN.

Each year the game releases the normal version but does have a special edition version that features bonus content for users. This year, the Championship Edition is a brand new tier that also includes access to NBA League Pass.  If you were a fan of the iconic Jordan challenges from NBA 2K11, then you’ll be happy to know that those challenges are returning for this year’s game as well including new challenges from Jordan’s career including the Olympics.

Check out the teaser trailer for Jordan on the cover here:

More info about the game will be revealed in the coming weeks leading up to the release.

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Pro Football Focus ranks the Chicago Bears secondary worse than they did in 2021

Pro Football Focus has been attacking the Chicago Bears lately. PFF ranked the Bears’ offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and wide receivers at or near the bottom of their rankings. The latest Bears unit to follow suit was the secondary.

The Bears focused on the secondary in the 2022 draft. Cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker were taken by the Chicago Bears with their first two picks of the draft in the second round. Brisker is grabbing some analysts’ attention as a possible “All-Rookie” player.

Evidently, those draft choices weren’t enough for PFF writer Michael Renner, who ranked the Bears 31st heading into the 2022 season.

Here’s what Renner wrote about the current Bears’ secondary unit:

It’s worrisome that this Bears secondary lacks a single player who they can point to and say for certain he’ll be reliable. Eddie Jackson is supposed to be that guy — and is being paid as such — but even he has earned coverage grades of 56.9 and 55.8 the past two seasons.

Renner didn’t say anything of much at all. He just criticized a veteran who claimed 2021 was one of his worst seasons and aims to be better this year. He mentioned nothing at all of the incoming rookies who had stellar careers in college keeping people out of the endzone.

Personally, I’m not worried about Jackson this year. He and Jaylon Johnson will both be able to be reliable this season. Johnson was one of the hardest cornerbacks the Los Angeles Rams had to plan for, according to wide receiver Cooper Kupp.

PFF called the Chicago Bears secondary one of the most improved units after the 2022 draft

Ben Linsey of PFF claimed the Chicago Bears’ secondary to be one of the most improved units following this year’s draft. Linsey was impressed by the new Bears players on the roster. Here’s what Linsey said about the Bears’ secondary in May:

Washington’s Kyler Gordon will likely get the first crack at the starting job opposite Jaylon Johnson outside, although he showed at Washington that he can play in the slot, as well. As the PFF Draft Guide put it, Gordon has some of the best burst in the class, even if his 40-yard dash time (4.52 seconds) was worse than expected. He was billed as a first-round talent by many and addresses a glaring need for a cornerback room thin on talent.

The Bears doubled down in the secondary with Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker in Round 2. Like Gordon, he’s an explosive athlete with good size and will be best utilized in and around the box. He’s a willing and physical tackler who earned a 79.4 PFF run-defense grade across his three seasons with the Nittany Lions to go along with strong marks in coverage.

Those are big additions for a secondary that collectively ranked 26th out of 32 defenses in PFF grade last season.

This doesn’t seem to be consistent at all. How could the additions have brought the Bears to an overall ranking worse than 2021? The Bears’ secondary was ranked 19th heading into the 2021 season, according to PFF. A team that is the most improved at a position shouldn’t fall in the rankings…

The Chicago Bears’ secondary will be better than in 2021

Forget what PFF says in their latest outlook for the Chicago Bears secondary this season, they already forgot about the draft. Gordon and Brisker will make the Bears’ secondary the best unit on the team in 2022. This contradictory information by PFF is annoying, but at least it shows they don’t really have a clue how any of the Bears will do this season.

The Bears will probably still not be good at football in 2022. But there will be signs of a new Bears core emerging that will win games in the near future. The Bears’ secondary will be one of those bright spots on the team.

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The White Sox are entering a stretch of games that could determine their 2022 prospects.

The first test did not go well.

Minnesota scored four times in the 10th inning to beat the Sox 6-3on Monday. Johnny Cueto contributed six innings of two-run ball and Jose Abreu hit a solo home run, but Byron Buxton and questionable baserunning from the home team allowed Minnesota to take a 5 1/2-game lead over the Sox in the AL Central.

Buxton, who hit a two-run homer in the fifth, got the Twins out of a jam in the seventh after Yoan Moncada singled to tie the game at 2. With no outs and pinch-runner Adam Engel at second and Moncada at first, Buxton ran down AJ Pollock’s drive to deep center. Engel and Moncada apparently didn’t think the ball would be caught, and were both out on a triple play.

The Sox got the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the 10th but Tim Anderson struck out against Jhoan Duran, starting a two-week stretch of divisional games on a sour note.

“This is a real crunch time for us,” said closer Liam Hendriks, who came off the 15-day IL after recovering from a right forearm strain and struck out the side in the eighth inning.

The Sox entered this key stretch coming off a three-game sweep of the Giants but still in third place behind Minnesota and the Guardians with the All-Star break and trade deadline looming. But to Engel, that doesn’t mean the Sox are playing with more urgency than before.

“This team is going to be a really, really good, scary team when we’re all there,” said Engel, who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list after going down with a strained right hamstring. “I think that’s what we’re all excited for, and to say that we’re more urgent than we were prior, I don’t think would be the right phrasing for it. The timing, if we can continue to play good baseball, obviously this is as good of timing as any, for sure.”

Sox manager Tony La Russa was ejected in the top of the 10th for arguing balls and strikes.

Injury updates
Monday was an important night for determining when outfielder Eloy Jimenez (torn tendon in right hamstring) might come off the IL and return to the Sox. Jimenez batted third and played left field for Triple-A Charlotte, collecting two hits.

Asked whether Jimenez might return to the Sox by the end of the week, La Russa said a lot depends on Monday.

”Talking to him this weekend and this morning, he’s feeling good,” La Russa said. ”But to play and feel good, the guys watching him have to evaluate that. He can’t come here to get in shape and then get hurt. But right now, we watch everyone very closely as far as that decision goes.”

The Sox also are waiting on catcher Yasmani Grandal to return from back spasms. La Russa said Grandal was supposed to throw to bases Monday, but that plan was delayed by the pregame rain.

”He’s getting better,” La Russa said. ”I don’t think there’s a time frame yet [for Grandal’s return].”

Roster moves
To make room for Engel and Hendriks on the roster, the Sox optioned outfielder Adam Haseley and reliever Jimmy Lambert to Charlotte.

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MILWAUKEE — Cubs closer David Robertson was warming up next to reliever Scott Effross in the top of the ninth inning when Seiya Suzuki gave the Cubs a one-run lead on an inside-the-park home run.

Robertson watched Suzuki slide across the plate. And knew he’d be getting the call in the bottom of the ninth inning.

“We had a chance to win that game,” Robertson said after the Cubs’ 5-2 extra-innings loss to the Brewers, “And I just went out there and blew it.”

Robertson (1.95 ERA) has been consistent in high-leverage spots for the Cubs much of the year, logging 11 saves. But on Monday he recorded his fourth blown save of the season.

“Dave competed,” Cubs manager David Ross said after the game. “Looked like he just lost command for five pitches. It happens. Trust him with the ball every single night. Nobody’s perfect, guys aren’t robots out there.”

Robertson loaded the bases with a bloop single to shallow right field, an automatic double that bounced over the center field fence, and a hit batter with two outs.

Then, Brewers leadoff hitter Christian Yelich stepped up to the plate. Robertson walked him in four pitches, pushing the tying run across the plate.

Threw a lot of curveballs in a row and then could get a fastball in the zone,” Robertson said. “Just needed to make quality pitches and wasn’t able to.”

The Cubs threatened a comeback in the 10th, loading the bases. But Willson Contreras and Ian Happ, the Cubs’ most consistent hitters this season, struck out back to back to end the frame.

Brewers catcher Victor Caratini hit a walk-off three-run homer off Effross to end the game.

Steele deals

Cubs lefty Justin Steele held Milwaukee to one run in 6 2/3 innings. He didn’t allow a hit through the first four innings he pitched.

In the sixth inning, he issued a two-out walk to Keston Hiura, who then stole second base. Pedro Severino lined a double just out of Happ’s reach in left field, tying the game.

Vel?zquez’s first homer

Cubs rookie Nelson Vel?zquez turned on an inside slider and launched it into the left-field stands at American Family Field in the third inning for his first big-league homer and the Cubs only run before the ninth inning.

“That was sick,” Steele said. “I’ve been telling him, ‘Dude, I’m waiting to see your first home run.’ Dude’s a big boy, so if he gets into it, I want to see it.”

Injury updates

Ross evaluated right-hander Marcus Stroman’s rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday as “better than the line.” Stroman (right shoulder inflammation) allowed five runs in 2 2/3 innings.

“Stuff looked really sharp and crisp,” Ross said of the report from the outing.

Over the weekend, Stroman said he expected he’d need just one rehab outing before returning from the 15-day IL. But on Monday afternoon, Ross wouldn’t commit to a timeline, saying he hadn’t yet talked with Stroman about how he felt the day after the start.

Cubs lefty Drew Smyly (right oblique strain) allowed three runs in four innings on rehab assignment with Single-A South Bend on Monday.

Contreras left Monday’s game after the top of the 10th inning with left hamstring tightness.

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