Chicago Sports

After falling behind 0-2, Jorge Mateo stepped out of the box in an apparent effort to disrupt the rhythm of Dylan Cease.

No chance.

Cease proceeded to strike out Mateo to start the third inning for the sixth of a career-high 13 strikeouts Sunday.

After losing four consecutive games, the only obstacle facing the White Sox was themselves as they survived a harrowing ninth inning to seize a 4-3 victory over the Orioles and avert a four-game sweep.

The Sox (34-37) averted falling to a season-high five games below .500, which would have cast more scrutiny as they embarked to the West Coast for six games against the Angels and Giants.

They departed with joy and relief thanks largely to Cease’s dominance, in which he scattered four hits over seven innings.

“That’s why we’ve got to work to keep him healthy,” manager Tony La Russa said. “He’s up there with the top echelon of starting pitchers. Just look at the work he’s doing against the teams he’s doing it to, the quality of the pitches, going through those lineups three times.

“That was an unbelievable ninth, though.”

Joe Kelly struck out Austin Hays to persevere a three-run lead, but tensions mounted after first baseman Jose Abreu dropped a throw and botched a grounder to start the ninth. Jonathan Arauz hit a bases-loaded single, and Cedric Mullins hit a sacrifice fly to move the tying run to third.

But Kendall Graveman, handling the closer’s duties in place of injured Liam Hendricks, struck out Trey Mancini and alleviated the worst fears of 29,191 fans.

“That win needed to happen,” Graveman said. “It would have been a tough way to lose it.”

Especially after Cease mixed in his 98 mph fastball to keep the Orioles’ batters from looking exclusively for his sharp slider that earned five of his first six strikeouts.

“You’ve definitely got to mix it in and make sure they know that it’s not just going to be spin,” said Cease, who threw 67 of his 101 pitches for strikes. “Lot of strikes, that’s good.”

Gavin Sheets’ two-run homer in the second provided early support as well as represented the Sox’s first homer since they hit three June 20 in a win over the Blue Jays.

All five of Sheets’ homers this season have been hit at home.

Sosa poked a double down the right-field line for his first major league hit in the third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Andrew Vaughn.

“Even though the first few days I wasn’t able to get my first one, they kept telling me ‘don’t worry, don’t worry, you’re going to get your first one sooner rather than later,’ ” Sosa said.

Cease, meanwhile, strengthened his American League All-Star credentials by lowering his ERA to 2.56 and increased his strikeout total to 121 in 15 starts, the third most by a Sox pitcher in his first 15 starts of a season.

Cease, who threw 46 sliders, earned his fourth double-digit strikeout game in 2022 – tying him with Javier Vazquez for fifth-most in franchise history.

“I want to be that guy that the team can rely on,” Cease said. “To go out and give seven like that is definitely a positive.”

And Graveman maintained his poise through the chaos in the ninth, gathering his infielders for some positive reinforcement after Abreu’s second error.

” ‘Hey, it’s fine,’ ” Graveman told them. ” ‘We still got to win a baseball game. No panic. Nobody’s fault. Hey, I’ll pick you up and do the best I can to pick you up.’ “

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The long-awaited cast of reinforcements should start to join White Sox as soon as Tuesday night.

Third baseman Yoan Moncada could start when he’s eligible to return from the 10-day injured list. Manager Tony La Russa said he had a lengthy chat with Moncada, who has been sidelined due to a right hamstring strain.

“It would be nice to get Yoan in there and get some muscle in the middle of that lineup,” La Russa said.

A more curious situation involves outfielder Eloy Jim?nez, who has been relegated to designated hitter duties since resuming his minor league rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte. Jimenez is 4-for-21 and told La Russa recently he felt good but has yet to play the outfield after missing two weeks because of discomfort in his surgically repaired right hamstring.

“I just want to see Eloy,” La Russa said. “I want him hitting in the middle of our lineup with that ability to drive in important runs. But only if he’s healthy, right? Can’t rush it.”

Lopez still dreams of starting

Reynaldo Lopez’s 14-strikeout performance against the Tigers three years ago raised attention regarding his ability as a starting pitcher.

Lopez yearns to start in the future and said he’s a more complete pitcher since his career-high strikeout performance.

“If you check that outing, 13 of the 14 batters I struck out with fastballs and just one slider,” Lopez said Sunday of his outing on April 28, 2019, when pitched six innings of a 4-1 win. “Now I’m a better pitcher because I have better command of my fastball and my slider is way better. I can locate all pitches, especially my fastball in and out, high and low.

“Wherever I want to locate that pitch, that’s a game changer. You have that confidence now you can throw your pitches in any count and execute them. My pitches are better now. They’re sharper now, and that’s the difference.”

As of now, Lopez, 28, is too valuable to move from the bullpen, where he. hasn’t allowed a run in his last 11 innings covering eight games (including one appearance as an opener). Lopez has limited opponents to a .188average with runners on base, and they’re batting .083 (1-for-12) with running in scoring position with two out and .212 (7-for-33) with runners in scoring position.

Lopez, 28, acknowledged that he is pitching more aggressively as a reliever and has appreciated the tips given to him at the start of the season by fellow reliever Kendall Graveman, such as game planning and studying the strengths and weaknesses of opposing batters more closely.

Juggling act

Ryan Haseley felt ill and didn’t start Sunday, so Josh Harrison made his first start in left field but had no chances in seven innings. Harrison has made 53 career starts in left, including three with the A’s in 2021.

“We told him, ‘we put you in for your offense,’ ” La Russa said. Harrison responded with two hits.

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ST. LOUIS – Sometimes baseball defies logic. The Cubs, after starting the road trip with a lopsided series loss to the Pirates, played the Cardinals close for three straight games.

In the series finale Sunday, they beat the Cardinals 6-5 in extra innings, claiming the series 2-1.

Cubs catcher Willson Contreras delivered the winning run, leading off the 10th inning with an RBI single through the right side of the field.

Before that, the Cubs battled back from a five-run deficit to tie the game in the fourth inning. Nico Hoerner started the rally, hitting a leadoff infield single, the first of four straight singles for the Cubs.

Yan Gomes followed him with a line drive into right field. Then, Alfonso Rivas beat the shift with a hit through the left side of the infield, driving in a run. David Bote’s single up the middle loaded the bases again.

Christopher Morel struck out to end the streak. But with one out, Rafael Ortega and Willson Contreras each drove in two runs.

The Cardinals finally got out of the inning with a heads-up play by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. Cubs cleanup hitter Ian Happ hit a line drive at Goldschmidt, which the first baseman dropped. But with the force still in play, he tagged Contreras as he slid back to first and then stepped on the bag for a double play.

Go long

Cubs starter Alec Mills ran into trouble his second time through the Cardinals batting order. He gave up back-to-back home runs, to Brendan Donovan and Goldschmidt, to begin the third inning. Then, with two outs, he threw a sinker middle-in to Juan Yepez on the first pitch of the at-bat, and Yepez drove it over the fence.

Matt Swarmer, who had originally been slated to start on Sunday, replaced Mills, trailing 5-0.

Swarmer’s ERA had ballooned from 1.50 to 5.84 over his last three starts. And Cubs manager David Ross said he wanted a look at him in the bullpen.

Swarmer held the Cardinals hitless through 2 1/3 innings of relief.

Heyward out of lineup

Cubs right fielder Jason Heyward has been dealing with a minor knee issue, Ross revealed on Sunday. Heyward has been out of the lineup for two games.

“Just trying to give him a day or two,” Ross said.

Nelson Vel?zquez and Ortega started in right field against the Cardinals on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

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An extra-alarm fire broke out Sunday afternoon at a commercial building in Dunning on the Northwest Side.

The blaze started just before 3 p.m. in the 4100 block of North Nashville Avenue and was upgraded to a three-alarm, level one hazmat fire, Chicago fire officials said.

No injuries have been reported, officials said.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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One person was killed and another wounded after gunmen opened fire on a CTA bus Sunday afternoon in Garfield Park.

About 1:20 p.m., two armed males entered the bus in the 300 block of South PulaskiRoad, walked to the ,back and began shooting at two people on board, Chicago police said.

A male, whose age was unknown, was shot in the head and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said.

A man, 24, suffered a graze wound to the head and refused medical attention, police said.

Following the shooting, the gunmen exited the bus and fled eastbound.

Area Four detectives are investigating.

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Four minors were among six people critically injured in a basement fire in West Humboldt Park on the Northwest Side, according to Chicago fire officials.

The fire began in the basement of a house in the 4000 block of West Potomac Avenue about 12:20 a.m., fire officials said.

Officials said four “pediatrics” and two adults were taken to Saints Mary and Elisabeth Medical Center and West Suburban Hospital in critical condition.

Chicago police officers also responded to the blaze, but didn’t immediately provide details.

A neighbor who lived across the street told the Sun-Times she saw the victims earlier today. She broke down in tears as she overheard a fire official mention that it “wasn’t looking too good” for at least one of them.

No further information was immediately available.

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SPRINGFIELD, Mass — Alex Lyon stopped all 28 shots he faced as the Wolves wrapped up their fifth league championship with a 4-0 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday night in Game 5 of the Calder Cup Finals.

Captain Andrew Poturalski, Orland Park native David Gust, postseason Most Valuable Player Josh Leivo and defenseman Max Lajoie scored for the Wolves (14-4), who swept four games in six days from the Thunderbirds after losing in overtime in Game 1. Lyon pushed his postseason record to 9-3 with his second shutout of the playoffs.

“Credit to these players, man, they’re something special,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We wanted to get a group together to do something special.

“It was never about winning a championship in November. It was, ‘Let’s have a really good day today and get better and win that day.’ You have to play for each other and you have to play for something bigger than yourself. Every guy in there bought into it.”

The Wolves became the first American Hockey League team in 22 years to produce two shutouts in the Finals while earning the right to raise a 2022 Calder Cup Champions banner at Allstate Arena that will go next to the ones for the 1998 Turner Cup, 2000 Turner Cup, 2002 Calder Cup and 2008 Calder Cup.

Goaltender Charlie Lindgren denied the Wolves early with two highlight-reel glove saves, but the visitors maintained consistent pressure and wound up scoring the opening goal for the 12th game in a row, thanks to Lajoie.

He chased down an errant shot along the left half-wall, scooted in and fired a shot that was blocked and came back to his stick. He chipped another shot that banked off defenseman Matthew Kessel’s upper body and across the goal line for a 1-0 lead at 18:39 of the first.

“I tried to hit [Ivan Lodnia] back-door and then got the puck back,” Lajoie said. “I just tried to put it on net. I think it went off their ‘D,’ but it’s a good bounce for us.”

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ST. LOUIS – When Nico Hoerner logged the Cubs’ first home run of the season, manager David Ross burst into the Wrigley Field interview after the game saying, “Who had Nico Hoerner on their first home run pool?”

Hoerner smiled when reminded on Saturday of Ross’ reaction, before the Cubs’ 5-3 loss to the Cardinals. Hoerner’s most recent home run of the season, which he blasted over the left field fence on Friday, brought his season total to a career-high four homers.

“There’s a lot that comes from just the opportunity to play every day,” Hoerner said, “and just accumulate at-bats, face pitchers multiple times. And all those things are very real. … But I think there’s a lot more there still.”

Hoerner is one of the longer tenured players on this roster, which has seen dramatic turnover in the past couple years, so it’s easy to forget how little professional experience he’s had. This season is Hoerner’s first with at least 50 MLB games. And he only debuted in 2019, after the Double-A season.

Now, Hoerner is setting single-season career highs every couple days. On Thursday, he set a new career high in RBI (18). The next day he hit his fourth home run of the year, also adding two more RBI to his season total.

On the defensive side, he’s established himself as the Cubs’ everyday shortstop, despite external rumblings over the offseason about whether he could or should be the Cubs’ answer at that position this year.

“The concept of a ceiling is kind of silly in this game,” Hoerner said. “And I don’t know what that is. And I’m excited to see what that is. And that’s just a day-by-day thing. I’ve never set out to be drafted in a certain round, or go to a certain school, or make it to the big-leagues by a certain year. It’s always been day-by-day for me. And I’ve been fortunate how things have turned out, obviously, but that’s going to be my approach moving forward. I think it’s more enjoyable.”

Hoerner, of course, was selected in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft. He was coming from Stanford. He made it to the big-leagues the next year.

Suzuki to take live BP

Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki (sprained left ring finger) was expected to take live batting practice in Arizona on Saturday, according to the team. Ross said if all goes well, he anticipates Suzuki joining the team in Chicago on Tuesday to be evaluated for next steps.

Progressing to live batting practice is a good sign for a rehab process that’s been “moving pretty fast,” according to Ross, since Suzuki headed to Arizona last week.

Mills gets the nod

The Cubs originally penciled in Matt Swarmer to start in the series finale against the Cardinals. But by the time they got to St. Louis, they’d changed their probable starter Sunday to Alec Mills.

Mills was already stretched out, after throwing 4 1/3 innings in a blowout loss to the Pirates on Monday. It will be his first start of the season, after a back injury in spring training took him out of the competition for a rotation spot.Ross said he plans to try Swarmer out in the bullpen.

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A 16-year-old girl was wounded by gunfire Saturday afternoon in Grand Crossing on the South Side.

The teen was on a sidewalk in the 1500 block of East 75th Street about 4:30 p.m. when someone inside a car fired shots, striking her in the arm, Chicago police said.

She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was reportedly in good condition, officials said.

No one was in custody.

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ST. LOUIS – When Adrian Sampson joined the Cubs on this two-city road trip, manager David Ross made sure to say, I told you so.

He didn’t lead with that, first asking about his early flight into Pittsburgh on Thursday. But after those niceties, Ross added with a smile: “I told you you’d be here.”

On Saturday, Sampson made his first major league start of the season, in a whirlwind year for the right-hander, as the Cubs lost 5-3 the Cardinals. He held the Cardinals to two runs through five innings at Busch Stadium.

Both those runs came in the first inning, as he gave up three straight base hits, two of which were bloopers that dropped into left field.

Sampson had earned the start after holding the Braves to one hit through 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief last week.Days later, the Cubs had to trim the number of pitchers on their roster to 13, as the new roster limit went into effect. The Cubs optioned Sampson to Triple-A.

“I know I’ll see you back real soon,” Ross said as he delivered the news, in what he described as an “extremely difficult” conversation.

That back-and-forth barely begins to describe the kind of year Sampson has had.

Sampson began the year in the Cubs organization, but they designated him for assignment on May 10, and Seattle claimed him off waivers. He never appeared for the Mariners, who cut him eight days later, putting Sampson in, as Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy put it, “DFA limbo.”

When he cleared waivers, Sampson elected free agency instead of an outright assignment to the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate.The Cubs signed Sampson to a minor-league contract on May 31. He hadn’t pitched in a game in over three weeks.

“For him to take that all in stride, it’s just a testament to who he is and his work ethic,” Hottovy said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. “And he’s being rewarded for handling things the right way.”

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