Chicago Sports

DETROIT — Michael Kopech’s first start as a certified member of the White Sox starting rotation lasted four innings Sunday.

Four innings that never meant so much.

“Today was important to me,” Kopech, finally a starter now after serving an apprenticeship of sorts as reliever last season. “I may have put a little bit extra pressure on myself because it was important to me.”

Kopech talked to his father on the phone for two hours the night before, which helped him find the right mindset before he allowed a run on two hits and two walks while striking out three Tigers in a 10-1 victory at Comerica Park.

“And I always am thinking about my son and putting myself in a position where I can do more to support his life,” he said. “Today was a big day for me.”

It was also big for the Sox in the context of Kopech building up length after a shortened spring training and shaking off his lackluster final Cactus League start. Kopech threw 69 pitches, 41 for strikes, adjusted on the fly and touched 97 mph in a more than acceptable and certainly reassuring outing.

While Tim Anderson set the tone with a double on the first pitch, Kopech set it on the mound before Kyle Crick, Kendall Graveman, Matt Foster and Tanner Banks, a 30-year-old lefty in his major league debut, combined for five hitless relief innings. Banks covered the last two innings and struck out four.

With Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito sidelined by injuries, the Sox need Dylan Cease and Kopech for heavier lifting as the top two arms in the rotation. Vince Velasquez starts the home opener Tuesday against the Mariners and Dallas Keuchel goes Wednesday. Thursday is TBA.

“Everybody’s an option,” pitching coach Ethan Katz said. “We’ve got some guys that are not here as possible options, guys that are in the clubhouse as options. We’re just going to have to be creative and try to weather this storm and find matchups that best suit the other team’s lineup and kind of work off of that.”

Giolito (abdominal strain) has not landed on the injured list yet but might when the Sox return home Tuesday.

Reynaldo Lopez will stay in the bullpen at least until reliever Joe Kelly is ready to pitch, probably by the end of the month. Cease could work on four days rest Thursday but an extra day is preferred. Perhaps Banks, who has starting experience in the minors, will get a start.

Johnny Cueto is also on the horizon. Katz knows the former All-Star, signed to a $4.2 million minor league contract, from when both were with the Giants. Cueto needs to build up innings at Triple-A Charlotte first.

Being in shape will not bean issue, Katz said.

“When he’s ready he’ll be banging on the door and we’re going to be banging on the door at Triple-A to know when he’s ready,” Katz said.

Kopech looked more than ready following a side session with Katz Friday in which he cleaned up some minor delivery glitches. He figures to go deeper next time out.

“I really liked being able to get through four especially when the bullpen has been heavy this series,” Kopech said.

Tim Anderson had three hits including two doubles, Andrew Vaughn drove in four runs with two hits including his second homer of the series and Jose Abreu drove in two runs with three hits including a double. Abreu scored three runs.

“The most impressive thing we did was to get our heart broken and come out the next two days and play and get wins,” La Russa said.

“We have a real confidence that the chemistry, the environment, the leadership in that clubhouse is going to be outstanding. Good times and tough times. That will not be our issue. Our issue is going to be making sure we can plug in the gaps until we get some pitching back. We’ve got two guys out. Having guys step up and get it done, that’s our issue.”

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Sometimes it’s good to spend money.

Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman showed that in the Cubs’ 5-4 loss Sunday to the Brewers. Combined, the Cubs shelled out more than $170 million to snag the two players to help them try to compete while refurbishing the organization.

Even though they squandered a chance to complete a season-opening sweep,the Cubs got strong returns on their offseason investments Sunday.

Suzuki, who joined the Cubs on a five-year, $85 million deal after leaving Japan’s Hiroshima Toyo Carp, hit a three-run home run in the opening inning off Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta for his first big-league homer. The Cubs also had to pay a $14.625 million posting fee to acquire the 27-year-old Suzuki, one of the most coveted position players to leave Japanese baseball for North America.

Stroman, 30, was inked right before the lockout to a three-year, $71 million contract. Making his Cubs debut Sunday, Stroman went five innings, allowing one run and two hits, with the only blemish coming on Willy Adames’ third-inning solo home run.

Stroman left with a 3-1 lead, but reliever Jesse Chavez surrendered a Christian Yelich run-scoring double and Rowdy Tellez’s two-run home run in the sixth to give the Brewers a 4-3 advantage. Thanks to two wild pitches from Milwaukee reliever Jake Cousins, the second bringing in Clint Frazier, the Cubs tied the game in the bottom of the sixth.

The Brewers went back ahead in the seventh on Mike Brosseau’s pinch-home run off the Cubs’ Daniel Norris. With two outs and Nico Hoerner on third, the Cubs had a chance to tie in the bottom of the inning, but Jonathan Villar dove into first after hitting a chopper to second and was narrowly out.

Before the game, Cubs manager David Ross said Stroman’s laid-back personality stands out. But at the same time, Ross mentioned Stroman’s preparation, work ethic and routine.

“I’m not going to compare the two, but when Jon [Lester], you first get around him and see they come into work and it’s work first and then I’m going to go into being kind of a teammate,” Ross said. “This guy comes in, gets his work done. He’s diligent about what he wants to do with his preparation and then he goes into being a teammate.”

The six-year, $155 million contract the Cubs gave Lester in December 2014 signaled the franchise was ready to compete after the Theo Epstein-led rebuild. And though Lester was gone by then, the era his deal kicked off ended during last summer’s firesale when the Cubs dealt away Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo.

Famously, the Cubs didn’t re-sign those core members of their 2016 champion, and are now attempting to construct their next contender.

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Connor Murphy has missed 12 games so far with the concussion he suffered March 12 in Ottawa, and it’s unclear if he’ll return during the Hawks’ final 10 games.

But there is encouraging news: the Blackhawks defenseman is feeling much better.

“I’m feeling good,” Murphy told the Sun-Times recently. “I’m trending in the right direction and just following what the training staff has been giving me, which has been helpful so far.”

He has resumed skating on his own in recent weeks. On Saturday he made his first public on-ice appearance since the injury, taking a few laps at Fifth Third Arena before team practice.

“It has been really fun to be back at the rink,” he said. “I had to take some time away right away, and it has been nice to progress day after day. It helps your mental state a lot, coming in and being able to skate and see the guys and work out and get back on the right path.”

On just his second shift of the game March 12, Murphy skated down the wall to make a play on the puck, but it jumped over his stick. While he was turning to retrieve it, Senators forward Parker Kelly hit him squarely from behind, crushing Murphy’s head against the glass and briefly knocking him out.

Murphy himself doesn’t remember much about the incident, which he admits “is probably a good thing.” Kelly was given a major boarding penalty, and he was stretchered off after a few frightening minutes of uncertainty. He holds no hard feelings about it, though.

“I honestly feel more bad for family and friends and people having to watch that,” he said. “Any time a stretcher comes out, it’s a scary thing to see. I sometimes chalk up some of the injuries to part of the game. The game is so fast, things are going to happen that put you in positions you don’t want to be in.”

He received a “bunch of nice texts” from Kelly and other Senators over the following days.

“It seemed like they were a bit shocked and rattled from it,” he said. “When I watched the replay, the puck jumped over my stick and I turned last-second. So I understand what that’s like, closing on a guy and making the decision to hit him not realizing how vulnerable he could be at the last second.”

The Hawks rallied that night to “win this one for ‘Murph,'” as Caleb Jones later said, but entering Sunday had won just two games since.

Caleb Jones and Erik Gustafsson have received more top-four opportunities in Murphy’s stead, but his absence has certainly been felt, as the Hawks have struggled mightily with their defensive coverage since he went down.

In fact, in games in which Murphy has played this season, the Hawks have allowed 2.62 expected goals against per 60 even-strength minutes. In games in which Murphy hasn’t played, the Hawks have allowed 3.22 expected goals per 60, including 3.44 expected goals during this ongoing stretch.

Unsurprisingly, Murphy also leads all Hawks defensemen in expected goals allowed per 60 even-strength minutes during his individual ice time this season at 2.49. Calvin de Haan is second at 2.53 followed by Caleb Jones at 2.67, Gustafsson at 2.81, Jake McCabe at 2.84, Seth Jones at 2.92 and Riley Stillman last at 2.93.

The Hawks’ medical and coaching staffs have discussed the possibility of ruling Murphy out for the season, interim coach Derek King said recently. With so little meaning attached to these final games, that would seemingly make sense from a health-and-safety standpoint. But a final decision hasn’t yet been made.

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Cubs manager David Ross was asked to respond to Andrew McCutchen’s comments after the Brewers designated hitter was hit in the hip/backside by Keegan Thompson, sparking Saturday’s spirited gathering between home plate and first base.

To sum it up, McCutchen would have rather been hit on the first pitch rather than on a 2-1 count.

“Nobody likes to get hit,” Ross said. “Whether you did it on the first pitch or the last pitch, I don’t know that it ever feels good or anybody’s happy with it.”

Once again, Ross denied that Thompson hit McCutchen intentionally.

“That kind of disarmed a lot of things when you go slider first pitch and get a strike,” Ross said. “That was my argument to the umpires. He had a strike on the guy. Everybody’s working on stuff. A two-seamer hit him in the [hip/backside]. If you’re going to get hit it’s better than square in the back like Willson [Contreras]or in the kneecap like Ian [Happ] or up and in like [Nick] Madrigal.”

Happ, however, was held out of Sunday’s starting lineup after getting dinged on the left kneecap Saturday by the Brewers’ Trevor Gott. Ross said Happ could’ve started but thought it made sense to rest him, especially with Monday’s off day.

The Cubs hope the break won’t disrupt Happ, who is hitting .327 since Sept. 18 of last season.

“When he’s locked in, he’s one of the better at-bats in the league,” Ross said. “He’ll walk, he’s got power. He hits to all fields. He’s a pretty spectacular player. He gets out of rhythm at times – as we all do – and I think he’s on a mission to be as consistent as possible this year.”

Contreras sits
Yan Gomes started in place of Contrerasbehind the plate for Marcus Stroman’s Cubs debut.

“We’ve got 28 guys on the roster [and] we’ve got to get everybody some playing time,” Ross said. “If you guys want a story about personal catchers, there’s not one yet.”

Gomes gives the Cubs a luxury they didn’t have last year: a reliable second option behind Contreras. Gomes, 34, was signed to a two-year deal with a club option for 2024, and Sunday was his 883rd career game. Last season with the Nationals and Athletics, Gomes hit 14 home runs and limited opponents to a 69.4-percent stolen-base rate.

“We’ve got to get Yan some playing time, got to get some of these other guys in there, keep them fresh,” Ross said. “I always hated starting the season as a bench player and sitting for a week or two and you’ve just gotten consistent at-bats. I think their performance will be a little bit better if you can get everybody in the mix as soon as possible.”

Homegrown shutout
Saturday’s 9-0 win marked the third time since 2011 that the Cubs have recorded a shutout using only homegrown pitchers. Justin Steele (5 innings), Thompson(2 2/3), Scott Effross (1/3) and big-league debutant Ethan Roberts (1) were all selected by the Cubs in the amateur draft.

Making progress
Righty Alec Mills (low back strain) was scheduled to throw a sim game Sunday in Arizona. Lefty Wade Miley (left elbow inflammation) was expected to play light catch.

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DETROIT — Manager Tony La Russa felt good about having Tim Anderson back.

“Happiness,” La Russa said. “In all capital letters.”

La Russa has raved about Anderson’s ability, leadership and energy since getting acquainted with him last season. On the day Anderson played his first game of the season after sitting out the first two serving a suspension, La Russa called Anderson “the most lit up, energized player I’ve ever watched.”

La Russa has

“Every day, from the minute he walks into that locker room, he’s got life and commitment and it’s ‘Let’s go, let’s go.’ Every practice and every game.

“He’s our igniter.”

A couple hours later, La Russa watched Anderson hit the first pitch he’d faced since spring training into the left field corner for a double, off Tigers lefty Tarik Skubal. He went to third on Luis Robert’s line single and scored on Jose Abreu’s groundout. Robert scored on Eloy Jimenez’ foul sacrifice fly.

The Sox went 1-1 without their shortstop, leadoff man and sparkplug Anderson, who entered Sunday’s game batting .439/.474/.692 with six homers and 20 RBI in last 25 games against the Tigers. Anderson’s production is first and foremost in terms of his value, but the intangibles are notable as well.

“You see his antics and his energy level and it’s infectious,” La Russa said. “And it’s all real. He’s not putting on a show and then he disappears. He wants it. He wants to win.”

Anderson was suspended and and fined for bumping umpire Tim Timmons late last season in a bench clearing incident at Comerica Park, punishment La Russa said was “unfair.”

10 years for Harrison

Coach Jerry Narron made an extra lineup card for infielder Josh Harrison to have as a keepsake. It’s Harrison’s 10-year anniversary in the majors.

“It ain’t kinda cool, it’s definitely cool,” said Harrison, in his first year with the Sox. “Words can’t really describe. To get to 10, it’s a testament to longevity and doing what you need to do. I’ve been blessed. It’s one thing to make it to the big leagues, it’s another thing to stay.”

Harrison, 34, began his career in 2011 with the Pirates. He has also played with the Tigers, Nationals and Athletics. An All-Star with the Pirates in 2014 and ’17, Harrison battled injuries in a stretch of five straight years but had his career high for plate appearances (558) last season.

Rotation issues

Lucas Giolito (abdominal strain) has not landed on the injured list yet but might when the Sox open their first homestand Tuesday. Vince Velasquez starts the home opener and Dallas Keuchel goes Wednesday. Thursday is TBA.

“Everybody’s an option,” pitching coach Ethan Katz said. “We’ve got some guys that are not here as possible options, guys that are in the clubhouse as options. We’re just going to have to be creative and try to weather this storm and find matchups that best suit the other team’s lineup and kind of work off of that.”

Reynaldo Lopez is not for now. At least until reliever Joe Kelly is ready to pitch, he’s wanted in the bullpen. Tanner Banks could be, but he might be needed in relief.

There’s Johnny

Ethan Katz knows Johnny Cueto well from when both were with the Giants. Cueto, signed to a $4.2 million minor league contract, needs to build up innings at Triple-A Charlotte first.

Being in shape will not bean issue, Katz said.

“When he’s ready he’ll be banging on the door and we’re going to be banging on the door at Triple-A to know when he’s ready,” Katz said.

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A man was found dead in an apartment during a fire Sunday morning on the Near West Side.

The man, 49, was found inside the apartment in the 2700 block of West Wilcox Street about 1:05 a.m., Chicago police said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

About 15 minutes later, two Chicago police officers were hospitalized and a woman was critically injured Sunday morning in another fire about 14 miles southeast in South Chicago on the Far South Side.

Officers responded to the fire inside a house in the 3000 block of East 79th Place about 1:20 a.m. and found a woman unresponsive, police said.

She was carried outside by officers, where they began chest compression, police said.

She was taken to Trinity Hospital, where she was in critical condition, officials said.

Two responding officers were taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation, police said. Both were in good condition, authorities said.

No other injuries were reported.

Fire officials extinguished both fires and were investigating the incidents.

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While the Chicago Bears might not admit it, the franchise is going through a rebuild here in 2022 and this upcoming season could be a tough one. However, with a rebuild and the focus on contending in 2023, the coaching staff will get the chance to look at players on the roster and determine their status for the future.

One player that could benefit from a total change here in Chicago is safety Eddie Jackson.

After a big year in 2018 and then landing a big extension, Jackson hasn’t been able to duplicate what he did in that season. However, it doesn’t mean his career here is coming to an end and new head coach Matt Eberflus says that Jackson has a ‘clean slate’ for this 2022 season:

“I think he’s got really good instincts,” Eberflus said, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “You look at the positive, what he can do, and he’s taking the ball away. He’s really proficient at blitzing. I think he times it up well, does a good job there, does a good job in coverage, so we’ll see where it is.”

Jackson wasn’t awful by any means in 2021 and it was actually one of his better years in some areas of his game. The problem is, fans are expecting that 2018 Jackson every single year and rightfully so with that contract he signed.

We even saw Jackson line up in the nickel towards the end of the 2021 season in Sean Desai’s defense, something he never did as a pro up until that point. I imagine he will be the starting safety going into this year with the other safety spot still to be determined.

The hope is that Jackson can bounce back and use this as a clean slate, playing well and going back to being that ball hawking safety he once was.

Make sure to check out our Bears forum for the latest on the team.

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Demar DeRozan’s first season with the Chicago Bulls has been nothing short of incredible and that continued on Thursday night as the All-Star dropped a season high 50 points in Chicago’s 135-130 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

On top of the season’s best performance from a Bull, the 32-year old also set plenty of other marks including a feat not seen since Michael Jordan donned the red and white.

It’s rarified air when you’re mentioned among two league MVPs and it comes at a time the Bulls desperately needed to put up a W. It’s Chicago’s second consecutive victory and moves them to 45-32 on the year with just five games to play. The Bulls sit alone in 5th place in the East, breaking the tie with the Raptors who sit half a game back at 44-32.

On top of the 50 points, DeRozan also recorded six assists, five rebounds and was 14-of-15 from the free throw line. Here’s some highlights from night’s big win:

On top of the stellar performance from DeRozan, forward Patrick Williams put up a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Chicago faces off with the Eastern Conference leading Miami Heat on Saturday night as they go for three straight wins.

Make sure to check out our Bulls forum for the latest on the team.

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The Chicago Bulls have started to fade in the Eastern Conference standings after a hot start to the season had them in sole possession of first place. With only have two wins total this season against teams in the top four spots of either conference, the Bulls need to improve if they want to go deep in the playoffs.

With that being said, there are three teams the Bulls need to avoid facing in the first round of the Eastern conference playoffs if they don’t want to go home early. Here’s a look at the squads that can give Chicago major issues if they draw them in the opening round.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers went 4-0 against the Bulls this season, led by their superstar center Joel Embiid. The 28-year-old is averaging 29.9 points per game this season and is a frontrunner for league MVP. He has never lost to the Bulls in his career and that streak would likely continue in the playoffs.

The Bulls don’t have an answer for him in the paint with Nikola Vucevic not being known as a true rim protector, and the overall lack of big men depth on the Bulls hurting their chances to guard Embiid. Philadelphia’s chance to win the NBA championship only increased with the acquisition of superstar guard James Harden at the trade deadline.

The duo of Embiid and Harden is arguably the best in the NBA and better than the Bulls’ All-Star duo of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. If the regular season ended today, the Bulls and 76ers would match up in the playoffs.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks currently sit at second in the East and are 3-0 against the Bulls this season, but the first two matchups were both decided by six points or less. Led by reigning finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is tied with Embiid at 29.9 points per game, also happen to be tied with the Sixers in the standings at 48-30.

Milwaukee has good roster depth to pair with Antetokounmpo including Jrue Holiday and fellow All-Star Khris Middleton. It will be challenging for the Bulls to contain all three of them, especially if point guard Lonzo Ball remains sidelined. The Bulls have struggled defensively at times in the 10 weeks Ball has missed while out with a knee injury.

Brooklyn Nets

Brooklyn is led by superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, with a healthy supplement of solid role players as well such as Seth Curry, Goran Dragic, and Andre Drummond. Brooklyn currently occupies the 8th spot in the East thanks in part to Irving’s inability to play home games for the Nets for the majority of the year. Irving has until recently, only been able to play road games this season due to New York City’s vaccine mandate. With the mandate now lifted for athletes, Irving is back to playing home games just in time for the playoffs.

Brooklyn would be a tough team for the Bulls to play good defense against, even with a fully healthy roster. The duo of Durant and Irving is as good as and maybe even slightly better than Embiid and Harden. The Bulls would likely have home-court advantage if they were to face the Nets in the postseason, but it’s hard to feel good about their chances to win the series even though they went 2-1 against Brooklyn in the regular season.

Durant and Irving have both had postseason success, winning NBA championships and Irving hitting arguably the biggest shot in NBA history to defeat the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in 2016.

For as good as the Bulls have played at times this season, the roster doesn’t have much postseason experience and DeRozan has not been able to advance past the Eastern Conference Finals earlier in his career with Toronto. The Bulls have been one of the league’s biggest surprises this season, especially before the All-Star break, when they sat atop the East. They have stumbled a little bit since then and have begun to show some flaws that would not match up well with certain top-tier teams in the playoffs. With one week to go in the regular season, hopes are on the Cleveland Cavaliers or Toronto Raptors being the Bulls’ opponent in the first round, an answer we’ll have just one week from now.

Make sure to check out our Bulls forum for the latest on the team.

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Justin Fields’ first career start for the Chicago Bears wasn’t ideal.

In the 26-6 loss at Cleveland in Week 3, Fields finished the game 6-of-20 for 68 yards and was sacked 9 times by the Browns defense. Fields had no chance back there as the offensive line broke down and Chicago couldn’t get anything going at all.

Looking back at the game, the gameplan for Fields wasn’t good and the blame should have been put on Matt Nagy and Bill Lazor among others. Now, with both gone from the Windy City it appears as if Fields agrees with that too.

Fields’ personal quarterback coach Ron Veal appeared on 670 The Score’s The Parkins & Spiegel Show Friday to talk about Fields and the quarterback going into year two. On the show, he revealed that Fields wasn’t happy with the gameplan going into the game:

“I’m kind of glad I didn’t (go) because he took a beating that day,” Veal said on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Friday. “But, yeah, it was kind of crazy and weird at the same time. Why would you leave those two (tackles) with no help?

“I know he was a little pissed about it, but I didn’t get an explanation, and I really didn’t ask because I know he was in a situation where he was really pissed off about it.”

In his first season, Fields struggled with Chicago as the team fell apart and it eventually led to the firing of Matt Nagy. Now, it wasn’t all Fields’ fault as there appeared to be a lot of dysfunction starting with the coaching staff.

But going into year two, Fields has to make significant improvements and take a step forward in his game to be the franchise quarterback the team hopes he is. And getting the offseason work in with Veal and other teammates is a good first start.

Make sure to check out our Bears forum for the latest on the team.

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