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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The Chicago Blackhawks appear to have their next head coach according to reports as they are targeting Luke Richardson

The offseason has already sparked coaching changes and extensions. Montreal extended Martin St. Louis, The Dallas Stars brought on Peter Deboer, and the Blackhawks have a man of their own.

The next bench boss of the Blackhawks will be Luke Richardson according to the Daily Face-offs Frank Seravalli.

Richardson served as Assistant coach of the Montreal Canadiens since June, 2018. Before that he had stints as the assistant coach for the Senators and Islanders, in between the two he was the Head Coach of the AHL Binghampton Senators. In his first season as Head Coach of the AHL squad he was awarded Eastern Conference coach of the year and a contract extension through the next season. Following his contract expiring he moved on to the Islanders for one season before finding a more long term landing spot in Montreal.

During the 2021 playoffs, Richardson briefly took over behind the bench for the Canadiens after Dominque Ducharme tested positive for Covid. Richardson helped the Canadiens defeat the Vegas Golden Knights before relinquishing control back to Ducharme to face Tampa in the final. We all know how that went.

Richardson played in the NHL for 21 seasons as a defenseman. In over 1400 games he put up only 201 points, however he did put up 2055 penalty minutes in his career, so he at least got onto the score sheet most games.

Previously we covered the prospect of Barry Trotz getting behind the Blackhawks bench, but it seems he will either end up in Nashville or Winnipeg. Despite this it seems the Blackhawks have found their guy, only time will tell where he leads this team.

Could the Blackhawks acquire his Nephew?

Jacob Chychrun has been known to be on the market for a while now. The Coyotes are bad and will continue to be bad and will almost certainly be moving on from Chychrun soon, so why not come and play for his uncle?

Sure, it is certainly a stretch, but maybe that connection could be enough to put the wheels in motion. Some people probably wouldn’t want their relatives as their boss, but when you’re as good as Chychrun is it is hard to believe that would really be an issue.

Obviously this is all just speculation and a little bit of drawing lines between things that are hardly there, but it sure would be nice to see Chychrun in the windy city. Defense has been a huge problem for the Blackhawks as of late, maybe an acquisition like that could be a step in the right direction.

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

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On their summer break, the Bears still managed to get an important — and inevitable — piece of business done Saturday. They signed second-round draft pick Kyler Gordon, their top selection in April, to his standard four-year rookie deal. He’ll make about $8.5 million over four years.

The Bears chose the cornerback No. 39 overall out of Washington. He impressed in offseason practices before being slowed by injuries. He’s expected to be fine for the start of training camp July 26.

“Obviously, he has good ball skills,” defensive backs coach James Rowe said in May. “And he finds himself in good position enough to be able to look back and locate the quarterback and locate the ball … to be able to put himself in those positions and make those plays.”

New Bears general manager Ryan Poles used a series of third-day trades to give the Bears 12 selections. After Gordon’s signing, only Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker, another second-round pick, remains unsigned.

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When Gabriel Slonina’s errors cost the Fire a victory May 18 against the host Red Bulls, the young goalkeeper looked distracted. After a highly public courtship, Slonina had been called up to the Polish national team and was pondering whether to see what that program had to offer or go with the United States.

To get the massive choice out of the way, the 18-year-old Slonina committed to the U.S. even though he didn’t have to for another three years per FIFA bylaws.

“Doing it then and clearing my mind a little bit and not having that decision lingering in the background was part of why I made the decision then,” Slonina told the Sun-Times after the Fire’s 1-0 victory last Saturday against D.C. United.

Of course, that isn’t the only career move on the horizon.

Slonina has been linked to a series of overseas heavyweights, most notably England’s Chelsea and Spanish superpower Real Madrid. So as most kids Slonina’s age are preparing for college, he’s being courted by the last two European champions, reportedly for big money.

The Addison product credited agent Jaime Garcia for handling the business side of his career, and as of Saturday, Slonina wasn’t sure how far along the talks are. While Garcia maneuvers to get the best for his client off the field, Slonina mentioned a coping mechanism he has brought up in the past that helps him perform on the pitch.

“The meditation I do I think helps a lot [with] staying present, staying in the moment, because if I don’t play well here then all of those offers mean nothing,” said Slonina, who likely would be loaned back to the Fire after any sale. “Personally for me, it’s all about the now, it’s all about the present and [Saturday’s] game was the now, so I think giving my all every single game with this club is what I’m going to continue to do.”

When he committed to the U.S., it arguably turned into that day’s biggest story in American soccer even though coach Gregg Berhalter revealed his roster — without Slonina — for an upcoming international window. This next decision will make similar waves, but Slonina seems to be taking everything in stride while his future is being discussed on two continents.

“Personally, I know that if I let it get to me, then that’s it,” Slonina said. “If you start to live in the future, then you’re not present. You’re not here in the moment, so I don’t think I can perform at my best if I’m thinking about those things that happen, that added stress or pressure to my game.

“If I go into a game thinking that I have to perform at a different level than I’ve been performing at, then I think you start to alter the way you do things and I think for me it’s about just trusting the path I’m on and continuing to put in the work every day.”

NOTE: As expected, defender Wyatt Omsberg had reconstructive surgery Friday on his left foot. The team said a timeline for Omsberg’s return will be determined later.

Omsberg suffered the injury late in the Fire’s 1-0 win last Saturday when he landed awkwardly after jumping for a 50-50 ball.

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There was news about Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball.

It wasn’t necessarily great news, but it was news nonetheless.

”Currently working out in [Los Angeles], still doing his [knee] rehab,” general manager Marc Eversley said when he was asked about Ball on Thursday. ”We have sent our performance staff to see him every week and track his progress. All reports are good. He’s making progress.”

Is he making enough progress to be ready for the start of training camp?

”I certainly hope so,” Eversley said.

It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement about Ball’s availability moving forward, with his injured left knee still a much bigger problem than first anticipated.

When Ball had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in the knee in late January, the Bulls gave a timetable of six to eight weeks for his recovery. But Ball also was dealing with a bone bruise, and the pain it caused proved to be the reason he didn’t play for the rest of the season.

Fast-forward to the draft Thursday. The Bulls were sitting with the No. 18 pick, despite efforts to move up or down earlier in the day.

They needed outside shooting and bulk up front to help their physicality, but they passed on both to add a big guard/wing player in Dalen Terry, whom most experts projected to go in the 20s.

Did the Bulls make that pick because they have concerns about Ball? Maybe a bit, but a deeper dive shows exactly how the Bulls want to play with this core unit.

Center Nikola Vucevic is not a top rim protector, and the Bulls don’t expect him to be. This is about a philosophy of causing chaos and havoc in an opposing team’s backcourt, leading to turnovers and transition baskets.

The Bulls didn’t pick Terry to play point guard in case Ball can’t answer the bell; they selected him to join Ball, Alex Caruso and Javonte Green in the disruption department.

So while the selection feels like a C on the surface, a more accurate grade when all things are taken into consideration is more like a B-minus.

No, the Bulls weren’t considered draft-night winners, but they did improve themselves. Then again, most of the NBA did, especially these five organizations.

Pistons

Not only did the Pistons give themselves the backcourt of the future by drafting Jaden Ivey to play alongside All-Rookie Team guard Cade Cunningham, but they also added an athletic big man in Jalen Duren.

Leading up to the draft, the Pistons also traded veteran forward Jerami Grant to the Trail Blazers, adding future draft assets to continue their rebuild.

Pelicans

Vice president David Griffin continued flexing his muscles as a great team-builder, taking an up-and-coming roster and adding two more intriguing pieces to it. Dyson Daniels is a defensive-minded hell-raiser with two-way-player ability, and landing a falling E.J. Liddell at No. 41 might prove to be the steal of the night.

Spurs

Forward Jeremy Sochan might develop into a Kawhi Leonard type of player on both ends of the floor, and landing shooting guard Malaki Branham at No. 20 was huge for their scoring inconsistency. The Spurs weren’t done, however, and also drafted guard Blake Wesley at No. 25.

It was a huge haul for a franchise looking to get back on the radar.

Rockets

Jalen Green, the No. 2 pick last year, needs help, and help is on the way. Jabari Smith is a smooth scorer at 6-10, and wing player Tari Eason might be the most versatile defender in the top 20. Point guard TyTy Washington was projected to be a lottery pick by some, so landing him at No. 29 might prove to be huge.

Thunder

Chet Holmgren, Ousmane Dieng and Jalen Williams gave the Thunder a combined wingspan of just less than 22 feet. Impressive. But all eyes will be on Holmgren, who wentNo. 2 overall. If the 7-footer turns out to be the unicorn he has been projected to be, their rebuild might come quickly.

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It’s a good thing White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn is back from injury because Sox slugger Eloy Jimenez still isn’t. We can only hope Jose Abreu’s and Luis Robert’s sore lower bodies don’t knock them from the lineup, especially with Danny Mendick’s and Adam Engel’s lower bodies now keeping them out of it. How’s Yoan Moncada? Tim Anderson? Aaron Bummer? Liam Hendriks?

Out, in. In, out. It’s too much to keep track of and absolutely exhausting, and that’s just for those of us lazing on the sofa.

In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter, we asked if the Sox — given all their injuries — still are the pick to win the American League Central.

“By 10 games,” a confident @gbmat1 commented, though the results of our poll beg to differ.

We also asked how many games the Cubs will lose — at least 100? — and which player drafted Thursday will have the best NBA career. Paolo Banchero? Chet Holmgren? Jabari Smith? Or someone else?

On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: Given all their injuries, are the White Sox still your pick to win the AL Central?

Upshot: “Their superior talent will win out over 162 games,” @JeffreyCanalia wrote. Again, though, that’s not what the results of our poll say. Undoubtedly less because of the quality of the Twins and/or Guardians and more because of the nonstop personnel mess the Sox find themselves in, respondents came down heavily in the “no” camp. There’s still lots of time for the Sox, but it has been grueling so far.

Poll No. 2: The Cubs are on pace for their first 100-loss season since 2012. Will triple digits happen?

Upshot: Just 100? Why stop there? “They have a shot at 200,” @DismasTheGood cracked. The Cubs lost 101 games in 2012, 103 in 1966 and 103 in 1962, which was the year the major league season jumped from 154 to 162 games. So there’s a chance — a real one — this will be a record-setting Cubs team in a most ignominious way. But, hey, it’s all part of the plan, right?

Poll No. 3: Which member of the 2022 NBA draft class will have the best career?

Upshot: Oops, we forgot to include Dalen Terry, whom the Bulls picked from Arizona at No. 18. Sorry about that. But we did include the guys who went 1 through 3, each of whom has one of those so-called ceilings that’s so high up there, anything seems possible. Or what about Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, a spectacular athlete who went No. 5 to Detroit? That’s @notjimrose’s guess, for what it’s worth.

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