CINCINNATI – To understand David Ross’ reaction to Reds reliever Hunter Strickland hitting Cubs slugger Patrick Wisdom with a first-pitch fastball, it’s necessary to go back an inning.

Tensions ran high Wednesday in the late innings of a game the Cubs would lose 4-3 to the Reds.

In the eighth inning, Cubs reliever Rowan Wick walked Reds star Joey Votto in four pitches. The first was a fastball up and in, plus two balls in the dirt and one fastball wide.

Votto tossed his bat toward the dugout on his way to first base. After the game, Wick said he didn’t remember exactly what words were exchanged, but he said something along the lines of “Nice bat flip.”

“I understand he’s been in the league a long time, he can do whatever he wants when he walks,” Wick said. “On my side, I was not happy at all with the pitches that I threw. I let the emotions get the best of me. I got a little frustrated. But I feel like he kind of blew it out of the water more than it needed to be.”

Votto shouted back, continuing for a while after he rounded first base. Wick stared toward the plate.

“He had something to say, and I answered,” Votto told Cincinnati reporters after the game. “That’s how ball is sometimes. You’re competitive, and clearly he was competing and locked in on performing well, and I’m pulling on the opposite end of the same rope. If someone says something to me, sometimes I don’t answer, but I wasn’t in the mood to keep my mouth shut.”

Said Wick: “I heard him. But I wasn’t going to turn around and start anything. I was just focussed on getting the next guy.”

Wick said he and Voto have never spoken before.

“I don’t even know if he knows we’re both Canadian,” he added.

That incident was in the back of Ross’ mind the next inning when Strickland drilled Wisdom, with one out in the ninth and the Reds leading by two runs.

“That’s been pretty commonplace when there’s a lot of jawing going on that the umpires get together and see if there’s anything intentional, and they usually err on the side of warnings,” Ross said.

He took issue with the umpires not meeting to discuss whether it was intentional, especially in an already tense game.

“I don’t know if it was or not,” Ross said. “But them not getting together, two [of the umpires] wanting to get together and another guy not wanting to get together, was the frustrating part for me.”

Ross beelined out of the dugout, and after a few words with home plate umpire Dan Merzel, he was ejected. Ross kept on making his point, moving to second base umpire Chris Conroy, until bench coach Andy Green came out to get him.

In the midst of the hubbub, the Cubs came just short of a comeback.

Wick, after walking Votto with one outs in the eighth, induced a ground ball from Mike Moustakas and struck out Nick Senzel to get out of the inning.

The next inning, after Wisdom took his base with one out, Alfonso Rivas drew a walk.Willson Contreras and Nico Hoerner, in their first games back from injury, both pinch hit. Contreras hit a long fly ball to center field, and Senzel made a leaping catch for out No. 2. Hoerner hit an RBI single. But Christopher Morel struck out to end the inning.

“The at-bats in the ninth were really good,” Ross said. “Guys continued to fight, bullpen did a nice job again. … We just came up short tonight.”

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For all of the White Sox’ defensive issues and underperforming offense, their sense of concern or worry as they hover around .500 as Memorial Day approaches can be tempered knowing they will run a very good starting pitcher to the mound every day when Lance Lynn joins them around mid-June.

Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease, Michael Kopech and Johnny Cueto give them a good chance to win when they start.

Lynn will, too. Giolito, Cueto and Lynn have been Cy Young vote-getters during their careers and Kopech and Cease, who possess the best stuff on the staff, have been in early-season Cy conversations.

Cease got rocked Tuesday by the Red Sox, one of baseball’s hottest offenses, but is anything but a concern. And Giolito worked out of trouble early and finished strong over six innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 victory against the Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field Wednesday, exiting with a 2.63 ERA.

Cease leads the major leagues with 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings, Kopech is second with a 1.29 ERA and Cueto hasn’t allowed a run in his first two starts.

Lynn might have been the Sox’ Opening Day starter if not for an injury in spring training.

It’s a sturdy enough quintet to make former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel(6.60) worry about his status and Vince Velasquez know he might finish the season in the bullpen.

“If we get to the point where we have too much so be it,” Hahn said. “We’ve certainly prepared for the idea we are going to have flex some guys to the bullpen.

“If we have an embarrassment of pitching riches, that’s a problem I look forward to dealing with.”

When Lynn comes back, don’t look for the Sox to consider a six-man rotation, though. Allowing for extra rest has been a talking point but six starters is not in the cards.

“Extra rest is definitely a plus at times,” manager Tony La Russa said Wednesday. “Most guys are on a five-day routine and if you do it as a matter of course, they lose their feel.”

The other thing is, a bullpen arm is lost with an extra starters. And the starters will get extra days with rainouts and spot starts from others.

“And then the last thing is,” La Russa said, “you get down to August, you want your best guys taking the ball as often as possible.”

The Sox are expecting an offense that has been been carried by Tim Anderson and Luis Robert (currently on the COVID-19 injured list) and ranks 23rd overall by FanGraphs to be recognizable by August. Everyone else with the exception of Andrew Vaughn is batting below .237 with an on-base percentage below .310.

Pointing to backs of baseball cards with players’ history had Hahn saying the Sox’ lagging offense will turn itself around.

“It tries your patience sometimes but having faith in the process and the underlying talent gives you optimism that’s going to continue,” he said Tuesday.

A player with very minimal history, Jake Burger, belted a three-run homer on a 67-mph breaking ball from left-hander Rich Hill in the fifth to give Giolito a 3-1 lead as the Sox tried to snap Boston’s six-game winning streak. Hill had faced the minimum through four innings before Jose Abreu doubled and AJ Pollock reached on third baseman Rafael Devers’ throwing error before Burger connected for his third home run.

La Russa emptied his bullpen to save this one, using Aaron Bummer, Kendall Graveman, Joe Kelly and Liam Hendriks (1 1/3 innings for the save), who combined on scoreless relief. Kelly left with a tight left hamstring in the eighth.

The Sox rank in the bottom fourth of multiple offensive categories but most perplexing is a 6.1 walk rate that ranks last for a team that was seventh at 9.6.

“That’s not us,” Hahn said. “And I think that’s going to normalize over the course of the season. We’ve had a precipitous drop in our walk rate. The players haven’t changed that dramatically. If anything, the level of maturity, you would expect that to improve, and I think over the course of the summer that’ll get better.”

What is the White Sox is quality starting pitching, with an even higher ceiling than the rotation has demonstrated.

Giolito struck out seven, walked four and gave up five hits but retired the last seven batters he faced.

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Right-handed reliever Joe Kelly exited the White Sox game against the Red Sox during the eighth inning Wednesday with an apparent injury.

Protecting a 3-1 lead, Kelly struck out Trevor Story looking and Franchy Cordero swinging to open the inning but winced after the strikeout pitch to Story.

He walked off with assistant trainer Josh Fallin.

Liam Hendriks finished the inning by getting Christian Vazquez to ground out to shortstop Tim Anderson.

Kelly was pitching in his seventh game after starting the season on the injured list with a right biceps nerve injury. He had allowed six runs over five innings.

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CINCINNATI – For the first time, Cubs middle infielders Nico Hoerner and Andrelton Simmons are lined up to play side by side, after the club activated Hoerner off the 10-day injured list on Wednesday.

So, for the first time this season, Cubs manager David Ross had to answer the question, who will play shortstop when the two share the field? The 25-year-old who has impressed to start the season, or the four-time Gold Glover?

Ross’ answer: Hoerner.

“I think there’s a real benefit from a guy that’s young and up-and-coming getting as many reps at short for us,” Ross said. “And the versatility of Simmons – I don’t know that there really is a real position in the infield anymore [with defensive shifts].”

The Cubs had room to add Hoerner to the active roster, coming back from a right ankle sprain, after they placed catcher Yan Gomes on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain. The Cubs had scratched Gomes from the lineup Tuesday with the injury.

“The news we got back is, it’s not as bad as we thought,” Ross said, describing the strain as, “on the milder side.”

Cubs rookie P.J. Higgins started at catcher for the second straight game, with Willson Contreras still managing right hamstring tightness. Contreras was available off the bench Wednesday, a step toward a full return.

The Cubs, even with second baseman Nick Madrigal still on the 10-day IL with a low back strain, have options in the middle infield. On Wednesday against the Reds, Simmons started at short and rookie Christopher Morel played opposite him. Ross said Jonathan Villar will continue to be an option at second base, as well as third.

That flexibility allows the Cubs to keep working in consistent rest days for their middle infielders, prioritizing health.

The Cubs are also are still evaluating their long-term options at shortstop. Simmons, 32, is on one-year deal with the Cubs. But Hoerner has the opportunity to establish himself as the Cubs’ answer at the position.

“I think Nico has proven he can play big-league shortstop pretty consistently already this season,” Ross said. “So, let’s see what happens at the end of the year and assess there. It’s easy to say you can be a shortstop in the big leagues long-term, but you also have to do it, you have to prove it. Sixty games is a lot different than 162.”

One of Hoerner’s biggest promoters already this season has been Simmons, who cited Hoerner’s play as a big reason the veteran didn’t feel rushed coming back from the shoulder injury that put him on the IL to start the season.

What specifically impressed Simmons?

“His jump throws,” Simmons said with a smile. “I’m like, that’s pretty good, that’s pretty nice. It’s always nice to be able to make those plays in the hole for a shortstop.”

Injury update

Cubs lefty Sean Newcomb (left ankle sprain) got through his first rehab game, throwing one inning for Triple-A Iowa Tuesday, with no issues. Cubs right-hander Michael Rucker (left turf toe) threw live batting practice on Wednesday.

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A homeless man well-known for walking the streets of the Loop was critically injured when he was set on fire while sleeping on Lower Wabash Avenue early Wednesday –almost six years to the day after he was viciously beaten in downtown Chicago.

Joseph Kromelis, 75 — known as “The Walking Man” and “The Walking Dude” — was lying on the ground in the 400 block of North Lower Wabash when someone walked up, poured a flammable liquid on him and lit it, police said.

A security officer from a nearby building used a fire extinguisher to put the fire out. Kromelis suffered third-degree burns to 65% of his body and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

The attacker was seen on surveillance video going to the Clark and Lake CTA station and taking a Blue Line train toward O’Hare. An alert issued by police Wednesday afternoon described the suspect as a tall male with a medium light complexion and wearing a black and white “Hoodrich” jacket and gray sandals.

Officials said Kromelis suffered severe burns and his chances of surviving them were not considered good.

“We were just told he’s most likely to die,” one late enforcement source said. He was identified through prescriptions found in his pocket.

Kromelis is well known to people who frequent downtown Chicago, easily recognized by his tall frame, striking facial features, long flowing hair and bushy mustache.

Six years ago — on May 24, 2016 — he was brutally beaten by someone with a baseball bat in the 400 block of East Lower Wacker Drive.The two were struggling over the bat when police arrived.

He was taken to Northwestern then too and was treated cuts and other injuries to his head and legs. Thousands of dollars were raised on his behalf through GoFundMe appeals.

His family said he moved to Chicago with his family from Lithuania when he was a kid and grew up above a bar his parents ran on Halsted Street. His parents sold the tavern and moved to southwestern Michigan when he was about 19.

The man stayed in Chicago, where he got a peddlers license and sold jewelry on the street and began wandering the streets of the Loop.

“We always worried … because he was on the street all the time,” his sister-in-law said at the time. “He just likes walking.”

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The White Sox game against the Red Sox Wednesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field will start in a delay due to rain in the area.

Rain fell heavily off and on at the ballpark in the hours leading to the scheduled start time of 7:10 p.m.

Left-hander Rich Hill and right-hander Lucas Giolito are slated to start for the Red Sox and White Sox, respectively.

The White Sox are looking to win consecutive season series over Boston for the first time since 2015.

The Red Sox routed the White Sox in the first game of the series Tuesday, scoring in each of the first five innings en route to a 16-3 victory.

The White Sox are 21-21. The Red Sox (20-22) have won six consecutive games.

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A homeless man well-known for walking the streets of the Loop was critically injured when he was set on fire while sleeping on Lower Wabash Avenue early Wednesday –almost six years to the day after he was viciously beaten in downtown Chicago.

Joseph Kromelis, 75 — known as “The Walking Man” and “The Walking Dude” — was lying on the ground in the 400 block of North Lower Wabash when someone walked up, poured a flammable liquid on him and lit it, police said.

A security officer from a nearby building used a fire extinguisher to put the fire out. Kromelis suffered third-degree burns to 65% of his body and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

The attacker was seen on surveillance video going to the Clark and Lake CTA station and taking a Blue Line train toward O’Hare. An alert issued by police Wednesday afternoon described the suspect as a tall male with a medium light complexion and wearing a black and white “Hoodrich” jacket and gray sandals.

Officials said Kromelis suffered severe burns and his chances of surviving them were not considered good.

“We were just told he’s most likely to die,” one late enforcement source said. He was identified through prescriptions found in his pocket.

Kromelis is well known to people who frequent downtown Chicago, easily recognized by his tall frame, striking facial features, long flowing hair and bushy mustache.

Six years ago — on May 24, 2016 — he was brutally beaten by someone with a baseball bat in the 400 block of East Lower Wacker Drive.The two were struggling over the bat when police arrived.

He was taken to Northwestern then too and was treated cuts and other injuries to his head and legs. Thousands of dollars were raised on his behalf through GoFundMe appeals.

His family said he moved to Chicago with his family from Lithuania when he was a kid and grew up above a bar his parents ran on Halsted Street. His parents sold the tavern and moved to southwestern Michigan when he was about 19.

The man stayed in Chicago, where he got a peddlers license and sold jewelry on the street and began wandering the streets of the Loop.

“We always worried … because he was on the street all the time,” his sister-in-law said at the time. “He just likes walking.”

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