A man was shot and seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting Sunday in North Kenwood on the South Side.

Just before 1 a.m., the victim, 24, was walking in the 4600 block of South Ellis Avenue when someone inside a passing black sedan opened fire, Chicago Police said.

He was struck multiple times in his body and was driven by an acquaintance to University of Chicago Medical Center where he was listed in serious condition, police said.

No one was in custody.

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A man was shot while standing in an alley Saturday in Englewood on the South Side.

Around 10:50 p.m., he was standing in an alley in the 7000 block of South Green Street when a someone approached and opened fire, Chicago Police said.

The victim was struck in the leg and taken to University of Chicago Medical Center where his condition was stabilized, police said.

The offender is between five-foot-nine and five-foot-ten, 180-190 pounds and wearing all black, according to a police description.

No one was in custody.

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A 17-year-old boy was among three people seriously wounded in an apartment shooting Saturday in West Woodlawn on the South Side.

Around 11:35 p.m., two males and a woman were at an apartment building in the 6200 block of South Rhodes Avenue when someone opened fire, Chicago Police said.

The teen was inside the building in the hallway when he was shot in the shoulder, hand and leg, a 55-year-old man was inside the apartment on the stairs when he was shot in his leg and a 49-year-old woman was outside on the steps when she was shot in the torso, police said.

The man and woman were taken to University of Chicago Medical Center where they were listed in serious condition, police said.

The teen was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was also listed in serious condition, police said.

No one was in custody.

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White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease is on his way to putting together one of the quietest 200-strikeout seasons in a long time.

With his six strikeouts in the Sox’ 7-5 loss Saturday to the Yankees, Cease now has 165 for the season. That puts him ahead of left-hander Carlos Rodon for the most in the Sox’ rotation and puts him fifth on the list of all starters across the majors.

The Yankees-Sox series has had a playoff atmosphere, complete with late-inning drama in the first two games.

”This game today, it makes you feel really excited and proud to have this uniform on,” Sox manager Tony La Russa said of his team’s fight despite the loss. ”You could see clearly that both teams are putting a lot of importance on competing and winning the game, and that makes for the best entertainment.”

Looking ahead, Cease might play an important role on the Sox’ postseason pitching staff. He has been a workhorse. After his start Saturday, he has thrown the second-most innings on the staff (124 2/3 ) behind right-hander Lucas Giolito.

Cease’s outing against the Yankees pushed his streak to seven consecutive starts with three runs allowed or fewer, dating to July 5. He threw five innings and held the Yankees to three runs, even though they put balls in the air on a lot of hard contact.

Cease threw 62 of his 103 pitches for strikes and allowed only four baserunners, all on hits.

The Yankees got to Cease early, scoring two runs in the first on a sacrifice fly by Aaron Judge and a solo home run by Joey Gallo. Cease gave up another run in the third, when Brett Gardner hit a two-out triple and scored on a double by Judge.

Otherwise, Cease posted three-up, three-down frames in the second and fifth innings and allowed only one baserunner in his last two innings.

Cease said he didn’t feel like his off-speed pitches were working, but he adjusted and attacked with his velocity.

”I’ve got a couple of ways I can attack batters,” Cease said. ”Days where I’m not spinning it quite as well, I can tap the fastball.”

Offensively, the Sox supported Cease’s efforts, scoring a run in each of the first three innings. Tim Anderson scored on a double by Jose Abreu in the first, Luis Robert hit a solo homer in the second and Cesar Hernandez scored on Abreu’s second double of the night in the third.

A homer by Judge off Craig Kimbrel in the eighth gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead, but Abreu forced extra innings with a solo homer off Chad Green with two outs in the ninth.

In the top of the 10th, Liam Hendriks gave up three runs, two of them on a homer to Gallo — the 11th homer he has allowed this season — putting the Sox down 7-4. They scored once and loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, but Tim Anderson grounded into a force to end it.

The Sox’ starting rotation has been one of the strongest in baseball. As a group, Sox starters had the highest strikeout rate in the American League (27.4%) entering play Saturday and trailed only the Dodgers in the majors. Their .217 batting average allowed was the lowest in the AL and third-lowest in the majors.

The Sox’ rotation is posting numbers like this largely because of the seasons that right-hander Lance Lynn and Rodon are having, but Cease’s performance has been nearly commensurate with theirs.

If there’s a shortcoming in Cease’s game, it might be his efficiency. He has gone into the seventh inning in only two of his 24 starts, and his 103 pitches marked the fifth time he has needed at least 100 in a start this season.

But Cease is showing signs of improvement there. His walk rate (9.5%) and WHIP (1.27) are the lowest of his career, and his average number of pitches thrown per plate appearance is creeping down, too. Before his start Saturday, he was averaging 4.13 pitches per plate appearance, down from 4.24 in 2020.

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On the heels of Justin Fields’ debut, the guys debate whether he has time to become the starter — of if Matt Nagy has the inkling to make a move — before Week 1.

New episodes of “Halas Intrigue” will be published regularly with accompanying stories collected on the podcast’s hub page. You can also listen to “Halas Intrigue” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Luminary, Spotify, and Stitcher.

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by Russell Dorsey

If there has been one common theme for the Cubs this season, it’s relatively unknown players coming up and making an impact on the major league roster. First, it was Patrick Wisdom’s insane power surge that started the trend and most recently Rafael Ortega’s post All-Star break offensive breakout. But there’s another veteran trying to make a name for himself.

Frank Schwindel had the tall task of being the player to replace longtime first baseman Anthony Rizzo after the trade deadline. Schwindel, who was claimed off waivers from the A’s on July 18, hasn’t looked fazed in his brief stint with the Cubs and has started to show something.

“Obviously, nobody can replace him,” Schwindel said before Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Marlins. “He’s obviously an unbelievable player. Gold Glove, All-Star and obviously, he’s one of the most liked guys in the city.

Schwindel has had high-level success at the plate since joining the Cubs and over the last week has had a strong approach at the plate. The Cubs’ first baseman is slashing .381/.422/.714 with three homers and 12 RBIs in 13 games with the Cubs.

The Cubs’ first baseman was back in the spotlight in the eighth inning on Saturday and with the bases loaded, two outs and the team down by two runs, he continued his red-hot stretch. Schwindel lined a bases-clearing double into the left-field corner to give the Cubs a late 4-3 lead. Miami would score two unearned runs in the eighth to take a 5-4 lead.

“He’s put the barrel on the ball,” manager David Ross said. “I thought he’s done a really nice job of knowing what he does well. Being ready to hit. … I think he’s been a real bright spot since he’s come up. Pretty consistent at-bat of being able to touch the baseball.”

Davies strong despite three-run sixth inning

Starter Zach Davies struggled mightily in his start against the White Sox last week and coming off one of his worst performances of the season, he had a strong performance against the Marlins. Davies worked quickly, controlled both sides of the plate and was able to get quick outs as he rolled through Miami’s lineup.

The Cubs right-hander got through 5 2/3 innings without allowing virtually any damage and leading 1-0, but after a two-out walk to Jesus Aguilar, the game changed.

Davies got the two-out ground ball that he needed to get out of the inning, but after shortstop Sergio Alcantara fielded the ball in the hole, he tossed the ball into right field attempting to get the force at second base. It was the first of three Alcantara errors on the night – accounting for all five unearned runs in the game.

Next batter, Brian Anderson launched a towering three-run homer to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead before Schwindel’s late heroics. All three runs were unearned. Davies struck out seven over six innings of work.

“Knowing how aggressive this team is going through the gameplan meeting before the game, the idea was to get strike one,” Davies said. “They’re gonna swing. They’re gonna put the ball in play.[Wanted to] get ahead of guys so you’re not in hitters’ counts and throwing the ball where I want to and getting ground balls.

This was really a game based off last night where I knew that I needed at least those six innings. Came out of the game down, but trying to be out there as deep as possible.”

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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — When Brandon Collier and his fourth annual Dreamchasers bus tour pulled into Notre Dame’s campus a couple of weeks ago, there was no doubting the main attraction.

It wasn’t Touchdown Jesus or even Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly, who would give a 30-minute talk to the group of 30 European high school hopefuls from Premier Players International.

Instead, it was redshirt freshman defensive lineman Alexander Ehrensberger, the pride of Dusseldorf, Germany, and a 2020 signee out of the rapidly growing football recruiting service Collier, a former CFL defensive tackle, founded in 2017.

“They came this summer and watched us work out one day,” said Drew White, Notre Dame’s senior middle linebacker. “All of those kids that were out there were looking at Alex as a guy who made it, and it was so cool to see.”

Ehrensberger, who spent six months as a high school sophomore at Maine’s Fryeburg Academy, had two tackles for loss, including a sack, in the 2020 opener against South Florida. Rated by ESPN as the No. 1 European prospect in his recruiting class, Ehrensberger is listed at only 255 pounds as he continues to pack muscle onto his 6-7 frame.

A former Dreamchaser himself, Ehrensberger already has made an impact with his all-out style and infectious personality.

“Oh, he’s great, man,” new defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman said. “Gosh, he’s a high-effort guy. He’s an energy-provider. He just goes hard and is a yes-sir, no-sir kid. Sometimes he can be methodical because he’s such a pleaser, but he’s done a great job, and he’s getting a lot more reps.”

The defensive meeting room has become accustomed to seeing Ehrensberger and his non-stop motor highlighted during post-practice cutups. White and senior safety Houston Griffith noted the way Ehrensberger will chase Irish receivers until the whistle blows.

“You continue rolling the clip, and he’s running 50 yards down the field, trying to catch Avery Davis after he caught a pass,” White said. “He brings absolutely full, 100% effort to every play. Everyone respects that. That’s the fastest way to gain respect around a program like this.”

Nicknamed “The German” — what else? — Ehrensberger hasn’t taken long to incorporate certain American lingo into his daily discourse. For instance, he’s fond of saying “hella” when special emphasis is required.

“He says ‘hella’ a lot,” White said. ” ‘We’re running hella.’ I’m like, ‘I know you got that from here.’ Everyone loves Alex. It’s an amazing story, and he’s an amazing teammate.”

Ehrensberger showed enough potential at PPI’s European camp circuit that Mike Elston, Notre Dame’s defensive line coach and assistant head coach, made a special trip there in the spring of 2019. Recently elevated to recruiting coordinator, Elston made an early connection with Collier and his skeleton staff that should open the door to future signings.

“I already had a prior relationship with coach Elston when he came to Germany to visit, not even to visit Ehrensberger but to check out our workouts,” said Collier, 35. “That relationship has grown, and he trusts me and trusts my opinion.”

Freeman, during his four-year run as defensive coordinator at Cincinnati, saw 6-9 PPI product Lorenz Metz sign as a defensive lineman out of Germany in 2018 and later become a starting offensive tackle for the Bearcats.

“I met coach Freeman a few years back,” Collier said. “Overall Notre Dame is a great fit for most of these European guys because they value education just as much as football. That’s kind of what Notre Dame preaches.”

Since debuting in 2017 with 13 hopefuls visiting 10 schools in nine days, the Dreamchasers Tour has grown exponentially. This summer, Collier and two former teammates took turns driving two separate groups of 30 European prospects to most of the top college football programs.

The first batch of hopefuls was here in June, followed by another group in July.

“There’s a lot of kids,” Freeman said. “I remember at Cincinnati, they came around, and it wasn’t as many kids as now. It’s a credit to that entire program for the way they’re building these young guys and finding them.”

As Ehrensberger might say, American football in Europe seems to be growing hella fast.

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A 15-year-old boy was hurt in a drive-by shooting Saturday afternoon in Calumet Heights on the South Side.

The boy was sitting in a park just after 4:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of East 89th Street when someone in a gray-colored Chrysler drove by and fired shots, Chicago police said.

The boy was struck in the right arm, thigh and hip, police said. He was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said.

No one was in custody.

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A 59-year-old man was fatally shot Saturday afternoon while driving in West Humboldt Park.

About 12:40 p.m., the man was driving in the 1200 block of North Pulaski Road when someone in another vehicle fired shots, striking him in the upper back and right arm, Chicago police said.

The man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. He has not yet been identified.

There was no one in custody as Area Five detectives investigate.

Read more on crime, and track the city’s homicides.

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