The Rundown: Chris Sale Ends Cubs’ Winning Streak, Big Day for Ian Happ, Emeralds Toss No-Hitter
It was a good run, but the Cubs’ winning streak is over — thanks to Chris Sale.
One of the game’s best was basically unhittable as the White Sox beat the Cubs 3-1. Sale pitched seven dominant innings, striking out a whopping 15 Cubs. He surrendered only one hit: a single to Dexter Fowler in the 6th.
It’s hard to be critical of the Cubs for this loss, especially after winning 15 out of 16 heading into Sunday. The Cubs struck out three more times after Sale exited the game, for a total of 18. Everyone in the lineup struck out at least once, except for Jonathan Hererra.
The Cubs have the day off today. They’ll work on starting a new winning streak on Tuesday, back at Wrigley Field against the Tigers.
Avoiding a scare
Dan Haren took a line drive off his right ankle in the 2nd inning. It looked bad, but Haren shook it off and was able to stay in the game.
Haren ended up lasting only 4.2 innings, but not because of an injury. As has been a theme for him this year, Haren was prone to the longball yesterday. He gave up three home runs, albeit all solo shots.
It wasn’t the best outing, but in the end, the White Sox only scored three runs total. On a normal day, that should be good enough for the Cubs to win. Unfortunately, Chris Sale was on the mound.
After the game, it sounded like Haren’s ankle was doing OK:
https://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/633032337257857024
Soler power
Jorge Soler put the Cubs on the scoreboard yesterday in the 9th when he went oppo for his sixth home run on the year.
It was Soler’s first home run since July 19, which almost doesn’t seem possible.
Soler hits the ball extremely hard, but hasn’t seen the home runs come yet. I feel like it’s only a matter of time.
Despite the lack of home runs, Soler has been hitting well this month. He has a hit in 12 out of 13 games in August so far.
Other notes
* The Cubs’ first-round pick from this year, Ian Happ, had a very nice game yesterday for the South Bend Cubs. Happ went 2-for-3 with a home run, a triple, three RBIs, and two runs scored. Did the Cubs hit on yet another hitting prospect? Will definitely be interesting to monitor next year.
* Four pitchers on the Eugene Emeralds last night combined to throw a no-hitter. Preston Morrison, Kyle Twomey, Luis Hernandez and Trey Masek collectively struck out 12 and walked three. Morrison, who started the game, was drafted this year in the eighth round out of TCU.