Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (6/5/24): Cubs 7, White Sox 6 – Tauchman Pounds Cubs to Walk-Off Win

The Cubs fell way behind the White Sox at Wrigley for the second consecutive night on Wednesday. Just like on Tuesday, the home team was able to rally all the way back and grab another victory, this time with a dramatic walk-off home run from Mike Tauchman.

The South Siders took the lead on the first pitch of the game when Corey Julks cracked a solo shot off of Jameson Taillon. Christopher Morel singled, stole second, and beat a throw to the plate on a grounder to short by Nico Hoerner to tie the game in the bottom of the 2nd.

Taillon got beat up in the top of the 4th when the White Sox hit a total of six singles. By the time the frame was finally over, the road team had built up a 5-1 advantage. The Cubs were able to chip away at starter Erick Fedde with an RBI groundout and a balk, the first of two that would be called Wednesday, to cut the deficit to 5-3 in the 5th.

The North Siders jumped ahead with three runs in a very unorthodox rally against Michael Soroka in the bottom of the 7th. A hit by pitch and a walk put the first two men on base and the aforementioned second balk advanced the runners to second and third. Tauchman then drew a walk on a wild ball four that allowed a run to score.

After Soroka struck out Seiya Suzuki for the first out, lefty Jared Shuster came on and surrendered the game-tying sacrifice fly to Cody Bellinger. Morel then worked a painful walk that featured another foul ball off his toe to bring Ian Happ to the plate. The suddenly clutch Cubs outfielder hit a broken-bat flare single to give his team a 6-5 lead.

In a moment eerily similar to Tuesday, Hayden Wesneski gave up a game-tying solo dinger to the always annoying Paul DeJong to begin the 8th inning. Héctor Neris pitched around a typical walk to keep the game even in the top of the 9th to set the stage for Tauchman. The Palatine Pounder hit a blazing Michael Kopech fastball out to left-center for the walk-off homer in another 7-6 win. (Box score)

CHICAGO’S OWN MIKE TAUCHMAN WALKS IT OFF! pic.twitter.com/YmyQ5FrHio

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 6, 2024

Key Moment

The White Sox made numerous mistakes late on Wednesday, especially in the 7th inning, and the Cubs took advantage of the gift to pull out the victory. In all, they scored five of their seven runs without hits.

Why the Cubs Won

The bullpen again allowed a single run after a shaky performance from the starting pitcher, which gave their opponent enough time to cough up the game.

Stats That Matter

• Taillon hasn’t been as sharp the last few starts and his numbers are starting to go up: 5 IP, 5R, 10 H, 6K, and 1 BB.
• Dansby Swanson reached base three times, including two singles, and he is starting to look more comfortable at the plate.
• Tauchman just makes things happen, whether it’s a great plate appearance to draw a walk, slapping a single, or running into the occasional home run.

Bottom Line

Those games were not works of art, but the Cubs won them both for their first series win in seven tries. It goes without saying that it’s going to take a much better effort to beat a team that isn’t the White Sox. Despite all the struggles for Craig Counsell and company, this team is back at .500 and currently holds a Wild Card spot. Here’s to hoping they can try to build on this mini-sweep.

On Deck

The Cubs head to Cincinnati for a four-game series beginning Thursday at 6:10pm CT. Javier Assad faces off against Hunter Greene with a broadcast available on MLB Network (out of market only), Marquee, and 670 The Score.