Newcomers lead Cubs to a win while White Sox bats wake up and defeat Tigers

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Can you think of any MLB rookie, playing part time, who has shown more of a flair for the dramatic than David Bote?  Bote was at it again driving a Raisel Iglesias pitch on to Waveland Ave. to give the Cubs a 3-2 walkoff win over the Reds.  Bote now has two walkoff homers and a walkoff walk in his relatively short time with the Cubs.  Other newcomers were also instrumental in the Cubs win.

Murphy does it again

Daniel Murphy gave the Cubs a brief 2-1 lead with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth.  Unfortunately, Pedro Strop gave up a game tying home run to Eugenio Suarez to tie the game.

More help for the pitching staff?

The Cubs got a boost when starter Alec Mills, who was called up from Iowa, went 5.2 innings, allowing only one run.  It was Mills second appearance with the Cubs. It seems like this guy should have been in Chicago quite a bit sooner instead of Tyler Chatwood.  Chatwood is currently on the DL with an inflamed ERA, er hip.  Mills stuck eight while allowing only three hits and walking one.  I’d like to see him get another shot.

The Cardinals will cool off won't they?

Another newcomer, Jesse Chavez, pitched a scoreless tenth to get the win.  The win was the third in a row for the Cubs.  That’s a handy thing since it seems the Cardinals have decided not to lose anymore.  I suspect they’ll cool off, but I’m surprised that they’ve won 17 out of their last 21 games.  In a quick look at the Cardinals stats, I was also surprised to find Harrison Bader has a WAR of 3.8.  Despite some high profile starting pitchers being down, Miles Mikolos and Jack Flaherty have done a great job of keeping the Cards afloat.

Set the alarm for the eighth inning

What started off looking like another boring, methodical loss, turned into an nifty 6-3 win for the White Sox over the Tigers.  The Sox trailed 3-0 going into the top of the eighth before erupting for six runs.  Yoan Moncada jump started the Sox scoring with a bases loaded double off the right field wall, driving in two runs.  Avisail Garcia took a brief timeout from his mammoth slump to single and drive in a run.  Dan Palka drove in another run with a double before Tim Anderson drove home the final two runs with a double to right center.

Sox pitching continues to jell

Reynaldo Lopez started for the Sox and was pretty good, going 5.2 innings giving up two earned runs and striking out seven.  The Sox pen also had a good game, allowing only one unearned run.  Jace Fry brought his ERA under 4.00 again by going 1.1 innings while allowing two hits and striking out two.  Juan Minaya closed things out.

Welcome back, and why is Yoan so good with the bases loaded?

Manager, Ricky Renteria was back with the team after being hospitalized.  The win was a nice greeting for him.  I’ve been really disappointed in Yoan Moncada, except when the bases are loaded.  He seems to really concentrate in those situations and shows very good command of the strike zone.  I wish he took that approach with every at bat.

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