Trevor Story flied out to right to begin the top of the second before Ceddanne Rafaela popped up to first. Masataka Yoshida singled to right and Abraham Toro got a base hit to center, but Connor Wong flied out to right to end the inning. The Sox would have just two hits the rest of the game. The Cubs struck again in the bottom of the second as Dansby Swanson walked to start. Nico Hoerner singled to left and Reese McGuire forced Hoerner at second. Vidal Brujan hit a sac fly to left to score Swanson to increase the lead. Busch struck out swinging to end the inning with the Cubs up 3-0.
Refsnyder struck out swinging to start the top of the third before Bregman flied out to left. Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the inning. Tucker grounded out to second to start the bottom of the third before Suzuki flied out to right. PCA got a base hit to right and promptly stole second. Happ lined out to second to end the inning.
Anthony walked to start the top of the fourth before Story struck out swinging. Rafaela popped up to first and Yoshida forced Anthony at second to end the inning. Swanson struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fourth before Hoerner singled down the third base line. McGuire popped up to third and Brujan grounded out to second to end the inning.
Toro flied out to right to open the top of the fifth before Wong popped up to third. Refsnyder popped up to first to end the inning. Busch got a base hit to center to start the bottom of the fifth before Tucker grounded out to second to move Michael to second. Suzuki popped up to short and PCA grounded out to first to end the inning.
Bregman grounded out to short to start the top of the sixth before Gonzalez flied out to right. Anthony grounded out to first to end the inning. Bello returned for the bottom of the sixth and Happ struck out swinging to start. Swanson lined out to left and Hoerner grounded out to short to end the inning. Bello was rocked early but bounced back to allow just 3 runs in 6 innings.
Story flied out to left to begin the top of the seventh before Rafaela grounded out to third. Yoshida got a base hit to right but Toro hit a roller to Imanaga, throwing the ball away to put runners at the corners. Naturally Wong popped up to second to end the inning. Chris Murphy came in to crap his pants in the bottom of the seventh as McGuire struck out swinging to start. Matt Shaw pinch hit for Brujan and hit a home run all the way to Second City Comedy Club to increase the lead. Busch grounded out to first but Tucker got a base hit to right. Suzuki grounded out to second to end the inning with the Cubs ahead 4-0.
Brad Keller came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Jarren Duran pinch hit for Refsnyder. Duran struck out swinging to start and Bregman took strike three before Wilyer Abreu pinch hit for Gonzalez. Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning. The fact the Sox have been utterly dominated by Brad Keller for two straight games is embarrassing. PCA laughed at the Sox as he effortlessly crushed a home run to start the bottom of the eighth and Happ joined in with a home run into the Atlantic Ocean as well. Swansong grounded out to third but Hoerner was hit with a pitch. McGuire lined out to short but Shaw singled to right. Abreu made a sliding catch to rob Busch of a hit to end the inning with the Cubs up 8-0.
Cubs pour it on
Old friend Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Anthony struck out swinging to start. Story went down hacking but Rafaela singled in the hole at short. Yoshida grounded out to short to end the game. The Cubs had won it 6-0.
Jackass of the Night is Connor Wong. The worst statistical player in baseball was 0 for 3 including failing with 2 men on twice.
The Good:
Rob Refsnyder was 1 for 3.
Masataka Yoshida was 2 for 4.
Abraham Toro was 2 for 3.
The Bad:
Jarren Duran struck out as a pinch hitter.
Alex Bregman was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Wilyer Abreu struck out as a pinch hitter.
Trevor Story was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Chris Murphy allowed 3 runs in 2 innings.
The Ugly:
Roman Anthony was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4.
Brayan Bello took the loss but allowed just 3 runs in 6 innings off 6 hits and a walk.
Final Thoughts:
Took just two games for things to fall apart and go back to normal. Terrible situational hitting, giving up runs very early and spotty relief pitching. The season is far from over but all the momentum the Sox built up before the break is gone. The Sox are playing the best the National League has to offer in Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Losing 2 out of 3 to all 3 or worse might take them out of the race for good. Bello and Giolito both went 6 innings and allowed 3 runs apiece but the offense went to sleep. When the bats aren't facing bad teams, they're in trouble. How much longer can you get away with relying on Romy Gonzalez, Abraham Toro and Carlos Narvaez? Also how much longer and the Sox pull the plug on Connor Wong? At this point, ANYONE is better than him. Jason Varitek and Doug Mirabelli could come out of retirement and put up better numbers than him. I know he's the last man standing from the Mookie Betts trade but how many games is he going to cost them before enough is enough? Its all adding up to a season that just might slip away before the trade deadline. The loss dropped the Sox to 53-47, 5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to salvage the series tomorrow afternoon when Garrett Crochet (10-4) takes on Cade Horton of Chicago. The game begins at 2:30 PM Eastern time at Wrigley Field.
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