Cubs claim crosstown victory 6-1 in win scripted by the rookies
The Cubs had lost four of their last five games, Ian Happ was 2-for-16 at the plate during that stretch.
So when he got a good swing on a Jordan Leasure splitter in the top of the seventh inning in a scoreless game, only one thing worried him.
Former teammate Mike Tauchman was patrolling right field for White Sox. Tauchman pulled off maybe the most famous home run robbery in Cubs history a couple years ago at St. Louis. He leaped, but couldn't get to the ball.
The Cubs tacked on a Matt Shaw 2-run homer and a few more to beat the White Sox 6-1 at Rate Field on Saturday.
“It was a little scary, little scary,” Happ said about following the flight of the ball. “I thought I got it a hair better than that. I've seen (Tauchman) do it before, so I'm glad he couldn't get to that one.”
The star of this game was pitcher Cade Horton. After a couple of incendiary outings by their starters, Horton gave the Cubs exactly what they needed, 6-plus shutout innings against the suddenly white-hot White Sox offense. While going 6-1 coming out of the all-star break, the Sox averaged 10.1 runs per game.
But Horton coaxed a double play to get out of a first-inning jam and stayed in control into the seventh inning. Horton has now thrown shutouts in three of his last four starts, against the White Sox, Red Sox and Guardians, while his rookie season ERA dropped to 3.67.
“Honestly, I didn't feel like that was my best command with my off-speed,” Horton said. “But I was able to locate fastballs and just keep them off-balance. When runners got on, I was able to just focus on the next pitch and execute it.”
Horton admitted the road hasn't been kind in his first trip through MLB, particularly an outing in Houston on June 27, easily his worst of the season. With a raucous atmosphere on the South Side for Cubs-Sox, he was able to stay composed.
“To be able to get out of that first inning, it gave me a lot of confidence to move forward,” Horton said. “I try to just execute a pitch and really slow the game down, that's what it comes down to. And keeping the leadoff guys off base, that's the biggest thing. So when you do that, it's a good recipe for success.”
Since the all-star break, Shaw has been the Cubs best hitter by far. He's hitting .478 with 4 home runs and just one strike out. His mechanics at the plate are a popular topic, but Shaw feels the biggest reason for the turnaround was to stop beating himself up when things don't go well.
“I think I put a lot of pressure on myself, yeah,” Shaw said. “I just realized that I'm motivated and I love this game. I don't need to add pressure. It's really being focused on just letting things go, having fun, playing free, just really enjoying being out there.”
After the two homers, the Cubs added 3 more runs in the eighth, with help from 3 walks and a hit batter. Pete Crow-Armstrong started the rally with a double, while Dansby Swanson contributed a 2-run single.
White Sox starter Aaron Civale tossed 5 scoreless innings, his second straight outing with no earned runs allowed. The Sox lone run came on a Tauchman home run in the ninth, giving him two in this series against the Cubs.