With Chapman en route, Cubs' bullpen takes loss vs Chisox

CHICAGO (AP) - The Chicago Cubs definitely could have used Aroldis Chapman on Monday night.

Mike Montgomery yielded a game-ending RBI single to Tyler Saladino in the ninth, sending the Cubs to a 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox hours after they acquired Chapman in a trade with the New York Yankees.

"Just pitch selection there," said Montgomery, who was acquired in a deal with Seattle last Wednesday. "Got to be smarter, especially coming to extra innings, you know they're looking to get fastballs in the zone."

The Cubs trailed 4-2 before Dexter Fowler and Anthony Rizzo each hit an RBI single in the ninth. They had runners on first and second with two out when Dan Jennings (4-2) struck out Jason Heyward to escape the threat.

J.B. Shuck then sparked the winning rally with a leadoff single in the bottom half against Montgomery (3-5), who also allowed a run in his Cubs debut on Saturday. Shuck advanced on Dioner Navarro's sacrifice and Saladino followed with a bouncer into center field.

Coupled with two late victories against Detroit on Sunday, it was the first time since August 1962 that the White Sox had won three consecutive games in their last at-bat, according to STATS LLC.

"These guys are resilient," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "They fight back, they come every day to play hard. You need some stuff to go your way and I think tonight was one of those."

Javier Baez hit a two-run homer for the Cubs, who were coming off a nice weekend series in Milwaukee.

Todd Frazier hit a three-run drive off Jake Arrieta and Miguel Gonzalez pitched 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball, helping the White Sox improve to 5-5 in interleague play. Melky Cabrera made an outstanding leaping catch in the first, robbing Kris Bryant of a home run.

"It wasn't a really hard fly ball, it was more high and I tracked the ball perfectly," Cabrera said.

Moments after he lost his bat into the stands in the sixth, Frazier drove the next pitch from Arrieta over the wall in center for his 29th homer. He also connected against Arrieta last year, when the ace right-hander allowed just 10 homers all year long on his way to the NL Cy Young Award.

"Just need to execute better there," Arrieta said.

The NL Central-leading Cubs had won seven of 10 after a midseason slide, and they bolstered their already solid bullpen with the acquisition of the hard-throwing Chapman in a trade with the Yankees on Monday. The left-hander is expected to join the Cubs for Tuesday night's game against the White Sox.

"When you make a maneuver like this, it's got to be obvious that it's going to be very helpful," manager Joe Maddon said, "and it's very obvious that this will be."

Chasing their first World Series title since 1908, the Cubs sent top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres, versatile pitcher Adam Warren and minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford to New York for Chapman, who has 166 saves and a 2.16 ERA in seven years in the majors.

"It's an aggressive move," president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said. "It was tough to give up what we gave up, but if not now, when? This is the appropriate move given where we are and what we're trying to accomplish."

While Chapman gives Chicago a shutdown reliever for its bullpen, the Cubs are still looking for Arrieta to get back on track. He pitched seven crisp innings against the Mets in his previous start, but allowed four runs in six innings against the White Sox and has just one win in his last six outings.

WOOZY BRYANT

Bryant was cut down by Cabrera when he tried to stretch his base hit into a double with no outs in the ninth. He slowly walked off the field after a hard headfirst slide into second.

Maddon said Bryant was a little shaken, but trainer P.J. Mainville checked him out and said he was fine.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Cubs: SS Addison Russell was in the starting lineup a day after he departed Chicago's 6-5 victory at Milwaukee with a left heel contusion.

White Sox: 2B Brett Lawrie (strained left hamstring) missed his fourth consecutive game, but Ventura said he was available in an emergency. ... LHP Carlos Rodon (sprained left wrist) allowed two earned runs and five hits in 3 2/3 innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Charlotte. He also had a throwing error.

UP NEXT

Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (9-6, 2.27 ERA) looks to continue his breakout year on Tuesday night against White Sox RHP James Shields (4-12, 4.99 ERA). Hendricks is 5-0 with a sparkling 0.72 ERA in his last seven games, six starts. Shields has dropped each of his last three starts, but has a 2.08 ERA in 21 2/3 innings during the slide.

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Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap