Fifteen minutes later, a mix of cheers from Cubs fans and boos from Sox fans among the crowd of 39,539 enveloped Kimbrel as he walked off the mound, pulled in the middle of the eighth. Moments earlier, Cubs shortstop Andrew Romine hit a game-tying, three-run homer off Kimbrel. The home run was as stunning as unlikely: Before that fateful pitch, Kimbrel had allowed only two earned runs in 39⅓ innings this season with nearly two years passing since he last surrendered three runs in an outing.
