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Cardinals rookie Brendan Donovan apologized Saturday night for tweets he sent with homophobic language as a teenager that surfaced during St. Louis’ game against the Chicago Cubs.Twitter users directed Donovan’s tweets to the attention of reporters during a doubleheader in Chicago, including at least one that used an anti-gay slur. Donovan’s Twitter account was deleted shortly after the second game, in which Donovan hit a two-run double in the 10th inning to spur a 7-4 Cardinals victory.AdvertisementThe flagged tweets were sent in 2011 and 2013, and the 25-year-old Donovan said Saturday they were part of “playful banter” with a friend.“I take full responsibility,” Donovan said. “It was something I sent out a long time ago. I’m truly sorry to anyone I may have offended. Anyone that knows me as a person knows I see everyone the same, and I do not condone that type of behavior or anything.Advertisement“If I’ve offended you, I truly apologize. Hopefully, I can do my part to show you that’s not who I am.”

You always remember your first time at Wrigley Field.Walking through the gates and through the darkened concourse. Seeing the green grass and ivy-covered bleacher walls as you enter the playing field. Glancing up at the old school scoreboard and watching the seats fill in during the hours before game time, anticipation growing until the first pitch.AdvertisementCaleb Kilian experienced all of that Saturday afternoon — and then he got to make his major-league debut against the St. Louis Cardinals before 31,673 fans.[ [Don’t miss] Chicago Cubs enter June with a feeling of optimism. Here are 5 reasons why. ]It was, he said afterward, “the greatest day of my life.”AdvertisementSurely there will be many more great days for the 25-year-old rookie. The Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect has experienced success at every level of his career, from high school to Texas Tech to the minor leagues.But this day was one that would linger, because you only get one shot at your first game.Pitching at Triple-A Iowa, Kilian got the call from the Cubs on Thursday, which he called the ”best birthday present ever.” If it already sounds like he talks in superlatives, put yourself in his shoes.Caleb’s first glimpse of Wrigley was everything he envisioned. “Best day of my life… What a place to make your debut.” pic.twitter.com/4E4tRLpedW— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) June 5, 2022

The Cubs, being the Cubs, wouldn’t let on that Kilian would be making his debut, pretending it was a state secret that could be ruined by the media. But everyone knew, and by the time manager David Ross confirmed the obvious after Friday’s game, the news had already leaked on Twitter.Kilian had a hard time sleeping Friday in his Chicago hotel room, thinking about what was in store.“When I was trying to sleep, I could hear my heartbeat,” he said with a laugh. “I’m glad I was able to fall asleep and get some rest. Most of the nerves were (Friday).”Kilian got to Wrigley early Saturday to get comfortable with his new surroundings and meet his teammates —some of whom he already knew — and the coaches and clubhouse staff.[ [Don’t miss] How Matt Swarmer’s unique slider is bringing the 28-year-old Chicago Cubs rookie big-league success ]“Coolest ballpark ever,” he said. “What a place to debut.”AdvertisementKilian’s parents, aunt and friends got enough notice to make it to Chicago. After getting his first round of applause from bleacher fans while stretching in the outfield, he came to the mound to Eric Church’s song ”The Outsiders:”“Back to the wall/A band of brothers/Together, alone, the outsiders.”Kilian started off by striking out Tommy Edman on three pitches, ending the at-bat with a 96 mph fastball. He fanned Nolan Gorman on a 1-2 curve, then broke Paul Goldschmidt’s bat while inducing the Cardinals star into a groundout at short.Cubs pitcher Caleb Kilian throws a pitch during the first inning at Wrigley Field on June 4, 2022. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Images)“It helped build some confidence,” Kilian said, adding he was trying not to “let the moment get to me.”He needed only 20 pitches in two innings to retire the first six hitters. And then he bookended a perfect third with strikeouts of Yadier Molina and Edmundo Sosa.But then came the fourth. The first at-bat of the inning was briefly delayed by a ball that came onto the field in the right field bleachers, forcing Rafael Ortega to throw it back and resume play.AdvertisementKilian proceeded to walk Edman on four pitches, After a fly to left by Gorman, Goldschmidt sharply singled up the middle, making Kilian do a dance to avoid getting smoked. A walk to Nolan Arenado loaded the bases, and a breaking ball that bounced in the dirt got past catcher P.J. Higgins brought in the first run. Brendan Donovan’s double to left center brought in the other runners, and suddenly the Cardinals had a 3-1 lead.“Two strikes, it hurts,” Kilian said. “I should be better than that, but it happens. Can’t take it back.”[ [Don’t miss] Brennen Davis — the top prospect in the Chicago Cubs organization — has back surgery ]When the inning ended after Harrison Bader was caught stealing second, Kilian had thrown 30 pitches in the frame. The Cubs have kept him under 80 pitches in all but one of his nine minor-league starts, but Ross sent Kilian back out for the fifth. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told him to relax and use his legs to get downhill on his delivery — and Kilian reverted to his early form. He gave up a two-out, infield hit to Sosa before striking out Edman to end his night.“Just giving him a reset, right?” Ross said of sending Kilian out for the fifth. “The wheels didn’t fall off. He’s been a starter for a long time and they’re going to have an inning or two like that from time to time. Just get him back on that horse. He handled that really well, went out and threw a lot of strikes.”It wasn’t a Rembrandt. No five-inning start can be considered a masterpiece. But it was a start, and Ross was pleased Kilian showed what he was all about in his dominant early innings and his ability to move on from the rocky fourth when he lost command.Cubs starting pitcher Caleb Kilian sits in the dugout before his major-league debut against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field on June 4, 2022. (Mark Black / AP)“Mixed his pitches well, had that one rough inning obviously,” Ross said. “But pretty clean. It’s nice to get a look at somebody for the first time. I think he handled the moment really well. Came out firing bee-bees. His fastball seems real, his cutter, mixed and matched his pitches. He did a nice job.”AdvertisementRoss had tried to downplay the significance of Kilian’s debut, perhaps to avoid the kind of media and fan scrutiny Kris Bryant, Javier Báez, Kyle Schwarber and the rest of the Cubs prospects from 2015-16 endured early in their careers. He didn’t want Kilian to be considered a “savior” of this rebuild or to put pressure on the kid to perform at a high level every time out.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.But make no mistake. This is a big deal for the Cubs, and especially for president Jed Hoyer, who acquired Kilian last July from the San Francisco Giants in a deal that sent one of the team’s most popular players of the last three decades packing. Just as Bryant’s arrival in 2015 signaled the unofficial start of the new Cubs era under Theo Epstein, Kilian’s call-up means the Hoyer regime is now in full throttle.It will be a while before the rest of the top prospects acquired from the summer sell-off of 2021 are in the majors since most were in the lower levels at the time of the trades. Fair or not, Kilian will be the player the Cubs showcase to convince fans they made the right call in dealing the stars of their championship team instead of signing them to extensions.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 165Fergie Jenkins’ statue now stands outside Wrigley Field on May 20, 2022. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)“I just think people come out here to watch the Cubs,” Kilian said, shrugging off the pressure of being looked at as a centerpiece of the rebuild.The Cubs went on to lose in 10 innings in a game with a few twists and turns, including the Cardinals missing a chance to score the go-ahead run when Sosa missed third while rounding the base, forcing him to retreat. That will be a footnote to the story Kilian tells years from now about his first day in the majors, pitching in an iconic ballpark on a cool night in June.“Best day ever,” he said. “It was the best day of my life. To be able to debut at Wrigley, Saturday night, it starts raining, tie game in the ninth … I don’t think I could ask for anything better.”AdvertisementIt was the first day of what the Cubs hope will be a long and successful run for Kilian and his new teammates.Together, alone, the outsiders.

Chicago Cubs rookie Matt Swarmer knows his high extended leg kick is reminiscent of another big-league pitcher.“People always ask me, ‘Do you get it from Bronson Arroyo?’” Swarmer told the Tribune. “I just developed it on my own.Advertisement“But I like to tell people it’s from Arroyo,” he added, laughing, “because I don’t know how to explain it sometimes.”The 28-year-old right-hander is making the most of his unexpected call-up this week. Days after Swarmer’s big-league debut Monday, he was still in shock as the magnitude of reaching the majors continued to sink in for the former 19th-round pick.AdvertisementAnd after Saturday’s 6-1 victory in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals — his first win in his second career start — Swarmer again searched for words.“Oh, man, it’s incredible,” Swarmer said Saturday. “I’ve always thought about just being here, and now I’m competing with the best guys. Oh, it’s so cool. I’m just living in the moment right now.“I always watched those guys on TV, and now to have a chance to face them, it’s really special in that moment. I have to soak it all in.”Cubs starter Matt Swarmer pitches against the Cardinals during the first inning of the first game of a doubleheader Saturday, June 4, 2022, at Wrigley Field. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AP)In both starts Swarmer held the opposition to one earned run in six innings while combining for 11 strikeouts and three walks. At the root of his success is a nasty slider. He generated 13 whiffs with his slider Saturday after producing 10 on Monday. Another 12 sliders over the two starts resulted in called strikes.“When he’s at his best, he has a unique slider — just the way it looks when it comes out of his hand, the way it moves,” pitching coach Tommy Hottovy told the Tribune. “A lot of times you’ll see guys have two pitches that are power pitches, but he also has the ability to move that slider around and locate it where he needs to. As long as he can command those two pitches and move them around, you can do a lot of really good things.“Sometimes guys get here and they try to do too much. He’s not a guy that is going to try to do more than what he knows he can do.”[ [Don’t miss] How Keegan Thompson’s warmup routine has set up the Cubs pitcher’s successful transition to the rotation ]Swarmer relies on two pitches — a four-seam fastball and slider — at a frequency that’s uncommon for major-league starters. Through two starts with the Cubs, they accounted for 97.2% of his pitches.But it’s his ability to manipulate his slider, essentially creating two pitch shapes, that makes the pitch so effective. When Swarmer is looking to put a hitter away down in the zone or even just trying to get the pitch over the plate, he will take something off his slider and sometimes get more around the baseball. If he stays on top of the ball with his slider grip, it creates sharper vertical break.AdvertisementA key to his success is keeping the same arm angle when utilizing each slider type while also tunneling it off his fastball. Swarmer initially used his slider grip in 2018 but lost it during the 2019 season. It took until last July to finally get it back to where he wanted it.“For hitters like this, you have to be very selective where you’re going to throw because they’ll hit it if it’s around the plate,” Swarmer said.The success of his two-pitch mix two games into his big-league career doesn’t mean he is abandoning the development of a third pitch, a changeup. Swarmer knows he will need to incorporate the pitch more as teams build a scouting report against him. Of the 178 pitches he threw in his first two starts, only five were changeups.Swarmer believes he might have found a changeup grip that works for him, but he continues to tinker.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“The only way I’ll know if it’s good is if I throw it to hitters,” Swarmer said. “And if I don’t, you basically won’t know until you face hitters like these.”It comes down to finding a low-leverage situation or identifying the right hitter to deploy the changeup against, Hottovy said. Before the National League adopted the designated hitter, the pitcher spot used to be a good opportunity to work in a developing pitch.Advertisement“On the flip side of that, we want guys who attack with their strengths,” Hottovy said, “and the one thing that pitchers do have an advantage with is the hitter doesn’t know when we’re going to break out a new pitch.” [ [Don’t miss] Brennen Davis — the top prospect in the Cubs organization — has back surgery ]Swarmer’s stellar first two starts — against division rivals no less — serve as a great jumping-off point for taking the next steps as a big-league pitcher. For Swarmer, that entails locking in on all facets: honing his changeup, controlling the running game and in-game situations and harnessing the strategy side.In the minor leagues, a lot of success can come from just executing pitches and getting outs. With the Cubs, Swarmer will need to prove he can work through a lineup and mix his pitches well enough to keep hitters guessing.But perhaps most importantly, Hottovy wants Swarmer to keep having fun and being himself because that’s a big part of what has made him so good.“I worked so hard for this,” Swarmer said. “In the minor leagues, you have to just be true to yourself and say, hey, if you just keep putting in the work, you’ll have a chance to be successful one day. I just kept competing and I thank God I’m here.”

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A wet spring has done more than dampen graduations and douse picnics. In yards and gardens, it is also brewing up fungal diseases.Ailments caused by fungi tend to be more common in a growing season that starts out wet, according to Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist in the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle.Advertisement“Wet weather allows fungi to grow,” she said. Every fungus reproduces from dormant reproductive bodies called spores, which can be in the soil or may be wafted through the air and land on plants. When conditions are wet in early spring, while leaf buds are opening, spores readily germinate and the fungi spread to the new, vulnerable leaves.Fungus-caused diseases such as powdery mildew are likely to be widespread this year because of the wet spring. (Beth Botts/Morton Arboretum)Wet springs can lead to many fungus-caused diseases such as verticillium wilt in maples; anthracnose in sycamores; apple scab in flowering crab apples; rust on roses; maple leaf tar spot; and powdery mildew, which affects lilacs, phlox and many other plants.Advertisement“The fungi that cause these diseases are always around in our gardens,” Yiesla said. “Even in dry years, susceptible plants may show an infection. But in years with a wet spring, the diseases become more severe and more obvious.”By late May this year, some plants were already showing leaf damage. The Plant Clinic’s advice to homeowners is simple: Don’t panic.“The majority of leaf diseases are not very damaging overall,” Yiesla said. “The plants will survive a bad year of powdery mildew or maple leaf tar spot. It’s just not nice to look at.”By the time you see evidence of an infection, it’s already too late to spray plants with a fungicide. “You need to spray plants in early spring, just when the leaf buds are opening, in order for a fungicide to have any effect on leaf diseases,” she said. “By the time the leaves have opened, a fungicide won’t work.”Some fungal diseases that develop inside the plant’s stems — such as verticillium and fusarium wilts — are not affected by fungicide sprays at all.What can you do about these diseases?Prune out diseased branches. If you see an obvious growth, such as the orange glob of rose rust, prune out that branch back to the main stem. Sterilize your pruners before you make another cut. Save one sample of an affected branch for diagnosis. Dispose of the rest in the landscape waste, not in your compost pile, so it will be removed from your property and reduce the chance of spreading the infection.Have diseases diagnosed. Take photos of the disease symptoms, such as the affected leaves or stem growths, and of the entire plant. Photograph both the top and bottom of the leaves, as well as their arrangement along a branch, to help in identification. Send your photos to the Plant Clinic for help in diagnosing the problem and deciding what to do. If you bring samples in to the clinic, seal them in a plastic zipper bag to avoid spreading the infection.AdvertisementClear away infected foliage. Good hygiene can reduce the spread of disease. When distorted or spotted leaves fall, or when you remove diseased plants, dispose of them in the landscape waste. “It isn’t always possible to remove all diseased leaves, such as those from a big maple with maple leaf tar spot,” Yiesla said. “But whatever you can do will help.”Air out your shrubs. In overgrown shrubs dense with stems, moisture lingers because air can’t circulate. To allow drying breezes to flow through an overgrown shrub, prune out one-third of the stems, choosing the oldest, thickest ones to remove.Be ready to water. Yes, water! “There will be dry periods in every summer, even in a wet year,” she said. “Drought stresses plants, and plants that are stressed have a harder time fighting off diseases. So make sure your plants’ roots have water in the soil to draw on.”Water roots, not leaves. “Getting the leaves wet can encourage fungal diseases,” she said. It’s also wasteful, since water on the leaves will simply evaporate without helping the plants. Instead, try to deliver water to the soil where plants’ roots can absorb it. Instead of using a sprinkler, you can water by hand, use soaker hoses, or water young trees with drip bags, a slowly trickling hose laid on the soil or a bucket.“The best things to do when fungal diseases are bad,” Yiesla said, “are to help your trees and plants stay basically healthy so they can survive an infection, and wait for next year.”For tree and plant advice, contact the Plant Clinic at The Morton Arboretum (630-719-2424, mortonarb.org/plant-clinic, or plantclinic@mortonarb.org). Beth Botts is a staff writer at the Arboretum.

Dear Amy: My in-laws are in town. They are staying at our apartment.Thankfully, my husband and I are able to stay at my parents’ place while my own folks are away, because our apartment is too small for four adults and three animals.AdvertisementMy mother-in-law is cleaning and doing our laundry at our place while we are at work.That’s nice, but my husband isn’t single anymore and I feel uncomfortable that she’s doing that.AdvertisementAlso, she wants to cook him a roast and potatoes for dinner. I don’t eat either of these things, so is it rude to cook my own meal?I feel a little overwhelmed by it all, but I can’t say anything because he hasn’t seen his parents in almost a year.Am I being ridiculous?– Young WifeDear Wife: Yes, you are being ridiculous. But this brand of ridiculousness is often brought on by the presence of in-laws, especially when they are staying in your home.You sleeping elsewhere is a lucky break, because your mother-in-law is trying to make herself at home – and be helpful – in your home. If you were cohabiting during this visit, your reaction about boundaries would be somewhat justified.Cleaning and cooking are how your mother-in-law is expressing her gratitude for the visit. She is trying to mother both of you, and you would be gracious to accept her efforts.If she wants to cook a special meal for her son, then embrace it. If you decide to eat a separate meal, then praise her efforts, tell her it looks delicious – but say, “Unfortunately, I don’t eat meat and potatoes, so I’m going to put together a little salad for myself. But I think it’s really sweet of you to do this, and I know your son is going to appreciate it.”AdvertisementIf later on in your relationship you find that your mother-in-law is leaping over domestic boundaries, then you should draw a firm line.Dear Amy: My stepdaughters are 17 and 22. The separation agreement (12 years ago) specified that neither spouse could malign the other, which my husband and I upheld.The girls’ mother has not necessarily abided by this agreement.Now that they are old enough, should we tell them that their mom’s affair with their stepdad is the reason for their parents’ divorce – or should we just let it ride?– Wondering StepmotherDear Stepmother: This is a situation where you need to ask yourself: What would be gained from gratuitously offering this information to your stepchildren?AdvertisementThe way you present it, your choice to disclose this seems motivated mainly by the desire to retaliate against a parent who has not abided by their agreement. But retaliation does not balance the scales. It doubles down.It also seems as if you have held it together for 12 years and in your opinion, this no-maligning agreement has expired. It should never expire.Now that your stepchildren are older, they may have already discerned the truth. Certainly if they ask you directly about the timeline of their parents’ breakup, they should be told the truth. They should also be corrected if they present information that is factually incorrect: “Actually, it did not happen that way…”Any correction and/or disclosure should be delivered by their father – not you.But the truth can be delivered without maligning the other parent.Dear Amy: I am writing to give you some feedback about your response to “Lacking in Love,” the man who wrote about his wife in her 60s who lost her sex drive.AdvertisementYour advice was generally well-founded. And your suggestion to “find ways to be physically close—without having sex” is good. But based on my 40 years of experience as a Board-Certified Sex Therapist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, most couples in this situation (and there are many) would have a hard time bridging this gap on their own.They could greatly benefit from seeing a couples counselor who specializes in sex therapy, and who could coach them in a number of strategies to regain some physical intimacy (with or without intercourse).Ask AmyDailyNo-nonsense advice for better living delivered to your inbox every morning. For a limited time, sign up for the Ask Amy newsletter and get the book “Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from America’s Favorite Advice Columnist” for $5.It can be a very delicate dance to re-establish closeness after a break, and working with a skilled therapist could make all the difference.There are several good online resources to find a sex therapist, include “Find a Therapist” directory provided by Psychology Today (psychologytoday.com).– Dr. DianaDear Dr. Diana: Thank you for lending your expertise to this challenging question.AdvertisementGot a question for Amy? Enter it here and we’ll send it to her.Sign up here to receive the Ask Amy newsletter to get advice e-mailed to your inbox every morning, and for a limited time — get the book “Ask Amy: Essential Wisdom from America’s Favorite Advice Columnist” for $5.©2021 Amy Dickinson.

A little girl was shot in the leg Saturday afternoon on the city’s Far South Side. She was in a backyard in the 9100 block of…

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Jake Burger told himself to be smooth and calm when he hit for Reese McGuire in the eighth inning Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays.The Chicago White Sox trailed by a run but had a runner on first with one out.Advertisement“Don’t try to do too much,” Burger said. “And fortunately I got a pitch up in the zone that I could do something with.”Burger delivered the clutch hit the Sox have been desperately looking for, driving Jalen Beeks’ changeup over the center-field wall for a go-ahead two-run homer.AdvertisementBurger’s home run was the difference as the Sox snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory in front of 19,452 at Tropicana Field.“That felt good,” Burger said. “It was a special one, for sure. I’ll always remember that one.”It was the team’s first go-ahead pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning or later since Adam Eaton hit one April 11, 2021, against the Kansas City Royals.“I told him he’s not starting the rest of the year — he’s going to be a pinch hitter,” Sox manager Tony La Russa joked. “Until tomorrow.“He has a flair, doesn’t he? When he hits them, they’re important ones.”The Sox entered the eighth trailing 2-0. Pinch hitter Adam Engel reached on a double to shallow left on a ball that was just out of the reach of Rays shortstop Vidal Bruján. Engel scored on a one-out single by Danny Mendick.The Sox called on the right-handed-hitting Burger to hit for the left-handed-hitting McGuire. The Rays replaced lefty reliever Brooks Raley with another lefty in Beeks. Right-handed batters were hitting just .190 against Beeks.Burger connected on Beeks’ second pitch to put the Sox ahead.Advertisement“I was sprinting out of the box,” Burger said. “Everybody was like, ‘Dude, you didn’t know you got that?’ Maybe, but I want to make sure if it’s a double in the gap, I’ve got to get going.“Kind of floating around the bases a little bit and it felt really good. Smiling the entire time and Mendick looking back at me rounding second base, getting me all fired up. It was fun.”White Sox pinch hitter Jake Burger hits a two-run home run in the eighth inning against the Rays on Saturday, June 4, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images North America/TNS)Jake Burger watches his two-run home run off Rays reliever Jalen Beeks. (Chris O’Meara/AP) Jake Burger (30) celebrates with third base coach Joe McEwing (99) after Burger hit a two-run home run in the eighth inning. (Chris O’Meara/AP)The way things have gone recently for the Sox, closing out the game wouldn’t be easy.The Rays loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth. Reliever Kendall Graveman got Isaac Paredes to hit a slow grounder to short. Mendick’s throw to first made it just in time to end the inning.“I knew he was going to throw a slider, so I kind of had a feeling he was going to be a little bit out in front,” Mendick said. “And as soon as I saw the swing, I started going in. It was a close play — he was getting down the line — but (we) practice those, right? Got to get it done.”A video review confirmed the call.Advertisement“To be honest I thought I had him,” Mendick said. “I was pretty confident when they were doing the review. They showed on the big screen he was out, and that was definitely a sigh of relief.”Liam Hendriks retired the side in order in the ninth for his 15th save.Despite issuing seven walks, starter Dylan Cease kept the Sox in the game. He allowed two unearned runs on one hit with five strikeouts in 4⅔ innings.“It was pretty ugly but it was good enough,” Cease said. “Every once in a while something like that will happen. It’s just about not giving in.”Both Rays runs came in the fifth.Cease nearly escaped a jam in the inning when Yandy Díaz grounded to first with two outs. The ball appeared to have some spin on it and kicked away from José Abreu.AdvertisementParedes, who reached on a walk, raced home on the error for the game’s first run. Cease exited, and the Rays tacked on the second unearned run when Ji-Man Choi beat the shift and singled against reliever Aaron Bummer.“You’re thinking it’s not possible, ball off the end of (Díaz’s) bat, spins off (Abreu’s) glove and that’s a run,” La Russa said. “And then he did a good job putting the ball in play for that second run and you say, ‘Man, come on.’ But we found a way to overcome it.”Kyle Crick (2-0) pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings and got the win when the Sox broke through in the eighth.“We needed a win, but a 10-run win would be nice,” La Russa joked. “It’s how we played the first four games of the road trip, came up short. This time we didn’t. A testament to never give in, never give up.”