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PARIS — Police deployed tear gas on supporters waiting in long lines to get into the Stade de France and security struggled with fans desperate to see the Champions League final that was delayed by 37 minutes Saturday.Angry Liverpool fans held in the lines were seen hanging onto railings and heard shouting: “Let us in. We’ve got tickets.”AdvertisementThere were many instances of fans breaking through security and attempting to get into the stadium. The Associated Press saw two fans — one wearing Liverpool attire — wrestled to the ground by stewards and bundled out of the gates.A fan climbs the fence in front of the Stade de France before the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris on Saturday. Police deployed tear gas on supporters waiting in long lines to get into the stadium. The start of the match was delayed for 37 minutes. (Christophe Ena/AP)Three more fans were seen evading stewards and sprinting through the concourse and into the bottom level of the stadium. Others climbed the fences instead.AdvertisementSupporter Colm Lacey saw “children crying, people trapped” outside the entrances.“People started jumping the queue, then they ripped the gate open and then there was a push,” Lacey said.Fans shows tickets in front of the Stade de France before the Champions League final match between Liverpool and Real Madrid in Paris on Saturday. (Christophe Ena/AP)Police officers with batons and riot shields ran from gate to gate to prevent pockets of fans forcing their way into the stadium without showing tickets. One policeman collapsed and had to be helped by other officers. Officers used tear gas on Liverpool fans on repeated occasions.One Liverpool fan kissed his ticket and looked to the sky after finally getting through security.The scenes were reminiscent of the chaos outside Wembley Stadium before the European Championship final last year between England and Italy.There were long lines of Liverpool fans still outside the stadium when there was 40 minutes to kickoff.Police stand guard inside the Stade de France prior to the Champions League final soccer match between Liverpool and Real Madrid, in Saint Denis near Paris, Saturday, May 28, 2022. Police have deployed tear gas on supporters waiting in long lines to get into the Stade de France for the Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid that was delayed by 37 minutes while security struggled to cope with the vast crowd and fans climbing over fences. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena) (Christophe Ena/AP)Then, about 15 minutes before the scheduled kickoff of 9 p.m. local time, an announcement was made that there would be a delay, blaming the late arrival of fans to the stadium. It was greeted by jeers inside the stadium, given those fans already had endured long waits.The game started at 9.37 p.m. local time.AdvertisementThis story will be updated.

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tommy Pham was suspended by Major League Baseball for three games on Saturday after San Francisco Giants outfielder Joc Pederson said Pham slapped him because of a dispute about their fantasy football league.Pham, 34, also was fined. The suspension was made retroactive to Friday night, and he will serve the final two games this weekend.AdvertisementWhile the Giants warmed up in the outfield before Friday’s series opener, Pham confronted Pederson and smacked him in the face before the pair was separated.Pederson said after the Reds’ 5-1 victory that he was accused of cheating for placing a player on injured reserve and replacing him with a free agent in a fantasy football league. Pederson said the player he put on IR had been ruled out for that week, which made it a legal move. He said Pham had executed essentially the same maneuver with his own team.Advertisement“I sent a screenshot of the rules, how it says that if a player’s ruled out, you’re allowed to put him on the IR and that’s all I was doing,” Pederson. “He literally did the same thing. That was basically all of it.”Pederson said he had no advance notice that Pham might confront him during the series in Cincinnati.“There was no argument, he kind of came up and said, ‘You remember from last year?’ and I said, ‘Fantasy football?’” Pederson recalled.The scuffle was witnessed by reporters and occurred before fans entered the ballpark.

The Chicago White Sox designated starter Dallas Keuchel for assignment, the team announced Saturday.Keuchel had a 2-5 record and a 7.88 ERA with 20 strikeouts in eight starts this season.AdvertisementThe left-hander, who won the American League Cy Young Award in 2015 with the Houston Astros, was a major addition during the 2019 offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $55.5 million deal. The contract included a team option for 2023.Keuchel went 17-16 with a 4.79 ERA in 51 appearances (49 starts) for the Sox.AdvertisementHe finished fifth in the American League Cy Young voting in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, going 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA in 11 starts. Keuchel was 9-9 with a 5.28 ERA in 32 outings (30 starts) last season and was placed on the taxi squad for the playoffs.Keuchel this month had strong outings at Boston (two runs in six innings on May 8) and against the New York Yankees (five shutout innings on May 14) before struggling against the Yankees on May 21 at Yankee Stadium (six runs in four innings) and Thursday against the Red Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field (six runs in two innings).In Saturday’s corresponding move, the Sox recalled infielder Danny Mendick from Triple-A Charlotte.

Major League Baseball whiffed three times when it came to scheduling the annual City Series between the Chicago Cubs and White Sox.Not only did MLB neglect to schedule a Friday game at Sox Park, it inserted both rounds too early in the 2022 schedule and only three weeks apart.AdvertisementFor that, the schedule-makers deserve the golden sombrero.Nevertheless, the games will be played, so here are 10 things to watch for this weekend.Advertisement1. The Cubs and Sox combined to give up 36 runs on 39 hits Thursday. But both teams used a position player in relief — even with an off day Friday and nine-man bullpens. So managers Tony La Russa and David Ross should have a full complement of rested relievers Saturday.2. Cubs rookie Christopher Morel is expected to make his City Series debut. In nine games since being called up from Double A, Morel has two home runs, a .313 average and a .968 OPS. He also has played flawlessly at short, second, third and center field and could be the Cubs’ best starting option at all four positions.Chicago Cubs third baseman Christopher Morel (5) walks on the field during the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field, May 18, 2022. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)General manager Carter Hawkins was at Triple-A Iowa last week and told the Des Moines Register the farm system was “on the up and up.” OK, then let’s see them at Wrigley this summer. If Morel’s brief success has proved anything, it’s that Cubs fans would rather watch kids develop than journeymen such as Jonathan Villar going through the motions, as he did Thursday. Villar reached on an errant throw as he jogged to first on a grounder, sending the wrong message.3. If the rivalry were as heated as it used to be, the Cubs would’ve started Marcus Stroman on Sunday on his normal rest. The Sox rank 24th in the majors with a .228 average against right-handed pitching and fourth against left-handers at .258. Instead of throwing two right-handers, the Cubs will start Keegan Thompson on Saturday and lefty Wade Miley on Sunday. Ross has a 1-7 record versus La Russa.4. Marquee Sports Network’s spin on censoring criticism of team President Jed Hoyer on “The Reporters” seems to have worked. Sunday’s episode will be hosted by WSCR-AM 670 personality Danny Parkins, who sources said will discuss the decision by the network to halt taping of this week’s episode because of a bogus “technical issue” before telling reporters not to return to the subject of Hoyer’s alleged lack of “transparency” when retaping the segment.Will Marquee admit to censoring reporters after initially lying about the reason to stop taping?When former Tribune media columnist Phil Rosenthal tweeted “The Reporters” was a “sham” and that any media outlet looking for credibility should avoid reporters making appearances, Parkins’ responded on Twitter by calling it “laughably ridiculous,” adding: “Good to know you went your entire career without making a mistake.”No media outlet that cares about its independence and credibility should allow staff to appear on this show. Anyone who does appear on this show is telling the world they are the pocket of the @Cubs and @WeAreSinclair. https://t.co/eRIxjtrFxy— Phil Rosenthal (@phil_rosenthal) May 25, 2022

That is laughably ridiculous. I’ll be hosting the show this Sunday. It’s going to be live. I host on the home of cubs radio and have been plenty critical before. Admittedly, they don’t own the radio station.Good to know you went your entire career without making a mistake.— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) May 25, 2022

Censoring criticism of team management on any team-run station is disturbing in any media market and bad for baseball. But Marquee pays panelists $500 and won’t have trouble finding guests. Money talks. Check your journalistic ethics at the door.Advertisement5. Luis Robert’s stint on the COVID-19 injured list was ill-timed for the Sox. Robert has four home runs in nine games against the Cubs with a .412 average and 1.311 OPS. La Russa said Tuesday that he jumped in Lake Michigan when he heard Robert would be out.“If I survived it, I thought, well, we can survive (without) Robert,” he said. “We barely did.”A reporter told La Russa the lake was “kind of cold” for jumping in.“I’m a wuss,” he replied.6. The first rule of Fight Club is there is no Fight Club. The Sox once avoided Saturday night games in the City Series to avoid fan incidents.During the first round at Wrigley Field, Sox analyst Frank Thomas said the word around baseball was MLB decided to reduce heated interleague rivalries from six games to four to reduce fighting and ugly incidents. We’ll find out Saturday if there was any reason for concern.AdvertisementWhite Sox fans fly the L flag in the bleachers, May 4, 2022, at Wrigley Field. The White Sox defeated the Cubs 4-3. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)7. “If people want to write me off, that’s OK.” Those were the words of Sox starter Dallas Keuchel on Thursday after getting shelled from the get-go in a 16-7 loss to the Boston Red Sox. Consider it done. If Keuchel isn’t moved to mop-up-man duties by the end of this weekend, La Russa has some explaining to do.8. The White Sox unveiled billboards this week touting Tim Anderson as “The Face of Baseball.” He is shown shushing New York Yankees fans after Sunday’s ninth-inning home run at Yankee Stadium. Another billboard simply reads: “Baseball Needs More Tim Andersons.” Actually baseball couldn’t handle another player as open as Anderson. Sox fans should be glad they have the real deal.9. Anderson and Ozzie Guillén shook hands Tuesday, ending their beef after Anderson told the former Sox manager and NBC Sports Chicago analyst to “STFU” in a tweet.Guillén didn’t really have a beef with Anderson and actually was criticizing La Russa for sitting the team’s best hitter in the second game of a doubleheader against the Kansas City Royals. Anderson seemingly took it as a personal shot. The incident was forgotten by the time Josh Donaldson disrespected Anderson by calling him Jackie Robinson.10. Ross’ streak of being ejected two straight games will be on the line. Has any Cubs manager been thrown out of three straight games? This is where we really miss Les Grobstein.

BOSTON — Jimmy Butler had 47 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and the Miami Heat forced the Eastern Conference finals to a decisive seventh game by beating the Boston Celtics 111-103 on Friday night.Ten years after LeBron James scored 45 points in Boston to help the Heat avoid elimination in Game 6 of the conference finals en route to the first of their back-to-back NBA titles, Butler had 17 points in the fourth quarter to top him and send the series back to Miami.AdvertisementWith a victory at home Sunday, the Heat would advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. The winner will face the Golden State Warriors beginning Thursday. In the most back-and-forth game of the series, the Celtics took a 97-94 lead on Derrick White’s 3-pointer with less than five minutes to play — the first time all series the lead changed hands in the fourth quarter. Kyle Lowry answered with a 3 and then added two free throws as the Heat scored 11 of the next 13 points.AdvertisementJimmy Butler hugs P.J. Tucker (17) after the Heat defeated the Celtics 111-103 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday in Boston. Game 7 is Sunday in Miami (7:30 p.m. ESPN). (Michael Dwyer/AP)Lowry finished with 18 points and 10 assists before fouling out with 2 minutes, 18 seconds left. Butler made 16 of 29 shots, hitting 4 of 8 from 3-point range and all 11 free throws.Jayson Tatum had 30 points and nine rebounds and Derrick White came off the bench to score 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for the Celtics, who are trying to reach the finals for the first time since 2010.The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown scored 20 points but missed a pair of free throws with the game tied at 99 after Lowry fouled out. Brown fouled out on an offensive charge that was assessed after a challenge on a missed dunk with 13 seconds left and the Celtics down by four.

BALTIMORE — No. 1 seed North Carolina staged a furious rally Friday in the semifnals of the women’s lacrosse NCAA Tournament, scoring eight unanswered goals for a stunning 15-14 victory against No. 4 Northwestern at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood Field.The Tar Heels were rescued by a player in her first season with the program.AdvertisementAttacker Sam Geiersbach, who transferred from Richmond, scored all five of her goals in a 4-minute, 24-second span to fuel the game-ending run that helped the Tar Heels end a three-game skid in the Final Four before an announced 7,694 and take aim at what would be the program’s third national championship.The Tar Heels (21-0) will play defending champion Boston College (19-3) in the championship game at 11 a.m. Sunday on ESPN.AdvertisementGeiersbach’s heroics — which included two assists for a game-high seven points — helped the Tar Heels rally from a 13-5 deficit with 32.3 seconds left in the third quarter. Fifth-year senior attacker Jamie Ortega added three goals and three assists, and graduate student midfielder Ally Mastroianni scored three times.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 15Northwestern Wildcats midfielder Samantha Smith spins, avoiding North Carolina Tar Heels midfielder/defender Julia Dorsey and defender Gabi Hall (5) during the NCAA 2022 Division I women’s lacrosse semifinal at Homewood Field Friday., May 27, 2022. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun Staff) (Karl Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun)The final score was North Carolina’s first lead of the game and was preserved by Taylor Moreno. The goalkeeper made her fifth save of the game by stoning Wildcats attacker Lauren Gilbert on a breakaway with 28 seconds left, and Moreno redeemed a performance that included getting pulled for 7:47 in the third quarter in favor of freshman Alecia Nichols.Gilbert paced Northwestern (16-5) with five goals and one assist, midfielder Jill Girardi amassed three goals, six draw controls and two ground balls and senior goalie Madison Doucette stopped nine shots.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.But the Wildcats lost for the fifth consecutive time in the semifinals since capturing their eighth title in 2012.The game was delayed for 1 hour, 36 minutes by lightning with 1:11 left in the first quarter.No. 3 Boston College 17, No. 2 Maryland 16: In the second semifinal, Maryland committed a series of turnovers and failed to protect a three-goal lead with 7:13 left in the fourth quarter, and Boston College scored the final four goals to escape with a win.Attacker Charlotte North, the 2021 Tewaaraton Award winner as the top player in the nation, scored two of her game-high six goals to fuel a comeback that tied the score at 16 with 3:06 remaining. Then the Eagles cemented the victory with 18.8 seconds left when midfielder Cassidy Weeks dunked a pass from senior attacker Caitlynn Mossman.The Terps (19-2) had chances to salt the game away. Leading 16-14, Aurora Cordingley committed a turnover under heavy pressure from Boston College defender Courtney Taylor, which contributed to North’s goal that drew the Eagles within one with 5:16 remaining.AdvertisementMaryland attacker Libby May, left, tumbles after exchanging contact with Boston College defender Melanie Welch (13) while Boston College defender Sydney Scales watches during an NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse semifinal Friday at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood Field in Baltimore. (Karl Merton Ferron/AP)Maryland defender Abby Bosco won the ensuing draw but lost the ball, which led to North scoring her tying goal. Then after sophomore midfielder Shannon Smith controlled the next draw, junior attacker Hannah Leubecker lost the ball on a spin move to the middle, and Boston College capitalized with the eventual winning goal.Leubecker led the Terps with five goals. Junior attacker Libby May finished with three goals and two assists, and freshman midfielder Jordyn Lipkin added two goals and two assists.

CINCINNATI — San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler on Friday said he will not take the field for the national anthem in protest of the nation’s political direction after this week’s school shooting in Texas.“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country,” Kapler said before a series opener at Cincinnati. “I don’t expect it to move the needle necessarily. It’s just something that I feel strongly enough about to take that step.”AdvertisementKapler said he needs more time to consider specific actions he might suggest be taken to prevent more tragedies of this type, such as stronger gun control laws.Earlier in the day, he used his blog to discuss the deaths of 19 children and two teachers during the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.AdvertisementIn a post titled “Home of the Brave, ” Kapler wrote: “We elect our politicians to represent our interests. Immediately following this shooting, we were told we needed locked doors and armed teachers. We were given thoughts and prayers. We were told it could have been worse, and we just need love.“But we weren’t given bravery, and we aren’t free. The police on the scene put a mother in handcuffs as she begged them to go in and save her children. They blocked parents trying to organize to charge in to stop the shooter, including a father who learned his daughter was murdered while he argued with the cops. We aren’t free when politicians decide that the lobbyist and gun industries are more important than our children’s freedom to go to school without needing bulletproof backpacks and active shooter drills.”Giants manager Gabe Kapler talks with reporters on Oct. 5, 2021, at Oracle Park in San Francisco. (Karl Mondon, Bay Area News Group)Kapler went on the write: “Every time I place my hand over my heart and remove my hat, I’m participating in a self congratulatory glorification of the only country where these mass shootings take place. On Wednesday, I walked out onto the field, I listened to the announcement as we honored the victims in Uvalde. I bowed my head. I stood for the national anthem. Metallica riffed on City Connect guitars. My brain said drop to a knee; my body didn’t listen. I wanted to walk back inside; instead I froze. I felt like a coward. I didn’t want to call attention to myself. I didn’t want to take away from the victims or their families. …“But I am not OK with the state of this country. I wish I hadn’t let my discomfort compromise my integrity. I wish that I could have demonstrated what I learned from my dad, that when you’re dissatisfied with your country, you let it be known through protest.”Kapler’s comments came a day after the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays used their social media accounts during the game between the teams to spread information about how gun violence affects American life.Firearms were the leading cause of death for American children and teens in 2020.— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 26, 2022

The New York Yankees had something brewing early in Game 1 of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox.Aaron Judge singled and Anthony Rizzo walked, putting Johnny Cueto in a bind with one out in the first inning. Cueto quickly worked out of trouble, striking out Giancarlo Stanton looking and getting Josh Donaldson to line out to third.AdvertisementCueto would go on to deliver a pitching clinic with six shutout innings.He didn’t factor in the decision in a game the Sox won 3-1, but he continued to impress in his first week with the team.AdvertisementCueto hasn’t allowed an earned run in 12 innings with 12 strikeouts and four walks in two starts since the Sox purchased his contract from Triple-A Charlotte on May 16.White Sox starting pitcher Johnny Cueto delivers in the first inning against the Yankees on May 22, 2022, in New York. (John Minchillo/AP)“He’s been sensational,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Tuesday. “It’s been fun to watch him pitch, the way he disrupts timing, the way he shows different arm angles, the whole thing is entertaining, not just because of the zeros but because of the show he puts on each start.”Cueto is the scheduled starter for the Sox on Saturday against the Cubs in the City Series at Guaranteed Rate Field.“He’s an intense competitor, obviously a very intelligent pitcher from what you’ve seen on the field,” Hahn said. “But in the clubhouse and in the training room, he is all business. For those three hours, you may get some chuckles along the way from how he’s messing with hitters, but it’s all part of a larger plan and maintenance program that he takes extremely seriously.“And it’s a good influence on the other guys.”Here’s a look at some of Cueto’s standout numbers.Cueto struck out the Royals’ Whit Merrifield, Andrew Benintendi and Salvador Perez in the first inning of his first start May 16 in Kansas City, Mo.He went on to pitch six shutout innings but did not factor in the decision in the a game the Sox won 5-3 in 10 innings.AdvertisementLuis Robert, who hit the go-ahead, two-run homer in the 10th, summed up what it would be like facing Cueto by saying through an interpreter, “It would be very difficult.”Cueto followed up the Royals start with six-plus shutout innings against the Yankees. He exited after allowing back-to-back singles in the seventh.According to Elias, he became the first pitcher in franchise history with six-plus scoreless innings pitched in each of his first two appearances with the team.Royals third baseman Emmanuel Rivera hit a grounder in the sixth inning of the May 16 game that first baseman José Abreu got a glove on but couldn’t make the play. The ball deflected to second baseman Leury García, who saw Cueto was covering first and threw to him for the out.“The one thing I think everyone got to see is he’s a freak athlete,” Sox pitching coach Ethan Katz said the next day. “People might not realize that. But how fast he got to first base … that’s something that a lot of people might not realize or know about him, but he’s probably one of the best athletes in this locker room. And he’s 36.”Two Royals reached in the sixth before Cueto retired the following two hitters to end the inning — and his day.AdvertisementAfter more success at Yankee Stadium, Cueto said in a statement the key to keeping the Yankees off-balance was locating his pitches up and down in the zone.Cueto’s scoreless-innings streak is the third longest by a Sox starter to begin his career with the team since 1974, according to STATS. Ken Brett tops the list with 17 innings in 1976. Jack McDowell is second with 13 in 1987.Cueto has been known for using a shimmy-shake type of delivery occasionally to disrupt a batter’s timing.“I’ve been doing that throughout my whole career,” Cueto said through an interpreter after the Royals game. “Every time I’m on the mound, I’m just having fun. That’s a way for me to have fun too.”There’s no official count on the number of deliveries, but the pitches have been effective.He retired the first nine hitters against the Royals before Merrifield singled leading off the fourth. The Royals had two hits against Cueto and the Yankees had had six.AdvertisementCueto is holding hitters to a .191 average (8-for-42).Sox manager Tony La Russa said before the doubleheader against the Yankees: “Keep him healthy (and) he’s going to be a huge asset for us.”

In a rare media appearance last week, Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer said it would be impossible to fully evaluate last year’s sell-off until well down the road.“They’re probably going to be evaluated in 2027 for real, and I think that’s the way it should be,” Hoyer said of the flurry of trades. “I don’t think anyone should be looking at it as a passing grade at this point.”AdvertisementThat made perfect sense. Most of the top prospects Hoyer acquired in 2021 — from the Yu Darvish deal through the trade-deadline moves — will have made it to the Cubs by then or else been dealt or simply plateaued.But when Hoyer mentioned 2027, my first thought was whether I’d still be here to provide an opinion about whether he deserved a passing grade. Five years is a long time in this business, and admittedly I’m probably as old as Tony La Russa’s Sunday shoes.AdvertisementSo to get ahead of the curve, I decided to grade Hoyer’s sell-off now, knowing it would stand up well in 2027.Hoyer, of course, deserves an F.Excuse me, I meant an A.I just had what press box wags refer to as a “Marquee moment.”Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer speaks with reporters, April 7, 2022, before opening day at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)The Great Sell-Off of 2021 will live in Cubs infamy and ultimately be judged by whether it helped them meet their goal of winning another World Series in the not-too-distant future.We already know they couldn’t win another ring with Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Báez. The Cubs didn’t win another playoff game with the three stars after 2017, and they deserve part of the blame for that failure.We also don’t know whether the next group of prospects can win one. But that doesn’t seem to matter right now, which is why Hoyer deserves an A.Hoyer correctly assumed an inferior product on the field would not significantly affect ticket sales and reducing long-term contractual commitments was more important than competing in 2022.AdvertisementThe Cubs might have downsized payroll and lowered expectations, but they’re still averaging 31,673 fans per game at Wrigley Field, eighth in the majors entering Thursday’s games.Thousands of no-shows cut into concession and souvenir sales, and vendors say fans are not drinking as much beer with money so tight these days. But considering the team’s sub.-500 record, the mostly terrible spring weather and the lack of players to market aside from Willson Contreras and signees Marcus Stroman and Seiya Suzuki, the Cubs have to be satisfied with the crowd sizes.With warmer weather on the way and schools letting out, attendance should climb this summer. The star-studded White Sox, in contrast, rank 18th in attendance despite back-to-back playoff appearances.In spite of a 1.7% drop in average ticket price, the Cubs still rank fourth in the majors as $56.83, according to Team Marketing Report. In terms of Fan Cost Index, the Cubs are at $364.83 for a family of four, second highest behind the Boston Red Sox ($385.37). Going to Wrigley is still an expensive proposition during a rebuild that can’t be referred to as a rebuild.But in the short run, the Cubs haven’t suffered economically from putting a subpar product on the field. The season is going the way most expected when the roster was completed after the lockout, and Hoyer can sleep well knowing he doesn’t have any long-term, nine-digit contracts to worry about when Jason Heyward’s deal expires after 2023.On deck for Hoyer is another in a series of franchise-defining decisions: whether to keep or deal Contreras. If Contreras is dealt, the chances of contending seemingly would be prolonged by at least a year, perhaps two. If not, Hoyer risks losing Contreras to free agency after the season.AdvertisementChicago Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks (28) talks to catcher Willson Contreras after giving up a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field on, May 20, 2022. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)Either way, we’ll soon get our first taste of the next wave when Triple-A Iowa starter Caleb Kilian, acquired in the Bryant deal, becomes the first of the “Summer of ’21 Babies” to make his Cubs debut.It won’t be next week, according to manager David Ross, but whenever it is, it figures to be quite a celebration, much like Rizzo’s Cubs debut on June 26, 2012.That event was preceded by TV commercials touting the big game and full-page newspaper ads hyping the WGN-Ch. 9 telecast. Now that the Cubs have their own network, they could make a full-length documentary on Kilian’s debut if warranted.Times have changed.The clock on Hoyer’s “next great Cubs team” unofficially begins with Kilian’s call-up, just as Bryant’s arrival on April 17, 2015, started the clock on the previous rebuild. With Kilian, Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson in the 2023 rotation, the Cubs can show modest improvement before potentially contending for a postseason berth in 2024.That would make 2025 the logical target date for Hoyer’s whatever-he-calls it, or one less year than Theo Epstein’s rebuild.AdvertisementChicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.As for now, Cubs fans are counting the days until the annual summer fire sale.They’re wondering who will go and who will stay but not obsessing as much as last summer when the Big Three were part of the daily conversation. They’ve learned to “embrace the suck,” as Joe Maddon once suggested in his ironic commentary on decades of low expectations on the North Side.But this time they really mean it.Plenty of Cubs teams have been irrelevant by Memorial Day. Somehow you managed to make it through the season. Remember, if you don’t have expectations, you can’t be disappointed. Just look at 2022 as a “Cubs Classic” season, like 1982 or 2012, and you’ll be OK.Factoring the legendary resilience of Cubs fans into the equation is why Hoyer deserves an F for the 2021 sell-off.Sorry, I meant an A.AdvertisementCan we edit this part out and start over?

Dallas Keuchel wanted to be the aggressor Thursday night against the Boston Red Sox.“It just seemed like I wasn’t able to get into a rhythm,” the Chicago White Sox starter said. “A few good pitches sprinkled in but a lot of pitches out over the plate and a couple of cutters that really didn’t get to the spot that I wanted to.”AdvertisementKeuchel allowed six runs on seven hits and lasted just two innings in a 16-7 loss to the Red Sox in front of 24,896 at Guaranteed Rate Field.“When he’s right, he’s giving up ground balls,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said. “Right away most of the balls are in the air (Thursday), which shows that at that point, movement wasn’t there. Location wasn’t there. (Thursday) when they start getting balls in the air, that means at that point, he’s not sharp.Advertisement“That’s not normal for him.”The White Sox dropped two of three in the series. In both losses, they gave up 16 runs and 19 hits.Andrew Vaughn had a monster night for the White Sox with a home run and a career-high five RBIs, but the Red Sox poured it on late — scoring nine runs in the final three innings — to pull away.“Good night or bad night, we didn’t come out on top,” Vaughn said. “That’s always going to sting.”Things didn’t go well early for the Sox either.Five of the first six Red Sox batters had hits in a three-run first starting, with Enrique Hernández hitting his second leadoff homer of the series.Trevor Story’s two-out, three-run homer in the second put the White Sox behind 6-0.Keuchel was out after two innings.Advertisement“I am feeling (like) myself, so that is a frustrating aspect of the last two starts,” Keuchel said. “I was really, really feeling like myself (May 8) in Boston and then against New York (May 14) at home, so to take a couple steps back (in the last two starts) is very frustrating.“I knew that they were going to be looking out over the plate, and just one of those things where the cutter, right now, has been the pitch that’s kind of snakebitten me, with (DJ) LeMahieu (hitting a grand slam in the second inning on May 21), then Story with the three-run homer tonight. It’s like five out of six pitches are really good and then the one that’s not really good is getting hit right now. I’ve got to do a better job of making sure I’m ahead in the count, the count’s in my favor, doing things that I normally do, then we can get back on track.”Leury García, Adam Engel and Tim Anderson singled to begin the third for the White Sox. Vaughn drove them all in with a double to right, cutting the deficit to 6-3.The Red Sox scored a run in the top of the fifth. Vaughn hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, making it 7-5.That’s as close as it would get.The Red Sox scored twice in the seventh and five more times in the eighth — including two when Bennett Sousa threw wildly to first on what should have been the third out — on the way to sending the White Sox back to .500 at 22-22.AdvertisementInfielder Josh Harrison allowed a two-run homer and had one strikeout in the ninth. It was his second career pitching appearance, with the other coming on Aug. 9, 2013 against the Colorado Rockies while with the Pittsburgh Pirates.Keuchel fell to 2-5 with a 7.88 ERA.“The most frustrating part is the guys behind me, two out of the last three days, they’ve had to wear a lot,” Keuchel said. “If we’re hoping to play 180 games this season, we don’t need that two out of the last three days. That was on me. (Lucas Giolito) did a really, really good job of limiting damage and flipping the count in his favor and getting some weak contact (in Wednesday’s 3-1 White Sox victory).“It’s frustrating for me for sure, but the most frustrating part is bullpen’s picking up seven innings. Guys behind me are wearing it and out there for four hours and a lot of hits and a lot of runs on the board.”Keuchel has allowed 12 runs on 13 hits with five walks and four strikeouts in six innings in his last two start.“I’ve got to do my job,” Keuchel said. “That’s first and foremost. If I don’t do my job, then I’m the first to admit you’ve got other options. I’ve afforded myself some leeway and I’m in no way shape or form out of this thing. It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster the first month and change and the second half of last year outside of a couple injuries.Advertisement“If people want to write me off, that’s OK. I’ve been written off before and I’m a competitor and I’m an athlete and we’ll turn the tide. It’s not the first time this is back-to-back starts this has happened. It can turn right back into our favor.”