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The Chicago Bulls delivered hope in Game 4 of their series with the Milwaukee Bucks. That was an improvement, at least, for fans at the United Center after the beatdown of Game 3.The offense matched blows with the Bucks throughout the first half, avoiding an early hole. Patrick Williams finally delivered on his young promise, scoring 20 points in his best performance of the playoffs. The Bulls scored more transition points in the first half (6) than they had in any game in the series so far.AdvertisementBut all that didn’t matter when Giannis Antetokounmpo woke up. The Bucks star carved open the Bulls defense with surgical accuracy, scoring a series-high 32 points. With Antetokounmpo slicing the Bulls open on both ends of the court, the Bucks waltzed to a 119-95 win.The game changed for the Bulls when Alex Caruso took an inadvertent blow to the face from Jevon Carter in the second quarter. Although Caruso took several minutes to clean blood from his nose following the collision, he appeared prepared to playafter returning for the final minutes of the quarter. But after halftime, he spent the rest of the game in the locker room undergoing evaluation for a possible concussion.AdvertisementThe injury removed the Bulls’ best defender from the court for the second half of the game — and potentially longer in the series if Caruso remains under concussion protocol.Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo shoots over Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) as Derrick Jones Jr. (5) looks on in the first half at the United Center on April 24, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)Rookie Ayo Dosunmu took on a heavier rotation in Caruso’s absence. Dosunmu sank back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter, igniting the crowd at the United Center as the Bulls went on a 17-3 run to pull within eight points. But the Bucks absorbed the run effortlessly, responding with seven unanswered points of their own to reclaim a double-digit advantage.Dosunmu wasn’t the only young Bull to step up in Game 4. Williams finally broke a shooting drought of 12 consecutive misses — which stretched back to Game 2 — with a 3-pointer in the second quarter. Although Williams still grappled with the oversized matchup of Antetokounmpo, his improved aggression helped lift the Bulls in their third quarter run.The Bulls starters were aggressive in the first half but couldn’t hold that pace. DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points but couldn’t offer any fourth-quarter wizardry. Zach LaVine cooled off after a 12-point first quarter but still finished with a team-high 24 points. Nikola Vučević didn’t make a shot in the second half after scoring 11 in the first half.And the starters had no help from their bench. Derrick Jones Jr. was the only bench player to score in the first half. The entire bench tallied only 17 points while the Bucks bench scored 39 to support its starters.The Bucks bench unit was led by Grayson Allen, who continued to feed off the jeers thrown at him by Bulls fans at the United Center, scoring 27 points on 6-for-7 shooting from behind the arc. Each of Allen’s 3-pointers delivered a demoralizing blow to the Bulls, cutting runs short and punctuating the end of quarters.Game 5 will take place Wednesday at Fiserv Forum.

MLB’s broadcasts aren’t just play by play and commentary of the action on the field.We get broadcasters forgetting they’re still live. We get mic’d up players and umpires. We get chaos in all forms.AdvertisementSo every week this season, we’re rounding up some of our favorite hilarious, botched, and/or outlandish calls and moments over baseball’s broadcasts.

Minneapolis — Chicago White Sox left fielder Eloy Jiménez will be out an estimated six to eight weeks after suffering a right hamstring strain, the team announced Sunday.The Sox placed Jiménez on the 10-day injured list.Advertisement“After returning to Chicago, Eloy will undergo further evaluation by White Sox team physicians at Rush and a treatment plan will be put in place,” the Sox said in a team statement. “The club expects to be able to provide an update prior to Tuesday’s game.”The injury occurred in Saturday’s 9-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins.AdvertisementJiménez hit a grounder to third in the second inning, stumbled after crossing first base and fell. He got to his feet but was taken off the field on a cart.He is slashing .222/.256/.333 with one home run and seven RBIs in 11 games. He dealt with a bruised left ankle for a portion of this season. Jiménez played just 55 games last season after suffering a ruptured left pectoral tendon during a Cactus League game.

Former professional South African rugby player Pedrie Wannenburg died Friday in Houston in a police car chase started by a teenager who fled a traffic stop, according to officials.Wannenburg, 41, was driving northbound around 6 p.m. with his wife in the front seat and their 10-year-old daughter Isabelle and 8-year-old son Pedrie Jr. in the back, when 16-year-old Ali Alabadi, driving southbound, hit another car and crossed the median, slamming into Wannenburg’s car, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday.AdvertisementHarris County sheriff’s deputies were trying to pull Alabadi over when he sped off instead, reaching up to 100 mph before the series of crashes.In total, Alabadi hit at least two other cars, and a fourth collided after being unable to stop in time. Another driver, Kathy Lawson, was also hospitalized with injuries.AdvertisementPedrie Wannenburg, center, was killed in a Houston car crash. (stringer/AP)Alabadi and his two teenage passengers, both 16, have also been hospitalized.Wannenburg and his son were immediately rushed to the hospital, where the father was pronounced dead an hour later. Pedrie was listed in critical condition as of Saturday and a spokesperson for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily News Sunday.His wife, Evette, and daughter, Isabelle, were uninjured.Alabadi has been charged with felony murder, reckless aggravated assault serious bodily injury and aggravated assault bodily injury with deadly weapon.Wannenburg played for the South African Bulls from 2002 to 2010, securing three Super Rugby titles and five Currie Cups before playing in Europe for Ulster in Ireland and Castres in France. In the U.S., he served as team captain for the Denver Stampede, then moved over to the Austin Elite, which he also coached after retiring in 2018.The teenage driver has been charged with murder. (Cy-Fair Fire Department)“Pedrie will be remembered as one of the first real versatile loose forwards who could play in any position in the back row and even though he played in only 20 tests, his record in the colors of the Bulls, during a period where they dominated on all levels, is nearly unmatched,” Mark Alexander, president of the South Africa national rugby union team, said in a statement.“Pedrie was a fun-loving and hard-working man and someone who gave all he had on the pitch, but afterwards always had a smile on his face. He represented his country with aplomb — who will ever forget the try he scored in the narrow victory over the All Blacks in Rustenburg in 2006?“To lose someone at the cusp of the rest of his life with a young family, after a long and storied rugby career is extremely sad and our thoughts are with his wife, Evette, their two children, Isabelle and Francois, as well as his parents and other family members, loved ones and friends during this very difficult time.”

Three games left.After falling to the host San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Saturday, the Chicago Blackhawk are left to play out the string.AdvertisementOr perhaps it’s more akin to performing last rites.The Hawks host their final two games at the United Center — against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday and Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday — and wrap up the season on the road Friday against the Buffalo Sabres.Advertisement“These are the grinds that are not easy to grind out,” coach Derek King said before the game. “These are the ones that you’ve really got to dig deep to find a way to motivate yourself or just figure a way to win that puck battle, shorten that shift, do all the little things right.“And it’s a challenge for us.”Sharks defenseman Ryan Merkley, left, reaches for the puck in front of Blackhawks center Reese Johnson during the first period Saturday in San Jose, Calif. (Jeff Chiu/AP)And afterward, it’s ready, set, rebuild.General manager Kyle Davidson got a big jump on his roster reconstruction last month, trading Brandon Hagel in a deal that netted two first-round picks in 2023 and ‘24 and promising rookie forward Taylor Raddysh, who has four goals and four assists in 17 games with the Hawks.The Hawks also are holding onto a couple of long shots at gaining a couple of first-round picks in the upcoming draft: a 7.5% chance at winning the lottery if they stay in the sixth slot or winning the second draw, which would mean they keep the top-two-protected pick instead of sending it to the Columbus Blue Jackets; or upgrading the Minnesota Wild’s second-rounder if the Wild reach the Western Conference Finals and ex-Hawks goalie Marc-André Fleury wins four games in the first two rounds.The Hawks already were eliminated from the playoffs for the second straight season and fourth time in five years.So other than improving or worsening their lottery fortunes by a percentage point, the Hawks have nothing to lose or gain by winning or losing the last four games.But how they finish matters to the organizational mindset.AdvertisementThe Hawks plan on losing, perhaps for several seasons, to build up the roster through high draft picks. But the culture that takes hold during what promises to be lean years either could nourish the rebuild or prove poisonous.Small cracks in the foundation could become fissures.This is not a cohesive roster as currently constructed.Sharks right wing Timo Meier, left, looks back toward the puck next to Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews during the second period Saturday in San Jose, Calif. The Sharks won 4-1. (Jeff Chiu / AP)The Hawks have a top-heavy side, made up of the last two Stanley Cup veterans in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and 40-goal scorer Alex DeBrincat. And you have a bottom half of either veterans who could be dispatched in the offseason or young skaters who just as easily could find themselves in Rockford next season.The Hawks look schizophrenic, alternating between playing “sleepy,” as King terms it, and resorting to hero hockey, perhaps borne out of frustration.Credit to Tyler Johnson, who has spent enough time on the sideline to be considered an outside observer, for identifying this potential flaw in the Hawks’ team-building.Advertisement“I think our compete and everything is there, I just think our decision-making — we make the game way too difficult,” Johnson said after the Sharks game. “We’re all over the ice. We just kind of play one-on-one battles instead of play as a team.“And when you do that, teams in structure, especially this time of the year when every team is playing at the top of their game, you just start losing. We’ve got to do a lot better job of playing as a team.”The Hawks to a man have said the right things — that they’re still trying to jell as a team and haven’t retired to their respective corners — but what they’ve shown on the ice much of the season suggests they could be in for a tug of war between development and indifference, which only stands to get worse if they know going in they’re not playoff-bound.Toews called a recent eight-game winless streak “pretty embarrassing,” and given his storied history he absolutely should feel that way.Said Seth Jones after Saturday’s game: “Any time you’re missing the playoffs, it’s no fun. But we can continue to grow together and play the right way, try to play consistent through 60 minutes.“That’s the best thing we’ve got right now.”AdvertisementDeBrincat’s recent comments indicate he hasn’t quite reconciled himself to what he’s likely in for in the future.“I think we have a lot we can work on and build off of and obviously next year, with the rebuild, we might lose more games than we win, but that’s obviously never the goal,” he said.“If we come out hot or (start) doing well, there’s no point to rebuild after that, right?”No, that’s not right.Davidson and CEO Danny Wirtz have made it clear that plugging in high-priced free agents hasn’t worked, and the Hawks don’t have the talent in the pipeline to properly support them anyway. The main way to build up a perpetual contender is by acquiring high draft picks and top-end prospects, and that comes at a cost: the sacrifice of veterans and wins.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 21Blackhawks chairman Rocky Wirtz and CEO Danny Wirtz introduce Kyle Davidson as their new general manager with Jaime Faulkner, president of business operations, on March 1, 2022, at the United Center. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)So that begs the question: What can the Hawks possibly hope to gain from these last four games?Advertisement“Well, play for pride and respect,” King said. “We talked about today in the meeting. Should be a little embarrassed about what happened last game (a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings), only getting six chances (according to naturalstattrick.com, the Hawks had only three high-danger chances).“That’s not good enough. I don’t care how bad you are as a hockey team, you can get more than six chances in a game. They’ve got some pride on the line, they’ve got to earn that respect back, and it’s a good time to redeem themselves” against the Sharks.The Hawks started this trip with a 4-3 win against the Arizona Coyotes, but even that game featured some egregious defensive breakdowns that allowed the Coyotes to rally with two goals in the third period to force overtime.That win was a blip in a 2-10-2 stretch in which the Hawks were outscored 60-35.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.At times, the Hawks show life but either are outmanned by more talented teams or undermined by youthful miscues, such as key mistakes by defensemen Alex Vlasic and Alec Regula that led to Sharks goals Saturday.“We just made some young errors, some mental mistakes that cost us,” King said. “That’s been our problem for a lot of this year. Anytime we make little mistakes or a few mental errors or lapses, it’s usually in the back of our net.”AdvertisementOther times they look like a team that has given up the ghost — pick any second period at random — but the Hawks insists they hasn’t checked out.“I don’t think I’ve been out this early as we were, said Jones, who made the playoffs in five of his nine seasons between the Nashville Predators and Blue Jackets. “But the main thing is we stick together in that locker room, we don’t let any outside noise come in and continue to try to be better and work for each other.”Said King of the possibility of players checking out: “Even if I thought it I would never say it. They can’t check out. There’s no way these guys are checked out. They’re struggling to find a way to play better.“Mentally, they’re fried, I would say, and it’s just draining right now. They’ve got to find a way as a team, not individually … to just overcome all these speed bumps and just fight through it.”If it’s draining now, just imagine what it could be like for 82 games next season.

A small crowd of 3,739 showed up at the Coliseum on March 23, 1967, for the first home playoff game in Chicago Bulls history, a forgettable 113-107 Game 2 loss to the St. Louis Hawks.It was the inaugural season of an expansion team that surprised everyone by making the Western Conference playoffs before getting swept in three games by point guard Lenny Wilkens and the Hawks.Advertisement“For the new Chicago Bulls, the season is over,” Tribune beat writer Bob Logan wrote after the final game. “They surely will be heard of again, however, on the Chicago sports scene.”That was how it all started for the Bulls, a brand that became internationally known by the early 1990s.AdvertisementPro basketball was a tough sell in Chicago 55 years ago. The Bulls once drew the ire of the NBA by announcing a crowd of 594, and owner Dick Klein was ordered never to release figures like that again. John “Red” Kerr, the first Bulls coach and later a popular TV analyst, always brought a pocketful of dimes to games in the early days so he could call the newspapers afterward.“I’d dial up the papers’ sports desks and say something like: ‘Hi, this is John Kerr, coach of the Bulls,’ ” he recalled in ’91. “‘The Bulls won tonight 110-106, and Bob Boozer was our leading scorer with 26 points.’ The desk guy would say: ‘Boozer? How ya spell that?’ I’d say: ‘B-O-O-Z-E-R,’ and then the operator would jump in and say, ‘Please deposit another dime.’”When fans would call up the old Chicago Stadium and ask what time that night’s game was, Kerr would reply: “What time can you be there?”ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 24Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) heads to the locker after a 111-81 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at United Center on April 22, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)As playoff basketball returned to the United Center on Friday night with Game 3 of the Bulls’ first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s hard for many to imagine a time when the team struggled for attention, even going so far as to stage halftime shows in which fans could take to the mat against Victor the wrestling bear.After having to play in an empty stadium for almost all the home games last season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulls led the league in average attendance in 2021-22 at 20,881 per game, moving back into the top spot for the first time since 2017-18.The Bulls are now an iconic sports franchise like the New York Yankees or Green Bay Packers thanks to the six NBA titles they won from 1991-98, when Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time, dominated on the court and Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson pulled the strings.The Bulls haven’t returned to the NBA Finals since the “Last Dance” season in ’98 and barely competed the last four years. But executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas junked the former regime’s rebuild last summer and brought in DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, who teamed with Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević to change the direction of the franchise.It didn’t look that way Friday night in a 111-81 loss to the Bucks before a shellshocked sellout crowd of 22,667 that booed from the third quarter on. The Bulls desperately need a wake-up call Sunday afternoon in Game 4 to avoid falling behind 3-1 and facing elimination Wednesday in Milwaukee.AdvertisementDeRozan said “a loss is a loss,” even one as abysmal as Game 3.“Whether we lost by 30 or by one point, we’ve got to come back and compete and protect our home floor,” he said.No matter how this series turns out, it’s safe to say the future of the Bulls is much brighter than it was one year ago. Re-signing LaVine obviously will be job No. 1 for Karnišovas, but the Bulls have reestablished themselves as an Eastern Conference contender. With a healthy Ball returning next season, the maturation of Patrick Williams and some offseason tinkering, expectations will be even greater for coach Billy Donovan’s team in 2022-23.And that’s good news for the NBA, which always seems better when big-market teams such as the Bulls, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are in the mix.Well, two out of three ain’t bad.ExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 23Johnny Kerr coached the Bulls from 1966-1968 (62-101) and was named NBA coach of the year in 1967. Later, the Tilden H.S. and University of Illinois graduate was a color commentator for the Bulls for 33 years. As a player, he was elected to Illinois’ ‘All-Century Team’ and played 12 years in the NBA. As a first-year coach, his 33-48 Bulls were the first expansion team to win a playoff berth in its first season. (Chicago Tribune)The dynasty era may have fully transformed Chicago into a Bulls town, but the team still had a core following before the arrival of Air Jordan in 1984. Brian McIntyre, the former NBA director of media relations who began in the same capacity for the Bulls in the late 1970s, remembered when Chicago Stadium was less than half full after the era of teams led by Chet Walker, Bob Love, Jerry Sloan and Norm Van Lier came to an end.AdvertisementBut in 1981, a scrappy Bulls team led by Reggie Theus and Artis Gilmore upset the New York Knicks in the first game of a best-of-three series at Madison Square Garden, then came home to a raucous Stadium filled to the brim with 19,901 fans. Trailing by 15 in the third quarter, the Bulls rallied to take it to overtime and eventually won 115-114.“I swear that was the loudest I’d ever heard the Chicago Stadium,” McIntyre said. “It was a late start for CBS, and everyone in the upper deck was plastered.”The Bulls’ reward in the Eastern Conference semis was the Celtics. Larry Bird was so confident that he and his teammates were drinking into the wee hours at Butch McGuire’s on Division Street. A bartender asked Bird if he was worried about drinking so late the night before a game.“Bird says, ‘We can beat the Bulls drunk or sober,’ ” McIntyre said.Bird was right. The Celtics swept the series in four games on their way to the ’81 title.The Bulls regressed again until selecting Jordan with the No. 3 pick in the ‘84 draft. There were good moments — Jordan hitting “The Shot” over Cleveland’s Craig Ehlo to clinch a first-round series in 1989 — and down moments, such as being swept by the Celtics in ’86 and ’87.AdvertisementExpandAutoplayImage 1 of 87Michael Jordan flies through the air to dunk against the Jazz in a playoff game in Utah on June 5, 1998. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)After tough back-to-back playoff losses to the Detroit Pistons’ more physical “Bad Boys” in 1989 and ’90, the Bulls beat Magic Johnson and the Lakers for their first title in ’91, setting the dynasty in motion. Jordan always stepped up his game in the postseason, but Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, John Paxson, Toni Kukoč and Steve Kerr all had playoff moments that will live forever in Bulls lore.The last time I covered the Bulls in the playoffs was in 1993, the third title of the first 3-peat. During an off day of the NBA Finals between the Bulls and Phoenix Suns, Jordan was asked if he thought the fan base would dwindle once he retired.“That’s something (the organization) will have to pay attention to from a business aspect,” he replied. “I don’t know how long the fans are going to be as supportive. Or will they be as supportive? I hope that they will, because I certainly will be a fan of Chicago when I’m gone, and I’d love for the fans to maintain that support even when I’m gone because of what we’ve built here.“It’s a good system now. I’d hate to see it change.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Little did we know Jordan would retire the following October on the eve of the 1993-94 season. But fans continued to flock to the West Side after Jordan’s departure and when he returned at the end of the 1994-95 season following his baseball sabbatical.The real test came after the breakup of the dynasty following the Bulls’ sixth title in 1998.AdvertisementIn the first year of general manager Jerry Krause’s rebuild, the Bulls still finished first in average attendance despite a 13-37 record in a lockout-shortened season. But the losing wore on fans, and the Bulls sunk to ninth in attendance by 2001-02, when Tim Floyd — Krause’s hand-picked replacement for Jackson — finally was fired midseason.Derrick Rose’s knee injury in the first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers in 2012 ended what might’ve been a championship season, and neither Rose nor the Bulls recovered in the ensuring years. The post-Jordan drought continued.But a decade after Rose’s franchise-altering injury, DeRozan, LaVine, Vučević and Caruso are hoping to pull off a first-round upset of the defending champion Bucks, making the United Center into a madhouse again.If they repeat their Game 3 performance, it’s likely to be the final home game until next season. DeRozan promised a more aggressive effort in Game 4.“We’ve got an opportunity to tie this thing up Sunday on our home court,” he said. “And that’s what we’re going to do.”

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Emanuel Reynoso broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the 72nd minute, and Dayne St. Clair saved all four shots he faced to lift Minnesota United to a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Fire in MLS action Saturday.Bongokuhle Hlongwane had an assist on Reynoso’s game-winner for Minnesota (4-2-2).AdvertisementKervin Arriaga and Robin Lod added goals in the final six minutes after the Fire’s Federico Navarro was sent off for preventing Lod from getting through on goal opportunity.United outshot the Fire (2-2-4) 8-5 with a 5-4 edge in shots on goal.AdvertisementGabriel Slonina saved two of the five shots he faced for the Fire, who are winless (0-2-2) in their last four MLS games.

The Chicago Cubs piled on the runs in historic fashion Saturday, crushing the Pirates 21-0 at Wrigley Field in the franchise’s largest shutout win since at least 1901. After two sluggish offensive performances in losses in the first two games of the series, the Cubs pounded out 23 hits — the team’s most since a 23-hit performance at Arizona in 2005.AdvertisementManager David Ross welcomed the offensive outburst, which gained steam in an eight-run second inning that newly recalled infielder Alfonso Rivas capped with a three-run homer to right field.“Definitely enjoyable,” Ross said. “It’s just good for the psyche — just to pile on hits, get your numbers in a game like that, build up a little bit. It’s always nice.”AdvertisementThe win also snapped a four-game losing streak that began Tuesday with a 6-5 home loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.The Cubs’ Alfonso Rivas, right, celebrates with Jonathan Villar after hitting a three-run home run during the second inning against the Pirates on Saturday at Wrigley Field. (Nam Y. Huh / AP)Nico Hoerner was one of five Cubs to record three or more hits, finishing with three RBIs on a career-high four hits. After a three-hit performance Friday, it also marked the first back-to-back three-hit games of his career.Rivas, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ and Willson Conteras all had three hits.“I’m not going to list it off because it felt like everybody had a really good day,” Ross said. “Just quality at-bat after quality at-bat.”Contreras drove in three runs and and Happ two.Suzuki stole the first base of his major-league career and went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI while scoring a career-best three runs. Through interpreter Toy Matsushita, Suzuki said he never had seen anything like Saturday’s offensive blitz.“This was my first time experiencing a game with that much offense, so (I was) surprised,” Suzuki said.Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki runs to first base after hitting an RBI single against the Pirates during the second inning Saturday at Wrigley Field. Suzuki went 3-for-4 in the Cubs’ 21-0 win. (Nam Y. Huh / AP)Rivas got the start at first base after joining the team ahead of Friday’s 4-2 loss, and he looked right at home at Wrigley. He slashed .538/.571/.923 in three games with Triple-A Iowa after two appearances for the Cubs earlier in the month.Advertisement“(Rivas) was working on some stuff before he left and came back and contributed really well, hitting the ball in the air, big home run there,” Ross said. “We hadn’t had some of those break-open homers yet or doubles with the bases loaded. He came up with a big knock there. Plays really good defense.”The 25-year-old’s second-inning blast traveled 416 feet, putting the Cubs up nine and effectively ending starter Zach Thompson’s afternoon after he gave up nine hits and four earned runs in two innings. Rivas finished with a career-high five RBIs.“It definitely gives you confidence, going down and treating it as a temporary move, expecting to come back,” Rivas said. “(Ross) is really good at communicating that. It helped me a lot.”Kyle Hendricks (1-1) earned his first win of the season, allowing just two hits and walking none in seven innings.Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks delivers against the Pirates in the first inning Saturday at Wrigley Field. Hendricks picked up his first win of the season, allowing two hits in seven innings in the 21-0 rout.
(Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Images)“They call him ‘The Professor’ for a reason,” Rivas said of Hendricks. “It was awesome playing defense behind him, getting quick outs, seeing him work the corners and changing speeds. That’s what he does.”AdvertisementThe margin of victory surpassed 19-0 shutout wins on June, 7 1906, against the New York Giants and on May 13, 1969, against the San Diego Padres.The Cubs’ 21 runs were the most since they scored 26 against the Colorado Rockies on August 18, 1995. And the 21-run win margin marked the team’s largest since a 24-2 win at the Boston Braves on July 3, 1945.Ross called Hoerner, who is hitting .327 and is tied with Suzuki for a team-high 16 hits, a “complete player.”Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“Defensively as well, he’s starting to feel good,” Ross said. “Timing and the rhythm looks really nice. Feels good at the plate. Feels good physically. He’s a guy that’s going to make some contact. I like that he’s using all fields. Line drives over shortstop.”Cubs shortstop Nico Hoerner singles during the second inning against the Pirates on Saturday at Wrigley Field. Hoerner went 4-for-5 with three RBIs in the Cubs’ 21-0 win. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Images)Hoerner said he was pleased to see Rivas rejoin the team.“Just a guy who’s always consistent,” Hoerner said. “Very consistent personality, great defender and someone I believe in a lot. Really happy for him.”AdvertisementRivas was called up after the Cubs placed Clint Frazier on the 10-day injured list. The outfielder underwent an appendectomy Friday.Hendricks made sure to soak in the festive atmosphere while posting his first win in his fourth start of the season.“Today really felt like just a classic Wrigley day,” Hendricks said. “The crowd was amazing, and I think it really fed into our guys. You saw from the start how locked in everybody was.”Gavin Good is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

MINNEAPOLIS — Michael Kopech doesn’t have a win yet in 2022.But plenty of other numbers show how impressive the right-hander has been in his three starts this season for the Chicago White Sox.AdvertisementKopech had his sharpest performance yet Friday against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, allowing three hits while striking out seven and walking one in five scoreless innings. He left with a lead, but the Twins took advantage of two throwing errors on one play to score the go-ahead run in the eighth and beat the Sox 2-1.The late-game miscues wiped out what manager Tony La Russa said was “close to being the kind of win that gets you excited.”AdvertisementAt the top of that list of positives was Kopech’s outing.White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech gestures to the crowd after the final out against the Twins in the fifth inning Friday in Minneapolis. Kopech pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven, but the Sox lost 2-1. (Craig Lassig / AP)“I had better command of my pitches (Friday),” Kopech said. “I was able to feel myself in my body a little bit better than I had my first two (starts). I definitely felt more comfortable out there.”Kopech lowered his ERA to 0.64 — he ranks second in the American League in that category. Kopech has 15 strikeouts in 14 innings and is third in the AL in WHIP (0.79) and sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (9.6).“Every start he’s improved,” La Russa said. “When you’ve got talent like that and you want it and you’re willing to work and listen, that’s a powerful combination.”Kopech had to navigate through traffic early in his first two starts. That was the case again Friday when he surrendered a single to Luis Arraez in the first, but then he got Carlos Correa to hit into a double play. Kopech walked Jorge Polanco, but catcher Reese McGuire threw him out on a steal attempt.“I think they did a pretty good job laying off some pretty close pitches (in the first),” Kopech said. “I got in my own head a little bit thinking I had some of those calls. Then I went back and looked and I didn’t. Just had to make an adjustment the next few innings. They took some good at-bats, and I just had to settle in after that.”Kopech has shown that ability during each start. He struck out at least one batter in the next four innings, including two in the second and striking out the side in the fourth.“Obviously the goal is to go out there from the first pitch on and ride that wave,” Kopech said. “Sometimes that’s baseball and you’ve got to see how everything’s going before you settle in. I settled in a lot quicker than I had in my first two (starts). I was excited about that.”AdvertisementHe credited McGuire with helping make in-game adjustments.“Reese has caught all three of mine now, and he’s been able to see what’s working and what’s not out of the gate,” Kopech said. “The slider being a pitch that I usually heavily lean on, it hasn’t really been there the past two, so we’ve gone to breaking ball or when we’ve seen myself getting away with fastballs more often than not, we lean heavy on that.“We did that a little bit (Friday). The adjustments are kind of a partnership deal, where if he sees something, we’re going to go with that. If I’m not comfortable with it, then I’m going to throw what I’m comfortable with. It was good (Friday).”White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech delivers against the Twins in the first inning Friday in Minneapolis. (David Berding / Getty Images)Kopech will have to wait until his next start to shoot for that first victory. Friday marked the fifth straight loss for the Sox, but Kopech is confident the team will turn it around.“No one is concerned about this skid that we’re on,” he said. “It sucks. Nobody likes to lose. At the end of the day, we can look around this clubhouse and see what this team is made of and what we’re capable of in the upcoming games, no matter who we’re playing.“I don’t think it’s anything to be really concerned about. We’re going to get our feet back under us.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Chicago White Sox left fielder Eloy Jiménez exited with right hamstring soreness after trying to beat a throw to first base in the second inning Saturday against the Minnesota Twins.He is being evaluated, the Sox said.AdvertisementJiménez hit a grounder to third, stumbled after crossing first base and fell. He got to his feet but was taken off the field on a cart.He is slashing .222/.256/.333 with one home run and seven RBIs in 11 games.AdvertisementJiménez played just 55 games last season after suffering a ruptured left pectoral tendon during a Cactus League game.The Sox already are missing starting center fielder Luis Robert (groin strain) in this series. Robert suffered the injury Thursday in Cleveland. Manager Tony La Russa is hopeful Robert will return Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals. Starting right fielder AJ Pollock returned from the injured list (strained right hamstring) Friday.Chicago White Sox’s Eloy Jimenez, bottom right, gets help up from third base coach Joe McEwing, back, and a staff trainer after falling to the turf on a groundout against the Twins in the second inning Saturday in Minneapolis. Jimenez left the field on a cart. (Bruce Kluckhohn / AP)White Sox left fielder Eloy Jimenez leaves the field on a cart after suffering a right hamstring injury on a groundout against the Twins in the second inning Saturday in Minneapolis. (Bruce Kluckhohn / AP)