Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (8/29/21): White Sox 13, Cubs 1 – Rivas Debut Lone Bright Spot in Cubs Loss
After a very complete win on Saturday night the Cubs reverted to their second half form Sunday afternoon. Kyle Hendricks was shelled by the powerful White Sox lineup and his team never had a chance.
Luis Robert put the home team ahead in the bottom of the 1st inning with a solo home run. It was a hitters day at Guaranteed Rate Field and the Sox took full advantage of the wind blowing out. Brian Goodwin increased the Sox lead to three with a two-run shot in the 2nd.
Frank Schwindel provided the Cubs with their only run on Sunday with a solo blast off of former Cub farmhand Dylan Cease. The other bright spot was the play of Alfonso Rivas, who doubled and singled in his major league debut.
The wheels came off the bus for Hendricks in the bottom of the 5th. The White Sox put up seven runs in the inning with the big blows coming on a three-run homer from Eloy Jiménez and a two-run Yasmani Grandal dinger.
It was more of the same the rest of the way as the White Sox ended up plating 13 runs on Sunday in a total rout. (Box score)
Why the Cubs Lost
The Professor was in need of a sabbatical on Sunday, Hendricks has been bitten by the home run ball all year and today was an extreme example. Hopefully, it’s something Hendricks can focus on in the off-season to improve for 2022.
Key Moment
Rafael Ortega misread a deep fly ball to center by José Abreu in the 5th inning that just escaped his reach and landed for a run-scoring ground rule double. If Ortega had made the catch with two outs they would’ve escaped the frame with no runs allowed.
Stats That Matter
- Hendricks has now given up 28 home runs this season: 4.2 IP, 8 R, 7 H, 4 K, and 3 BB.
- Scott Effross also made his MLB debut on the mound for the Cubs. The sidearm hurler allowed a two-run homer to Luis Robert but he did get his first career strikeout.
Bottom Line
The scores of these games don’t really matter to the Cubs, which is a good thing because the results have not been very pretty this month. It is good to see is a player like Alfonso Rivas display the patient plate approach that has earned him so much praise in Iowa. Hopefully, this is just the start of a great career for him.
On Deck
The Cubs head to Minnesota for two games against a disappointing Twins team. The first game is Tuesday at 7:10pm CT and features a pitching matchup between former Cardinal John Gant and Zach Davies. Marquee Sports Network provides the television coverage and 670 The Score provides radio.