SportsZone Chicago

Cubs Beat Pirates - Adrian Sampson (3-5) wasn't supposed to be a fixture in the Chicago Cubs' starting rotation this season. He was placed on waivers twice in May, once by Chicago and once by Seattle, and optioned to the minors three times. Yet Sampson kept believing in his stuff. And may be making a believer out of the Cubs in the process. The 30-year-old tossed six efficient innings in an 8-3 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday, the latest in a string of solid starts that's provided some much-needed stability to Chicago's injury-riddled rotation. Click below to read more:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401356483

White Sox Lose to Tigers - The White Sox's playoff dream is dead. The Tigers officially ended their ill-fated run, completing the three-game sweep at Guaranteed Rate Field with a 4-1 win Sunday. It was the sixth straight home loss for the White Sox and the first Tigers series sweep in Chicago since 2018. The Tigers broke open a 1-1 game scoring three times in the top of the eighth inning against reliever Kendall Graveman. Jonathan Schoop, who had hit into a bases-loaded double play earlier in the game, and Jeimer Candelario both singled home runs. A third run crossed after a wild pitch.
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https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2022/09/25/detroit-tigers-complete-sweep-end-chicago-white-soxs-playoff-run/69517801007

Roquan Smith set up Cairo Santos' game-ending field goal when he intercepted Davis Mills deep in Houston territory, and the Chicago Bears beat former coach Lovie Smith and the Texans 23-20 on Sunday. Khalil Herbert ran for a career-high 157 yards and two touchdowns for Chicago. The Texans had third-and-1 at their 26 when defensive tackle Angelo Blackson tipped a pass intended for Rex Burkhead. Smith, who missed practice all week because of a hip injury, intercepted it at the 30 and returned it to the 12. Chicago had Herbert run, then downed the ball twice before Santos nailed a 30-yarder as time expired. Justin Fields had another difficult game. Running back David Montgomery exited in the early going with knee and ankle injuries, but the Bears came away with the win after losing at rival Green Bay.
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https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap?gameId=40143773

Cubs Lose to Pirates - Johan Oviedo tied his career high with seven strikeouts in seven innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 6-0 on Saturday night to snap an eight-game losing streak. Oviedo (4-2) retired the final 16 batters he faced, allowing just three hits on 82 pitches without issuing a walk. The right-hander went at least seven innings for the first time this season and second time in 24 career starts, capping his night in the seventh by retiring the side on five pitches.
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401356468
White Sox Lose to Tigers - Another good performance from the top of the lineup and a well played game overall saw the Tigers take their second in a row over the White Sox by a score of 7-2 on Saturday night. The Tigers offense once again got out to a quick start in this one against White Sox' rookie Davis Martin. The 25-year-old right-hander showed a pretty good fastball and a solid pair of breaking balls, but his command failed him a few times and quality AB's from the Tigers allowed them to take advantage. Click below to read more:
https://www.blessyouboys.com/2022/9/24/23370493/tigers-white-sox-javier-baez-harold-castro-riley-greene-davis-martin-drew-hutchiso

St. Louis Cardinals legend Albert Pujols became the fourth player in Major League Baseball history to reach 700 career home runs on Friday night with a two-homer effort against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Pujols joins distinct company in the form of some of the most prolific sluggers the game has ever seen: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.
Pujols first clubbed career home run 699 in the third inning. Then, in the fourth, Pujols connected with No. 700. That was a five-RBI night before the fifth inning. Pujols entered the season with the Cardinals knowing it was his last before retirement. He's never strayed from his declaration that he was playing in 2022 and not a single year longer, despite the possibility that he could get so close to 700 and still fall short. It's actually somewhat a surprise that he's gotten to this point. It took a second-half surge.
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https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/albert-pujols-700-home-runs-cardinals-legend-reaches-rare-milestone-with-two-hr-night-vs-dodgers

Ime Udoka, head coach of the Boston Celtics, has been suspended for the entire NBA season for violations of team policies, the organization announced Thursday night.
The team added that a decision on Udoka's future with the Celtics will be made at a later date. His suspension was effective immediately. According to ESPN, The Athletic and the Boston Globe, Udoka had a consensual relationship with a female member of the team's staff.
"I am sorry for putting the team in this difficult situation, and I accept the team's decision," Udoka said to ESPN in a statement in which he apologized to the players, fans, organization and his family.
CNN has reached out to the Celtics for further comment.
Click below to read more:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/22/sport/nba-boston-celtics-head-coach-ime-udoka/index.htm

Cubs Beat Pirates - Rookie Hayden Wesneski had an immaculate inning in his second major league start to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the skidding Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.
Wesneski (2-1) gave up two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings while striking out six and walking two in sending Pittsburgh to its seventh straight loss. It was his fourth appearance in the majors. Wesneski had an immaculate inning in the fifth when he struck out the side on nine pitches. He fanned the three hitters at the bottom of the order: Jack Suwinski, Zack Collins and Jason Delay.
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401356441

White Sox Lose to Guardians - Shane Bieber pitched two-run ball into the eighth inning, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 on Thursday night for a three-game series sweep.
Cleveland opened a seven-game lead over Chicago in the AL Central with its 15th win in 18 games. The Guardians (83-67) can clinch the franchise's first division title since 2018 as early as Sunday.
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https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=40135644

Cubs Beat Marlins - Ian Happ hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Chicago Cubs rallied to beat the Miami Marlins 4-3 on Wednesday night. Patrick Wisdom hit his 23rd homer for the Cubs, who had only four hits. Down 3-1, the Cubs scored three in the eighth without a hit against Marlins relievers Steven Okert and Dylan Floro. Okert (5-5) walked Zach McKinstry and Christopher Morel to start the inning. Okert then muffed Esteban Quiroz's sacrifice bunt and threw errantly to first. McKinstry scored from second on the error while Morel and Quiroz advanced two bases. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401356425

White Sox Lose to Guardians - Steven Kwan homered among his three hits and Triston McKenzie struck out 13 in eight strong innings as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2 Wednesday night to move closer to their first American League Central title since 2018. Kwan had hits in each of his first three at-bats, capped by his fifth homer of the season off Lance Lynn (7-6) on the first pitch of the fourth inning. Kwan is batting .538 (14 for 26) over his last five games. Click below to read more: https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=40135642

Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball will undergo an arthroscopic debridement of his left knee that could keep him out for the start of the regular season, the team announced Wednesday. He will be re-evaluated in four-to-six weeks. The Bulls open their regular season exactly four weeks from Wednesday on Oct. 19 against the Miami Heat. Ball was already recovering from a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery in January, which ended his 2021-22 season after just 35 games. The meniscus injury was supposed to keep him out for only a couple of months, but he suffered setbacks in his recovery before being shut down in April after he continued to "experience pain with high-level physical activity."
Click below to read more:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10047576-bulls-lonzo-ball-to-have-surgery-on-knee-injury-will-be-re-evaluated-in-4-6-week

Current embattled owner of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury Robert Sarver says he has started the process to sell the teams.
In a statement released Wednesday morning, he said he doesn't want to be a "distraction to these two teams" and their employees. While Sarver isn't the only owner, he carries a primary ownership stake. He had been increasingly undergoing pressure from the team, its sponsors, and the basketball community since his suspension was issued last week. The announcement comes days after the Phoenix Suns' largest minority owner and vice chair asked Sarver to resign following a workplace misconduct investigation. One of the team's biggest sponsors, PayPal said that they wouldn't renew their partnership should Sarver remains with the organization at the end of his suspension.
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https://www.azfamily.com/2022/09/21/robert-sarver-begins-process-sell-phoenix-suns

Cubs Beat Marlins - David Bote hit a tying home run in the seventh inning, then added a sacrifice fly in the eighth that lifted the Chicago Cubs over the Miami Marlins 2-1 Tuesday night. Esteban Quiroz got the first two hits of his major league career and P.J. Higgins also had two hits for the Cubs, who snapped a three-game losing skid. The 30-year-old Quiroz was promoted from Triple-A Saturday and made his first start Tuesday. Click below to read more:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=401356410

White Sox Lose to Guardians - Myles Straw had a tiebreaking two-run double in Cleveland's five-run 11th inning, and the Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 10-7 Tuesday night to move closer to the American League Central title. The Guardians won for the 12th time in 16 extra-inning games this season and expanded their lead to five games over the White Sox with 14 games remaining. The victory assured Cleveland, which improved to 10-7 against Chicago, of winning the season series and a tiebreaker in the event the teams finish the season tied for first place. Click below to read more:
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=4013564