Cubs fall to Red Sox on O’Neill’s walk-off blooper, head to New York to face Mets in 4-game series
BOSTON (AP) — The Chicago Cubs are no strangers to Tyler O’Neill, who spent his first six big-league seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.
He’s in Boston now, but he still plenty of damage to the Cubs this weekend.
O’Neill’s walk-off bloop single gave the Red Sox a 5-4 victory over the Cubs on Sunday night, clinching a three-game series win at Fenway Park for Boston after Chicago won Friday’s opener.
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For the weekend, O’Neill totaled five hits, including two homers and a double, drove in four runs and scored four.
The Cubs won Friday’s game, 7-1, to extend their winning streak to four games and open a seven-game trip out East on a good note. However, the Red Sox won a lopsided game Saturday, 17-0, before Sunday’s ninth-inning victory in the rubber game.
The Cubs head to New York to play a four-game series against the Mets from Monday through Thursday.
Tauchman ties it
Chicago trailed Sunday’s game, 4-1, before Mike Tauchman hit a game-tying three-run homer against Chris Martin in the eighth inning, belting a 2-1 pitch over the wall in center with nobody out and Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner on base.
Matt Mervis hit an RBI single in the seventh that scored Michael Busch for the Cubs’ first run of the game.
But for the second straight day, a large gathering of Cubs fans that made the trip to Fenway were unable to wave their “W” flags, a staple after wins at Wrigley Field.
Jarren Duran, who hit a two-run triple into the Fenway triangle in right-center to give the Red Sox a 4-0 lead in the sixth, led off the ninth with a walk against Mark Leiter Jr. (0-1) and raced to third on Rafael Devers’ single.
O’Neill then hit a shallow fly toward left field. Shortstop Dansby Swanson, playing with the entire infield in, tried to make a sliding catch, but the ball went off his glove and landed in the outfield grass.
“It’s tough to know, even if he catches it, Duran being such a good runner, he may score,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said about the final play.
“It was awesome, you could feel the crowd buzzing out there,” O’Neill said about his first walk-off hit with the Red Sox. ”I knew the infield was in. I was trying to put a good swing on anything elevated, get it in the air.
“It fell in there this time.”
Durran said he had “happy feet at third base” on the winning hit.
“I was like, ‘Tag, no tag. Tag, no tag,'” he said. “… I’ve just got to stay off, because I probably wasn’t going to be able to tag. I was just trying to stay off (the base) as far as possible to try and be able to score.”
Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings. He was charged with one run and four hits.
Kenley Jansen (1-0) worked the ninth for the victory.
Hayden Wesneski got his first start of the season for the Cubs and worked four innings, allowing five hits and two runs, one earned, with a walk and three strikeouts.
Boston shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela went 1-for-4 a day after going 4-for-4 with a two-run homer and driving in seven runs.
Despite dealing with injuries to their starting rotation, the Red Sox entered the day with a majors’-best 2.63 ERA, their lowest at this point of a season since 1920.
Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu made a nice running catch on Swanson’s fifth-inning fly ball, and second baseman Enmanuel Valdez had a diving play on Hoerner’s grounder the following inning.
Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya struck out swinging in the third, and his bat went flying over the protective netting. It went into the stands about 10 rows behind the Cubs’ on-deck circle, appearing to strike a fan. Medical personnel were looking at a person’s hand. They left their seat and walked away with the EMTs.
Trainer’s room
Cubs: LHP Jordan Wicks was placed on the 15-day injured list with a strained forearm. Counsell said the Cubs hope they caught it early and it’s a “short stay.” … Counsell said the plan for OF Cody Bellinger (two fractured ribs) is to do a “little more every day and see where that puts us.” He crashed into a wall last week. … 3B Christopher Morel fouled a ball off his left foot but stayed in.
Cubs OF Cody Bellinger sidelined by two fractured ribs as team’s injuries continue to pile up
Up next
Cubs: RHP Jameson Taillon (2-0, 1.69 ERA) is set to open a four-game series at the Mets on Monday. RHP Luis Severino (2-2, 2.67 ERA) is slated to start for New York.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m.
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