The Chicago Cubs fell in the second game of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics, 4-3. Each team had a player hit two home runs, with Shea Langeliers making the difference in this game by driving in three runs on his two bombs, while Ian Happ carried the load for the Chicago offense with two solo home runs. Both starting pitchers struggled to get batters out efficiently. Jordan Wicks gave up three home runs in his five innings of work and Mitch Spence navigated around eight base runners through his five innings while only surrendering two runs.
The bullpens pulled much of the weight to keep the game tight throughout. It wasn’t until the ninth inning when Mason Miller came in to try and nail down the save that the Chicago Cubs were able to cut the Oakland lead in half. Miller allowed Ian Happ to launch his second home run of the day and break the scoring drought that had been going on since the fifth inning. Happ’s salvo was the only offense the Chicago Cubs could muster off of Miller and the Oakland closer was able to get out of the inning without any more damage, giving the Athletics the victory.
Dueling Sluggers in Chicago
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The Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics had a much tighter contest in the second game of their three-game series at Wrigley Field Tuesday night. The Athletics squeaked by with a 4-3 win after holding precarious leads from the first inning on. Oakland C Shea Langeliers ripped a two-run home run off of Chicago Cubs starter Jordan Wicks to get the A’s on the board. The home run was just one example of solid contact the Athletics were able to get on Wicks, who is still working his way back from a forearm injury that kept him off the mound for most of 2024.
The other big swing Oakland was able to get on the left-hander was by a fellow lefty, Lawrence Butler. In the third inning, Butler turned around an inside sinker and deposited it in the right-field bleachers to extend the Oakland lead to 3-0. Ian Happ responded in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot of his own to cut the lead back down to two. Chicago wasn’t done doing damage in the inning, as the batting order got going the second time it saw Mitch Spence. Michael Busch drove in a second run of the frame on the third hit the Chicago Cubs registered after the Ian Happ home run.
The Oakland lead got back up to two when Shea Langeliers hit his second home run of the game off Wicks in the fifth inning. The dinger was the last run scored before the bottom of the ninth inning. Both bullpens were on their game in this one, settling both offenses down for the rest of the game.
Neither starter was helped by the home plate umpire, who was erratic and unpredictable early on. Wicks couldn’t count on a consistent zone on either side of the plate and Spence couldn’t make any assurances at the top or bottom of the zone. The main difference was that the Oakland hitters were much more disciplined at the plate. Hitters for the Chicago Cubs were quick to swing at balls in the dirt and leave strikes up in the zone alone, making work for the Oakland pitching staff a lot easier.
The 4-2 score lasted until the final half-inning when Mason Miller came in for Oakland to work the bottom of the ninth. Miller, who had been linked to the Chicago Cubs in trade speculation earlier in the year, got his 26th save of the year but it didn’t come easily. Ian Happ launched a solo home run off Miller for his second bomb of the game. The home run came on a 103.2 MPH Miller fastball, which was the fastest pitch hit for a home run in the pitch-tracking era.
The long ball didn’t rattle Miller, who retired the next two Chicago Cubs’ hitters to end the game and give Oakland the victory, splitting the series at a game a piece. The rubber match for this series is set for Wednesday at 1:20 PM CST.
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