#4. August 27: Chicago Cubs blow another big lead and lose to White Sox 17-13.
Not a great theme to have throughout a season, but the Cubs had way too many blown-lead losses after big first innings. This one in particular happened to the crosstown rival White Sox on a Friday night in August.
Seeking revenge for being swept at Wrigley earlier in the month, the Cubs plated six runs in the first on the Sox, thanks to big hits from Patrick Wisdom, Robinson Chirinos and Andrew Romine. Prior to the game, I texted one of my friends to (responsibly) hammer the White Sox on the run line due to how bad the Cubs had been looking. After the first half-inning, not only did I profusely apologize, but I also even paid him the amount of his bet for being so wrong. It was an unsolicited suggestion gone bad in the worst way possible because I loved every second of being wrong.
Unfortunately for us Cubs fans, this was premature. I was not wrong at all.
The Sox plated eight runs in the third inning, and it was on from there. Four more in the fifth and three more in the eighth kept the ballpark rocking on the South Side as the route was in full form. Yasmani Grandal went 4-for-6 with two home runs and eight runs batted in. Former Cub traded to the Sox Eloy Jimenez went 1-for-3, walked three times, and scored three times.
The Cubs did score six runs in the last two innings, including an Ian Happ homer and a second bomb from Wisdom, but it was much too late to compete. The score does no justice to the massacre that took place at Guaranteed Rate Park that night.