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CHICAGO — Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendriks thinks he may have been pitching with lymphoma most of last season after he discovered lumps in his neck and then hips last June.

Hendriks, 34, is cancer free now and ready to return to the big leagues after he completes a rehab assignment which begins this weekend for Triple-A Charlotte. He’ll make four or five appearances before joining the big league club.

“As of now I have a clean bill of health,” Hendriks said in a Wednesday press conference. “I’m currently in remission.”

Diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December, Hendriks immediately took the attitude that he was going to beat it and be back on the mound in short order. He spoke in front of reporters, while teammates lined the back of the press conference room at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“I never looked at it as a ‘why me thing?'” Hendriks explained. “I looked at it as ‘why not me?’ I tend to have a more rosy perspective on life than the general population so that was my process behind it. ‘I’ve got this. This is my next challenge.'”

Hendriks announced his diagnosis publicly in early January, beginning chemo treatments around the same time. A month later he was throwing bullpens at the White Sox spring facility in Glendale, Az.

“As soon as I found out the regular treatment timelines, I thought, ‘OK, how can I beat it?'” Hendriks said. “It was those days on the couch, not being able to move much (after chemo), those were the days you needed to dig deep and find that positive mental attitude.”

Get well wishes came in from all over the sport, helping Hendriks on those tougher days. He read one from Cubs pitcher, and cancer survivor, Jameson Taillon.

“It’s your journey. No one can tell you what to feel or what to do baseball wise,” the text read. “Do whatever you feel is right.”

That came on Jan. 30. Hendriks said within a day of that message he was back on the mound.

As he looked back at last season, he’s sure his ailment impacted him, especially late in the year. Hendriks’ ERA was a run higher in the second half than the first.

“There’s a damn well chance I pitched all of last year with lymphoma in my system,” he said. “I’d like to think that was the reason I struggled to recover at the end of the year. I was damn well limping to the finish line.”

This season, the White Sox bullpen has struggled without Hendriks, ranking 29th in ERA. The team also suffered through a 10-game losing streak which just ended on Sunday.

Manager Pedro Grifol was asked if it was a perfect time to get Hendriks back.

“To have Liam is always the prefect time,” Grifol said with a smile. “To have a game where you have to cover nine innings and now you have to cover eight. It’s not only going to help us win a baseball game, its going to help the guys who are pitching a lot.”

Hendriks had his last cancer treatment on the same day as the White Sox home opener in early April — giving him some peace of mind that the end was near.

“Knowing that that was my last treatment was a huge bonus,” Hendriks stated. “I think that would have been much harder not having an end date.”

As the news conference ended, his teammates followed Hendriks out of the room. One of them, starter Lucas Giolito, summed up the emotion of the moment. “No matter what we do as a team, this is the best news of the year,” he said.

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Cubs blow lead in 10-run 8th, storm back in thriller

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Cubs blow lead in 10-run 8th, storm back in thriller

CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker had the fans on their feet, roaring and pumping their fists as he rounded the bases after hitting the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning. His screaming line drive cleared the right-field wall with plenty of room to spare.

The Chicago Cubs went from giving up 10 runs in the eighth to scoring six in the bottom half and beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-11 on Friday in one of the wildest games on record.

The two teams combined for 21 runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with the Cubs scoring 11 runs and the D-backs plating 10. It was the first nine-inning game in MLB history in which both teams scored 10 or more runs from the seventh inning on, and the third game overall, according to ESPN Research.

“That’s kind of baseball,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in this game, especially with how many games we play.”

There haven’t been many games like this, though.

The Cubs are just the seventh team in at least the past 125 seasons to allow 10 or more runs in an inning and win. They are also the fifth team to give up 10 or more runs and score six or more in the same inning.

The 16 combined runs in the eighth were the most in an inning at Wrigley Field, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“If you’ve seen that one, you’ve been around for a while,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said with a laugh. “It was crazy. You know, we gave up 10 runs in an inning and we won. So it was a wild game, but we kept going, and, you know, there’s 27 outs in a game and this kind of proves it, and you’re just happy to get out with a win.”

On a warm day with the ball carrying, Carson Kelly homered twice. Ian Happ belted a grand slam and Seiya Suzuki went deep, helping the Cubs open a weekend series on a winning note.

“You’ve seen it early — having some tough losses, coming back winning the next day,” Happ said. “Losing the first game of the series, winning the series. Little things like that. Today’s a great example of professional hitters going out there and continuing to have really good at-bats.”

The way things transpired in the final two innings was something to see.

Kelly hit a two-run homer in the second against Corbin Burnes, and Happ came through with his grand slam against Ryne Nelson as part of a five-run seventh. But just when it looked as if the Cubs were in control with a 7-1 lead, things took a wild turn in the eighth.

Eugenio Suarez cut it to 7-5 with a grand slam against Porter Hodge, Geraldo Perdomo singled in a run and Randal Grichuk put Arizona on top by one with a two-run double. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a three-run homer, making it 11-7.

The crowd of more than 39,000 let the Cubs hear it, but their team regrouped in the bottom half. Bryce Jarvis hit Nico Hoerner leading off and walked Pete Crow-Armstrong before Kelly drove a three-run homer to center. Tucker, the Cubs’ prized offseason addition, came through after Happ singled with one out. Suzuki followed with his drive against Joe Mantiply to give the Cubs a 13-11 lead.

Arizona, which had won five straight, became just the third team over the past 50 seasons to lose a game in which it had a 10-run inning at any point, according to ESPN Research.

“You just got to stay locked in,” Kelly said. “Obviously, you don’t want to … give up 10 in an inning. Obviously, you don’t want to do that. I think the biggest thing is coming back, regrouping and continuing to fight.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Chisholm suspended 1 game for conduct, tweet

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Chisholm suspended 1 game for conduct, tweet

Major League Baseball suspended New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount, the result of his actions during Thursday night’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Chisholm was ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire John Bacon for arguing after a called third strike on a full-count pitch from Mason Montgomery that appeared low.

Minutes later, he posted on his X account, “Not even f—ing close!!!!!” then deleted the post.

“I didn’t think before I had anything that I said was ejectable but after probably,” Chisholm said after the game. “I’m a competitor, so when I go out there and I feel like I’m right and you’re saying something to me that I think doesn’t make sense, I’m going to get fired up and be upset.

“I lost my emotions. I lost my cool. I got to be better than that. … I’m definitely mad at myself for losing my cool.”

Michael Hill, the league’s senior vice president for on-field operations, said Friday’s discipline was for Chisholm’s “conduct, including his violation of Major League Baseball’s Social Media Policy for Major League Players.”

MLB regulations ban the use of electronic devices during games. The social media policy prohibits “displaying or transmitting content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a major league umpire.”

Chisholm did appeal the decision, allowing him to play in Friday night’s 1-0 win against the Rays. He started at second base and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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First-time father-to-be Ohtani away from Dodgers

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First-time father-to-be Ohtani away from Dodgers

ARLINGTON, Texas — Shohei Ohtani is away from the Los Angeles Dodgers for the birth of the two-way superstar’s first child.

Manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ series opener Friday night against the Rangers that Ohtani was with his wife and going on MLB’s paternity list.

“He and Mamiko are expecting at some point. That’s all I know,” Roberts said. “I don’t know when he’s going to come back and I don’t know when they’re going to have the baby, but obviously they’re together in anticipation.”

The 30-year-old Ohtani posted on his Instagram account in late December that he and his 28-year-old wife, a former professional basketball player from his native Japan, were expecting a baby in 2025.

“Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!” said the Dec. 28 post that included a photo showing the couple’s beloved dog, Decoy, as well as a pink ruffled onesie along with baby shoes and a sonogram that was covered by a baby emoji.

Ohtani can miss up to three games while on paternity leave. The Dodgers have a three-game series in Texas before an off day Monday, then play the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday.

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