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CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox placed All-Star outfielder Luis Robert Jr. on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, ending his career-best season.

Robert left Sunday’s 3-2 win at Boston in the second inning. The slugger has a mild MCL sprain in his left knee, and the team said rest should be enough for him to recover in two to four weeks.

“The prognosis came back really good that even if it was April, it would be a couple of weeks,” manager Pedro Grifol said. “He’ll have all of his offseason to prepare the way he needs to prepare for 2024.”

The White Sox also brought up veteran outfielder Tyler Naquin from Triple-A Charlotte. Right-hander Jimmy Lambert was placed on the 60-day injured list before the team’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The 26-year-old Robert set career highs with 38 homers, 80 RBI, 90 runs, 36 doubles and 20 steals in 145 games this year. He hit .264 with an .857 OPS in his fourth major league season.

“I’m proud of playing as many games as I did,” Robert said through a translator. “I’ve said to you guys that if I’m ever to play every day, I know I’m able to do good things on the field. That’s why to me it’s the biggest accomplishment for me this year.”

While Robert had a terrific season, the White Sox flopped. They had a 60-96 record going into their matchup with the Diamondbacks.

“It’s definitely difficult because you try to do your best to help the team. But sometimes that isn’t enough,” Robert said. “You as an individual, you have to realize that you have to go out and do your best no matter what.”

The 32-year-old Naquin was acquired in an Aug. 7 trade with Milwaukee for cash. He is a .264 hitter with 61 homers and 237 RBI in 557 big league games.

Lambert was placed on the 15-day IL on Sept. 4. He had arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle last week.

Right-hander Michael Kopech also is on the mend after he had surgery on Friday to remove a cyst from his right knee. Kopech is expected to recover in six to eight weeks.

The 27-year-old Kopech went 5-12 with a 5.43 ERA in 30 games this season, including 27 starts.

“Obviously in speaking with him, and I know he would say this right now, he wanted better results but there were plenty of positive takeaways in that,” general manager Chris Getz said. “Now we get his knee healthy, have a normal offseason and build toward being a starter for next season.”

Getz was promoted to GM after executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn were fired on Aug. 22. The new front office began to take shape when the team hired Josh Barfield (assistant GM), Brian Bannister (senior advisor to pitching) and Gene Watson (director of player personnel) last week.

Getz said he has been taking a closer look at certain areas within the organization, including the major league day-to-day operations.

“For me, it’s coming in here and (figuring out) foundationally where are we with different departments so we can avoid these extreme swings,” he said. “That’s been the focus and will remain (the focus). As we move through October and November, we’ll start focusing more on what we need to do to put the best team forward for next year and years further.”

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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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