Connecticut opened the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run, started by Tiffany Mitchell’s steal and fast-break layup. Thomas also had a steal and transition basket to make it 68-55.

Sky guard Diamond DeShields made a 3-pointer with 28.2 seconds left to pull within 79-75. But DeWanna Bonner sealed it with two free throws at the other end.

Bonner finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Tyasha Harris had 13 points and seven assists for Connecticut (11-1). Thomas also had six of the Sun’s 13 steals.

Rookie Angel Reese had a season-high 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth straight game with a double-double for the Sky (4-7). Reese was 8 of 10 from the field to set another season high for makes. Kamilla Cardoso, Chennedy Carter and Marina Mabrey each scored 10 for the Sky.

The Sun started 1 of 10 from 3-point range until their second make came with 3:33 remaining in the third quarter. Bonner was 0 of 7 from distance and Connecticut finished 3 of 14.

It’s a movie Prater is quite familiar with, which is why he and his caddie staked out a spot at the far right end of the practice range — just in case things went completely awry.

“It was funny we were joking before we got out here, like, we’re not going to the left side of the range just because we didn’t want that dreaded S-word to kick in,” Prater said with a laugh, referring to Costner’s character who developed a case of the shanks before his round. “We didn’t want that moment of, ‘turn your hat around, put your things in the other pocket.’”

You can’t blame Prater for being a little nervous.

After all, his full-time job is as a biology teacher and golf coach at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colo. He got a spot at Pinehurst by finishing second at a 36-hole qualifier in Bend, Ore. He’s one of 73 qualifiers to emerge from 9,522 entrants.

The 29-year-old teacher is considered one of the top amateur players in Colorado, but he never has been to a U.S. Open let alone played in one.

So the experience, he said, has been surreal.

He played a practice round Monday with Sahith Theegala and Will Zalatoris. On Tuesday he was paired with defending U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark. And on Wednesday, he played nine holes with 2015 champion Jordan Spieth and Sam Burns.

After he walked off the practice green Wednesday, he introduced himself to Rory McIlroy — and came away with the best advice he has received all week.

“Rory said, ‘Listen, this golf course is amazing, but you have to be patient and hit the middle of the green,’ ” Prater said. “It really resonated with me because at the end of the day, it’s all just golf. If I can execute the shots that I’ve hit more than a thousand times, I can do this.”

Prater has plenty of experience, although not at this level.

He was a former Division II first-team All-American at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and, in 2020, won both the Colorado Golf Association’s Amateur and Match Play. He played last month at the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship.

He’s played Pinehurst once before at the 2019 U.S. Amateur, although he failed to advance to match play.

There was a time he considered pursuing a career as a professional player, but his love of teaching kids and the idea of being a husband and father took precedence. He and his wife, Madi, are set to welcome their second child next month.

He considers golf a hobby.

“I have an awesome life,” Prater said. “I love being a teacher; I love being a coach. I love to see that lightbulb moment in a kids’ eyes when biology starts to make sense, and they fall in love with it. And I love to see a beginner golfer pick up the game and fall in love with and want to work to get better. But most of all, I love being a father.”

So he has no immediate plans to try to join the PGA Tour even if things go extraordinarily well at Pinehurst.

In his mind, this week as already been a “win,” getting to play three practice rounds at one of the world’s most famous courses while walking around inside the ropes with the best players in the world.

Entering Thursday’s opening round he has one goal: He wants to make the cut.

“I would love to play golf for four days,” Prater said. “I think that’s attainable, I think that’s achievable. If I can take care of business and don’t let the moment get too big for me, if I don’t look at the grandstand and get freaked out by it all.”

Or get the shanks.

Bellinger squandered runners on first and third base in the fifth inning Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, striking out on four pitches to end the frame with the Chicago Cubs trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by one run. So when he stepped to the plate in the seventh, again with two outs and two on base, Bellinger was determined to take advantage of the moment.

Bellinger got all of lefty Garrett Cleavinger’s 1-2 cutter down in the zone, turning on it for a go-ahead, three-run home run to right field. Tyson Miller and Drew Smyly combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings and Héctor Neris bounced back from surrendering a walk-off home run the night before to secure the 4-3 victory.

“Three-run homers change games, and that swing certainly changed the game,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It was a big swing at a time we needed that held up.”

The Cubs have been stung during this rough offensive stretch with hard-hit balls finding leather or dying at the warning track. Seiya Suzuki was finally on the right side of luck, tying the game in the fourth on his home run to center field. Right-hander Javier Assad allowed two runs and five hits in 4 2/3 innings.

“It definitely felt amazing,” Bellinger said of his home run. “I was just frustrated with my previous at-bat and got another opportunity … really just kind of just locked in and tried to get the job done.

“Definitely relieves the pressure. We’ve hit a lot of balls hard right at people and it’s kind of how it goes when things aren’t going your way and to have a big one right there go over the fence feels really good.”

Neris had an adventurous ninth inning en route to his 10th save. He gave up a one-out solo home run and had runners on second and third when Brandon Lowe, the Rays’ walk-off hero Tuesday, was up with two outs. This time Neris bested Lowe, forcing him to fly out to end the game.

Wednesday’s victory represented their 27th one-run game (13-14) on a night the Cubs’ batting order featured a noticeably different look at the top.

Third baseman Christopher Morel hit leadoff for the first time this season with Michael Busch slotting into the No. 2 spot, the highest he’s batted this year. Counsell lined up Bellinger and Suzuki in the Nos. 3 and 4 positions in the order while Ian Happ batted fifth.

It appeared to work for the night as the Cubs (33-35) defeated the Rays.

The revamped batting order quickly put pressure on Rays starter Aaron Civale, loading the bases in the first inning behind Busch’s one-out single, Suzuki’s two-out single and Ian Happ’s four-pitch walk. Their struggles with runners in scoring position remained as Nico Hoerner grounded out to end the inning.

“Really just seeing how all that rolls,” Counsell said of the lineup changes. “(Morel’s) been as good as anyone and for us, the ball-strike and getting on base and creating walks and making good swing decisions. It’s been a step forward, I think we’ve all seen that. It just puts that threat right at the start of the lineup and at the start of the game of a guy that can hurt you and then also get on base.”

Suzuki hit a solo home run in the fourth inning off Civale to tie the game at 1. He went 2-for-4 while Busch went 2-for-3 in the new order.

“Look, we’re playing the same guys, everybody’s going to hit four times, but yeah it’s a little bit guys are walking up (to the plate) at different times,” Counsell said. “You’re trying to put guys in spots to succeed that makes sense and maybe gives some guys a different look.

“We try to make decisions that have reasons behind them, a process behind them. Sometimes they don’t work, and I don’t have an explanation. But really it’s because it’s competition, the other side is trying to beat you and that’s part of it.”

Hoerner was back in the starting lineup for the first time since last Thursday when he sustained a fracture in his right hand. The Cubs will continue to monitor his hand as the days progress. Counsell expects to get feedback Thursday on how Hoerner feels after swinging a bat in game action Wednesday for the first time since the injury occurred. Doctors previously told Hoerner and the team that he is not expected to worsen the fracture by playing, but he might have to manage pain.

“I don’t know what to expect really,” Counsell said. “It could be nothing, could be something. We’re going to have to see what’s going on.

“He does dive a lot, we see that so he hasn’t had any problems doing that. Sometimes you can feel that stuff just in everyday life, getting out of bed or whatever, really there’s been nothing he’s mentioned.”

Hamas this week accepted the broad outline but requested “amendments.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly disputed aspects of the plan, raising questions about Israel’s commitment to what the U.S. says is an Israeli proposal.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on his eighth visit to the region since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the war, told reporters in Qatar on Wednesday that the negotiations will continue.

But he said Hamas had requested “numerous” changes, adding that “ some of the changes are workable; some are not.”

Blinken declined to elaborate, but recent statements by Israeli and Hamas officials suggest they remain divided over many of the same issues that mediators have been trying to bridge for months.

Here’s a look at the main sticking points.

Ending the war

Hamas has insisted it will not release the remaining hostages unless there’s a permanent cease-fire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. When President Joe Biden announced the latest proposal last month, he said it included both.

But Netanyahu says Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities, and ensuring it can never again carry out an Oct. 7-style assault. A full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, where Hamas’ top leadership and much of its forces are still intact, would almost certainly leave the group in control of the territory and able to rearm.

That’s in part because Israel has yet to put forward a plan for Gaza’s postwar governance, and has rejected a U.S. proposal that has wide regional support because it would require major progress toward creating a Palestinian state.

Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha told a Lebanese news outlet on Wednesday that the “amendments” requested by the group aim to guarantee a permanent cease-fire and a complete Israeli withdrawal.

Hamas is also seeking the release of hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including political leaders and senior militants convicted of orchestrating deadly attacks on Israeli civilians. But it’s unclear if the sides have agreed on a list of who will be freed, or on whether they will be released in Gaza, the occupied West Bank or sent into exile.

Getting to the second phase of the plan

The cease-fire plan calls for an initial six-week phase in which Hamas would release some hostages — including women, older adults and wounded people — in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from populated areas. Palestinian civilians would be able to return to their homes and humanitarian aid would be ramped up.

But then things get tricky.

The two sides are supposed to use that six-week period to negotiate an agreement on the second phase, which Biden said would include the release of all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers, and Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza. The temporary cease-fire would become permanent.

But only if the two sides agree on the details.

Hamas appears concerned that Israel will resume the war once its most vulnerable hostages are returned. And even if it doesn’t, Israel could make demands in that stage of negotiations that were not part of the initial deal and are unacceptable to Hamas — and then resume the war when Hamas refuses them.

Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, said Israel would demand in those negotiations that Hamas be removed from power. “We cannot agree to Hamas continuing to be the rulers of Gaza because then Gaza will continue to pose a threat to Israel,” Erdan told CNN’s “The Source” on Monday.

Israel also appears wary of the plan’s provision that the initial cease-fire be extended as long as negotiations continue over the second phase. Erdan said that would allow Hamas to “continue with endless and meaningless negotiations.”

Resolving mistrust between longtime enemies

There are other issues that could unravel cease-fire efforts, beginning with the utter lack of trust between Israel and Hamas, which have fought five wars and are committed to each other’s destruction.

Then there are the intense and contrasting pressures on Netanyahu, which may explain his mixed signals about the proposal.

Thousands of Israelis, including families of the hostages, have protested in recent months to demand the government bring the captives home, even at the expense of a lopsided deal with Hamas.

But the far-right partners in Netanyahu’s increasingly narrow coalition have rejected the U.S.-backed plan and have threatened to bring down his government if he ends the war without destroying Hamas.

They want to reoccupy Gaza, encourage the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from the territory and rebuild Jewish settlements there. Netanyahu’s ultranationalist allies have more leverage over him than at any time since the start of the war after Benny Gantz, a centrist political opponent, resigned Sunday from Israel’s war Cabinet.

It’s hard to imagine either Israel or Hamas entirely giving up on the talks. For Israel, that would likely mean abandoning scores of hostages still held in Gaza. For Hamas, it would prolong the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and give Israel more time to annihilate the militants.

But Blinken hinted that the negotiations would not continue indefinitely.

“At some point in a negotiation, and this has gone back and forth for a long time, you get to a point where if one side continues to change its demands, including making demands and insisting on changes for things that it already accepted, you have to question whether they’re proceeding in good faith or not.”

Negotiators for the group have also reached an agreement on how to provide Ukraine with up to $50 billion backed by frozen Russian assets.

The international group of wealthy democracies has been discussing ways of using the more than $260 billion in frozen Russian assets, most of which are outside the country, to help Ukraine fight Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

European officials have resisted confiscating the assets, citing legal and financial stability concerns, but the plan would use the interest earned on the assets to help Ukraine’s war effort. An official with the French presidency confirmed the agreement Wednesday, saying most of the money would be flowing to Ukraine in the form of a loan from the U.S. government backed by the proceeds of the frozen Russian assets in the European Union. Two other people familiar with the matter confirmed the arrangement.

Final technical negotiations were underway ahead of the summit to finalize the legal terms of the deal.

The announcement of the agreement comes as Biden landed in Italy with an urgency to get big things done. Thursday’s security arrangement was aimed to send a signal to Russia of American resolve in supporting Kyiv, the White House said.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the security agreement would not commit U.S. troops directly to Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion — a red line drawn by Biden, who’s fearful of being pulled into direct conflict between the nuclear-armed powers.

“We want to demonstrate that the U.S. supports the people of Ukraine, that we stand with them and that we’ll continue to help address their security needs,” Sullivan said, adding “this agreement will show our resolve.”

Sullivan said aboard Air Force One that the goal of the financing plan was to have a loan that would “pull forward the windfall profits from the seized assets” of Russia, giving Ukraine a “substantial source of funding” to meet its immediate needs.

The national security adviser said he had a specific sum of money in mind, but declined to say if that figure was $50 billion. He stressed the urgency of getting Ukraine financial resources as soon as possible and that multiple countries would back the agreement.

“It’s to provide the necessary resources to Ukraine now for its economic energy and other needs, so that it’s capable of having the resilience necessary to withstand Russia’s continuing aggression,” Sullivan said.

This year’s meeting comes three years after Biden declared at his first such gathering that America was back as a global leader following the disruptions to Western alliances that occurred when Donald Trump was president. Now, there’s a chance this gathering could be the final summit for Biden and other G7 leaders, depending on the results of elections this year.

Biden and his counterparts from Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan will use the summit to discuss challenges related to artificial intelligence, migration, the Russian military’s resurgence and China’s economic might, among other topics. Pope Francis, Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are joining the gathering at the Borgo Egnazia resort in the Puglia region of southern Italy.

The summit, which opened Thursday, will play out after far-right parties across the continent racked up gains of surprising scale in just-concluded European Union elections. Those victories — coupled with upcoming elections in the United Kingdom, Franceand the United States — have rattled the global political establishment and added weightiness to this year’s summit.

“You hear this a lot when you talk to U.S. and European officials: If we can’t get this done now, whether it’s on China, whether it’s on the assets, we may not have another chance,” said Josh Lipsky, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center, an international affairs think tank. “We don’t know what the world will look like three months, six months, nine months from now.”

The G7 is an informal bloc of industrialized democracies that meets annually to discuss shared issues and concerns. This is Biden’s second trip outside the U.S. in as many weeks; the Democratic president was in France last week for a state visit in Paris and ceremonies in Normandy marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in World War II.

While last week’s visit had a celebratory feel, this one will be dominated by pressing global issues, including how to keep financial support flowing to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion. Biden’s trip comes days after his son Hunter was convicted on federal gun charges, a blow sure to weigh heavily on the president’s mind.

Despite pressing global challenges, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said there’s still a sense of relief among world leaders in 2024 that “America was back,”referencing Biden’s 2021 speech at the G7 in England.

“Biden’s message then was that democracies need to step up and show they can deliver for their people,” Kirby said. “That’s true now more than ever.”

Kirby said the U.S. was prepared to work with democratically elected officials in the EU no matter who they are, though some of those being elevated have expressed far less support for Ukraine than current leaders.

“We have every confidence that regardless of who fills the seats in the European Parliament, we’re going to continue to work closely with our EU partners on all the issues relative to our shared interests across the European continent,” Kirby said. “That includes supporting Ukraine.”

Biden and Zelenskyy, who met last week in Paris, are expected to hold a joint news conference while meeting at the G7 summit. Biden is also expected to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the pope and other leaders.

Biden, who’s been adamant “we will not walk away” from Ukraine, last week publicly apologized to Zelenskyy for a monthslong delay by Congress in authorizing additional American military assistance. The delay allowed Russia to make gains on the battlefield.

Sullivan called the security agreement a “bridge” to when Ukraine is invited to join the NATO alliance — a long-term priority of Zelenskyy’s that the allies have said will first require an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and that Putin has steadfastly opposed.

Biden’s back-to-back trips to France and Italy amount to a rare doubleheader of diplomacy in the midst of the presidential election. The president, however, will skip a Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland this weekend to jet to Los Angeles for a campaign fundraiser with big names from Hollywood. Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the U.S. at the conference.

Despite the delays in military aid, the Biden administration on Tuesday announced it would send Ukraine another Patriot missile system to help fend off Russian strikes, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. also announced fresh sanctionstargeting Chinese companies that help Russia pursue its war in Ukraine, as well as Russia’s financial infrastructure. Sullivan said, “These actions will ratchet up the risk that foreign financial institutions take by dealing with Russia’s war economy.”

Biden is also expected to discuss economic concerns brought on by Chinese manufacturing overcapacity, how to use artificial intelligence in a way that maximizes benefits but still manages national security risks, and global migration.

The U.S. and other G7 nations are struggling to manage large influxes of migrants arriving for complicated reasons that include war, climate change and drought. Migration, and how nations cope with the growing numbers at their borders, has been a factor driving the far-right rise in some of Europe.

Superville reported from Bari, Italy. Miller and Madhani reported from Washington. Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Fatima Hussein and Josh Boak in Washington contributed.

The imbroglio happened May 7 at the Loop courthouse during a hearing in front of Judge Kathy Flanagan, acting presiding judge of the Law Division. During the proceeding, Flanagan ordered deputies to remove attorney Brad Schneiderman from the courtroom after asking him to “stop talking” and “step back,” according to a report from the Cook County sheriff’s office.

Schneiderman walked toward the gallery, then began “turning back toward the bench” and addressed the judge again, the report said. Flanagan said “That’s it, take him!” according to the report.

A deputy took Schneiderman to a hallway and handcuffed him to a chair, the report said. He was released after Flanagan took a break from the bench and declined to sign an order that would remand him into custody, according to the report.

Reached by phone, Schneiderman declined to comment.

In a statement, Flanagan said: “At this time, I will say only that I am shocked at how the facts have been distorted into a now-public narrative that has veered so far from what actually occurred. I have cooperated fully with the Executive Committee and will cooperate fully with the Judicial Inquiry Board on this matter.”

The event spawned two hearings before an executive committee headed by Chief Judge Timothy Evans with Schneiderman, Flanagan, witnesses and attorneys detailing differing views of what happened, according to transcripts obtained by the Tribune. No official transcript of the May 7 hearing in its entirety exists because Cook County court reporters for years have not covered the Law Division, which handles civil cases.

The executive committee referred the matter to the Judicial Inquiry Board, which investigates complaints about judges, but declined to reassign Flanagan, deferring “a decision on assignment to other duties until further information is received from the Judicial Inquiry Board,” the office said in a statement.

During a May 14 executive committee hearing, Schneiderman told Evans he tried to be heard after he said Flanagan ruled on a motion without allowing him to respond, a statement which Flanagan disputed later in the proceedings.

“I should say that prior to me being taken back in the hallway, at no time was I trying to be disrespectful to the court,” Schneiderman said according to the transcript. “I was merely trying to advocate on behalf of my client on a contested motion.”

For her part, Flanagan told the committee at a later hearing that Schneiderman “became disruptive over a ruling on a motion” but that she did not order Schneiderman to be handcuffed, but merely wanted him removed from the courtroom because he needed a “time out.”

“That’s all he needed. That’s all I intended. I never imagined that he would be handcuffed to a chair behind the courtroom, and I wasn’t present when he did it — when he was handcuffed,” she said.

Schneiderman disputed that he was disruptive or disrespectful, with his attorney submitting affidavits from observers, according to references to the affidavits in the transcript. Flanagan’s attorneys brought to the hearing multiple courtroom observers as witnesses who told Evans they viewed Schneiderman’s conduct as disruptive.

The deputy who handcuffed him told the committee during a second June 3 hearing that she interpreted Flanagan’s words of “That’s it. Take him,” as meaning take him into custody.

Officers set up surveillance about 8:05 p.m. Tuesday on a car being driven by Devon Redmond, 25, of the 1800 block of Somerset Drive in Glendale Heights, who was wanted on several outstanding no-bond arrest warrants from DeKalb County, according to a release issued by the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Naperville Police Department.

When officers saw Redmond exit a house in Naperville, open the back door of his 2014 Nissan Altima to place a handbag below the driver’s seat and then get into the car to drive away, they pinned in his vehicle with their car, the report said. Redmond took off on foot but was caught.

A seach of his car turned up fully loaded Glock 23 with an extended magazine and one bullet in the chamber inside the handbag, the release said. The weapon had been modified with a switch capable of making the firearm fully automatic. Numerous pills believed to be the prescribed drug Xanax also were recovered, according to officials.

Redmond is currently on parole for convictions on aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated fleeing and eluding a police officer, the release said.

In the Tuesday arrest, he was charged with one count each of possession of a loaded machine gun and armed violence, both class X felonies, as well as one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a class 2 felony, and one count of possession of a controlled substance, a class 4 felony.

DuPage County Judge Joshua Dieden granted a motion made by state’s attorney’s office that Redmond be held in jail pending the outcome of his case, the release said. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 8.

“Within one week, the Naperville Police Department’s exceptional efforts have resulted in the removal of four dangerous firearms from those who are not legally allowed to possess them,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said. “What I find particularly disturbing in this case is the fact that the defendant, a convicted felon currently on parole with multiple active warrants out for his arrest, was allegedly in possession of a machine gun.”

On June 6, Naperville police arrested 19-year-old Tony Thompson, of Joliet, after officers stopped a car in which he was a passenger and found a Glock 17 9-mm firearm with a switch capable of making it fully automatic beneath his seat. He was charged with one count each of possession of a machine gun, possession of a firearm-no FOID and two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

In an unrelated case on the same day, Trensae Ware, 24, of Naperville, was arrested on charges of felony unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and felony reckless discharge of a firearm.

It’s alleged that Ware was driving when he shot a loaded .45-caliber firearm, which was recovered from below the front passenger’s seat, the report said. A spent casing and bullet were covered from the car and Ware tested positive for gun residue on his hands, officials said.

A second weapon, a 9-mm handgun, was found in the vehicle’s rear passenger compartment, the report said.

The Chicago White Sox left fielder said missing time because of his recent stint on the injured list was “terrible.”

“I was bored just watching the games and wanting to be out there,” Benintendi said Wednesday. “Excited to be back right now.”

The Sox reinstated Benintendi from the 10-day injured list, one of four roster moves announced Wednesday.

Benintendi went on the IL on June 2 with left Achilles tendinitis.  He is hitting .195 with five doubles, four home runs and 18 RBIs in 51 games. Benintendi returns after appearing in two rehab games with the Arizona Complex League White Sox.

“It just needs a lot more time to be completely gone but I feel confident being in there now,” he said of the injury.

He was not in the starting lineup for Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

“He flew today, he played last night (for the ACL White Sox),” manager Pedro Grifol said. “We’re just going to let him go about his business here, get his work done and be ready to go tomorrow.”

The Sox also reinstated reliever Steven Wilson from the 15-day injured list. The right-hander went on the IL on May 20 with a back strain. He is 1-2 with a 2.84 ERA, six holds and 19 strikeouts in 21 relief outings. Wilson made two rehab appearances for Triple-A Charlotte before returning.

“I was kind of frustrated with it because I felt I was starting to get into a rhythm and feeling good on the mound,” Wilson said. “I had a couple good outings in New York (May 17 and 19) so that was frustrating. You never want to get on the IL.

“Thinking back, it happened when I kind of slipped on the mound in New York, that second outing the right side was kind of tight and when I worked out after that, my whole right side locked up when I was lifting. Kind of a bummer, freak thing but it is what it is.”

The Sox also optioned outfielder Duke Ellis to Charlotte and designated reliever Tim Hill for assignment.

Hill is 1-0 with a 5.87 ERA, one hold and 13 strikeouts in 22 relief appearances. He signed a one-year, $1.8 million deal with the Sox in the offseason.

“It was unfortunate that we had to make a decision like that,” Grifol said. “We like what (reliever Justin) Anderson’s doing, we like what (reliever Jared) Shuster’s doing. So it’s not so much what he’s done, but it’s what he brought to us and also what these guys have been doing back there.

“We like Anderson. We like Shuster. These guys have done well up here and we can only keep eight back there (in the bullpen).”

Ellis went 0-for-4 with a run and four stolen bases in his first eight major-league games with the Sox.

“I saw a guy that can impact the game quickly with his legs,” Grifol said. “He’s going to continue to refine those skills and he’s going to be a big part of this when this is going really good.”

There, Ald. Daniel La Spata, 1st, raced over to Ald. David Moore, 17th, to ask Moore why he had blocked two seemingly uncontroversial proposals of La Spata’s aimed at adding housing in Logan Square.

The answer, Moore shouted in anger and frustration as he stood beside a sun-filled window, was retaliation.

“If you hit me, I’m gonna knock your ass out,” he grumbled as he got closer to La Spata. “If you can’t dish it, don’t give it out.”

TV cameras set up for a nearby interview panned over as the shouting grew louder. Another council member and security guards quickly stepped in to separate the aldermen, ending the tense interaction.

But the effects of the dispute will linger: Now, a $10 million bond to fund a low-income housing development and a much-needed zoning change clearing the way for a storage building to be turned into a 62-loft apartment are delayed for at least a month.

Moore used the “defer and publish” parliamentary maneuver when the items came up for consideration. Ald. Raymond Lopez, 15th, also backed it. The tactic prevents scheduled votes and is often used by aldermen to delay ordinances they oppose.

Nonetheless, La Spata sat in disbelief after the legislation was blocked. City Council colleagues typically do not touch the day-to-day development ordinances involving another alderman’s ward, a tradition known as “aldermanic prerogative.”

But Moore left no doubt about why he stalled La Spata’s proposals. He blocked them because La Spata had “deferred and published” an ordinance of Moore’s own, he said.

La Spata used the tactic in April to prevent a vote on an ordinance sponsored by Moore that sought to give City Council control over the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system’s future. After the delay, the ordinance finally passed with broad council support in May, despite opposition from Mayor Brandon Johnson.

“This was clearly payback,” Moore told the Tribune. “My thing is: Leave David Moore alone,”

“If you slap me, I’m going to hit you with a bat. If you hit me with a bat, I’m going to shoot you with a gun,” he continued.

Moore said he found La Spata’s complaints after the council meeting “mean-spirited” and took them as political threats. La Spata said he had invited Moore to view the housing developments, an invitation Moore has no plans to accept. Moore only meant to send a message, he explained.

“I don’t have a problem with his developments,” Moore said. “You don’t need to invite me anywhere.”

Moore had made public comments suggesting he would clap back against anyone who stalled the ShotSpotter ordinance as it worked through the City Council. His retaliatory stall tactics Wednesday are not his first.

In 2021, Moore sponsored the ordinance to rename Lake Shore Drive after Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. When the ordinance was similarly stalled, Moore responded by blocking the City Council’s entire agenda.

Moments after Moore yelled at him, La Spata called the retaliation “inappropriate.”

“I think we are called to be better than that, to be bigger than that,” he said. “I try to raise my daughter so that we use words rather than fists. That is what I expect of any adult.”

The two ordinances to build more housing are “critical,” he said. The old Hollander Storage & Moving building in Logan Square is being held up by metal plates now and urgently needs redevelopment to start, he said.

“If that facade were to crumble or be damaged in the next month, I know the individuals who I would hold responsible,” La Spata said. “There’s such a desperate need for affordable housing. There’s such a desperate need to move these two buildings forward.”

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com