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.”

Step 1: Put runners on base, which Tuesday night at Tropicana Field meant finishing with double-digit hits for the third consecutive game.

Step 2: Repeatedly struggle and fail to take advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position, a constant since the start of May with a .179 average in such situations. No other MLB team in that span is hitting below .200. Not even the 17-51 White Sox, who sit at .225.

Step 3: Squandered offensive chances leave the Cubs pitching staff with little margin for error. The Cubs’ 26 one-run games lead the majors, and they again found themselves clinging to a one-run advantage entering the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Step 4: A painful loss filled with what-ifs that leaves the Cubs (32-35) still trying to build momentum as mid-June approaches.

The Rays tagged closer Héctor Neris with four runs in the bottom of the ninth, handing the Cubs a 5-2 loss on Brandon Lowe’s walk-off, three-run home run.

“We had a bunch of singles today really and we had some balls hit well kind of to the wall and not enough,” manager Craig Counsell said. “But two runs, you’re not going to win most nights scoring two runs for sure so we’ve got to do more offensively.

“There’s some good signs, it’s a bunch of hits. Some balls well hit for outs, but two runs ain’t gonna cut it.”

Lowe got around on Neris’ full-count splitter with two outs to pull it over the right-field wall. It marked the first walk-off home run Neris has surrendered since April 23, 2021, at Colorado when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies.

“You want to do everything and it’s not your day,” Neris said. “I just want to be focused on getting my three outs. As soon as we got the tied game, leave the game like that. But it wasn’t the day today, focus on tomorrow.”

Christopher Morel’s home run in the fourth, his 13th of the season, put the Cubs ahead, and they added a run in the sixth on David Bote’s pinch-hit RBI single. The seventh was filled with near runs after Miguel Amaya opened the inning with a walk. Mike Tauchman barreled a 383-foot flyout that would have been a home run at Wrigley Field. Seiya Suzuki scorched a 106.6-mph lineout that had a .720 expected average. Cody Bellinger followed with a double, but Amaya wasn’t able to score from first. Morel struck out on three pitches to end the inning.

Right-hander Jameson Taillon tossed six shutout innings while limiting the Rays to four hits.

“I mean, it’s tough. We kind of did some of the same stuff last year,” Taillon said. “We’re in a lot of games and the close ones hurt even more, because you were right there, but that’s baseball. You just show up tomorrow and try to get them to start turning your way. Great group of guys, everyone works really hard.

“When push comes to shove with runners in scoring position — I know these guys are prepared. I know everyone’s putting themselves in the best position to succeed and that’s why I’m confident that this whole team is going to come together and start knocking out wins.”

For as many veteran hitters as the Cubs have in their lineup, the group must collectively be better and alleviate pressure on their pitchers. Signs have emerged over the last week of hitters individually becoming locked in, including Dansby Swanson and Seiya Suzuki, but big hits with runners in scoring position still elude the Cubs despite ample chances. The Cubs’ 365 plate appearances with RISP dating to May 1 are seventh-most in the majors in that span yet their 94 total runs put them 25th and their wRC+ is last.

“There’s no question, if we want to score more runs, we’re going to have to have offense in those spots,” Counsell said.

The Cubs can’t wait for external additions to help get them on track. If this is going to be a playoff team, they need their core group of hitters to start coming through more frequently in prime run-scoring moments. Counsell believes it will happen despite this challenging six-week stretch. The Cubs are fortunate only four teams are above .500 in the National League. But the rest of this season can’t play out like last year, otherwise a long, challenging summer will leave president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer facing more tough questions in October.

Brown landed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday because of a neck strain, a move that is retroactive to Sunday. The Chicago Cubs activated right-hander Colten Brewer from the IL as the corresponding move. Brown returned to Chicago for further testing on the left side of his neck. Manager Craig Counsell said Brown had been battling the issue for the last couple of weeks.

“We’ve got to figure out what’s going on,” said Counsell, who said there wasn’t one specific incident that caused Brown’s neck injury.

Brown, 24, has posted a 2.68 ERA in his 14 games (eight starts) since his rough MLB debut March 30. He wasn’t as efficient in his last two starts when he was tagged for five runs in five innings against the Reds on June 2 and allowed three runs on two home runs in his last outing Saturday in Cincinnati. The three home runs given up between his two most recent starts (nine innings) were more than he previously surrendered (two) in his first 13 games (46 1/3 innings).

Left-hander Jordan Wicks, who threw a bullpen Tuesday, would be the obvious choice to take Brown’s spot in the rotation. In his first career relief appearance Saturday, Wicks threw 52 pitches in 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run and three hits.

The Cubs, though, appear to have avoided losing their second baseman to the IL.

While Nico Hoerner wasn’t in the starting lineup again Tuesday, he went through an extensive hitting session pregame. If his fractured right hand does not swell Wednesday, Counsell is optimistic Hoerner will start that night.

Hoerner hasn’t been in the lineup since getting hit on his right hand during a check swing Thursday at Great American Ball Park. He was used as a pinch runner in the ninth inning Friday but otherwise hasn’t played since sustaining a small fracture in his hand. The Cubs could have put him on the IL Tuesday and taken advantage of the three-day window to make the move retroactive, which would sideline him for a minimum of seven more days.

But the Cubs are confident Hoerner could return Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays and be able to play without his hand hindering him. Doctors told them there was a very slim chance he could worsen his facture by playing. Counsell said before the game he felt comfortable using Hoerner off the bench Tuesday night if needed, which he did. Hoerner entered the game as a defensive replacement at second base to start the bottom of the seventh inning.

“He had significant swelling in there so trying to get rid of that, we’re three days in and the off day obviously helped with that,” Counsell said. “He didn’t do any hitting activities for three days.”

Even the swim coaches have trained themselves to be on high alert at the pool deck more than 450 feet away just in case the left-handed hitting Sasaki somehow sends one that far — and they believe he will do so soon enough.

His coach is counting on it.

“He might splash a few,” Stanford coach David Esquer said. “He’s pulling toward the pool for sure.”

Sasaki, who hit 140 high school home runs and then made waves by opting out of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league draft, has been immersing himself in classes and a new culture on Stanford’s Bay Area campus for two-plus months. He’s learning English in impressively speedy fashion and getting settled in a baseball routine that has included road trips with the team before he begins his collegiate career in earnest this fall.

The 19-year-old prospect will make his U.S. debut Tuesday in the MLB Draft League, playing for the Trenton Thunder of New Jersey along with others hoping to one day develop into major leaguers.

Before leaving town, the savvy Sasaki reminded Esquer his games will be streamed so the coach can watch. He has also requested help in finding another team once the Draft League season ends.

“He’s fired up for it,” said Esquer, the seventh-year Stanford coach who previously spent 18 seasons at rival California. “He wants to play.”

And Sasaki hardly seems fazed by the expectations that come with being a trendsetter of sorts given he is taking his own unique path. He comes across mature beyond his years when discussing the importance of finding something to fall back on after his baseball career is through. Most Japanese players — including Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani — first become professionals at home often with goals of coming to the United States already having years of experience.

Sasaki is determined to build a foundation for his life well into the future, long after his baseball days are done. His dad, Hiroshi, who coached Ohtani and Toronto pitcher Yusei Kikuchi in high school, instilled in him starting at a young age the need to “make a plan.” Sasaki notes he heard it so much, there’s no way it wouldn’t become ingrained in him.

Another key message from his father: “I have to earn it. Nothing comes free,” Sasaki shared during a recent interview at Sunken Diamond, Stanford’s ballpark.

There’s no precedent for an elite Japanese prospect such as Sasaki foregoing his country’s draft system. International players with nine years of professional service time can come to Major League Baseball as free agents, while pros with fewer than nine years can ask to be posted by their Japanese club — a system in which that team receives a fee depending on the size of the player’s contract.

Yet major league teams have agreed to strict spending limits on international players under 25 years old. That’s why Ohtani, who left Japan at 23, signed with the Los Angeles Angels for just more than $2.3 million in 2017.

By attending college in the U.S., Sasaki will be eligible for the draft in three years, expediting his potential path to the big leagues. Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, pitcher Paul Skenes of Pittsburgh, received a $9.2 million signing bonus.

While Sasaki is striving to play at the highest level one day, he insists for now the focus is on taking each necessary step to get there while enjoying his college career first.

Longtime family friend Junpei Tomonaga offers assistance as an interpreter when Sasaki needs it, but he is determined to do this on his own sooner than later.

Sasaki acknowledges that Ohtani’s stardom and success here along with that of Kikuchi greatly impacted him.

“They’re the ones who influenced my decision,” he said.

Away from home for the first time, Sasaki insists he is adjusting just fine thanks to all the support surrounding him.

“I never miss Japan,” he said. “I enjoy the challenge.”

And no question Sasaki is thrilled to be somewhere like Stanford.

Esquer considers this a perfect fit. He applauds Sasaki for his courage, saying, “it’s very brave to do what he’s doing, going to another country right after high school.”

When Sasaki made his official recruiting visit, members of the Stanford Japanese department and community made a point to come see him, make him feel welcome. Not that you will hear Sasaki say anything negative about the other two schools who were at the top of his list, California and Vanderbilt.

“Stanford is a leading school in America,” he said. “I still have big respect for the other schools I visited.”

He has embraced using Uber Eats to order food, like his favorite, Chipotle. Sasaki is studying English and physics — and making sure he can speak English well is his biggest anxiety at the moment.

He recently completed his first quarter of classes.

“He’s quietly charismatic despite speaking little English, very impressive,” Esquer said. “Everybody is impressed by him, his teammates. He brought energy to the field as if he was active and ready to play — and he can play.”

Despite that unease with the language barrier, Sasaki can speak near-perfect English for much of what he needs to say. He thanks everybody who has welcomed him here and made the adjustment so smooth and comfortable as he begins his new life.

“My teammates are so good, they are so kind,” he said in English, sporting a big smile. “I appreciate the teammates, they’re just so helpful all the time, also Coach Esquer and the other baseball coaches are good (people). I love Stanford baseball.”

All three young pitchers have bright futures as major-league starters, but with the Cubs rotation set in the first four slots, adjustments have been made for the good of the team.

Both Brown, 24, and Wesneski, 26, have started and pitched out of the bullpen in the first 2½ months of the season, while Wicks, 24, made his first relief appearance Saturday after rehabbing at Triple-A Iowa from a left forearm strain.

The Cubs on Tuesday were forced to change gears again when Brown was placed on the 15 day injured list with a left neck strain. Reliever Colten Brewer was activated from the IL to take his roster spot.

Brown had been filling the No. 5 spot in the rotation and has performed well with a 3.23 ERA in eight starts, averaging 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings with a 0.97 WHIP. His seven no-hit innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 28 was the most dominant performance this year by a Cubs pitcher and gave reason to believe he would get every opportunity to stick in the rotation the rest of the season.

Before his injury, Brown said he would do whatever Counsell feels is best and doesn’t have any problems adjusting on the fly.

“Whichever way I’m impacting the team best is OK,” he said. “I’m just grateful to be here. Just take it with an open hand and make sure I stay on top of my routines and my recovery. This is the first time I’ve (gone back and forth). It’s cool.”

Brown had a brutal major-league debut March 30 in Texas, allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings after entering in the seventh. Since then he has a 2.68 ERA in 14 appearances with 63 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings.

Obviously there’s a difference between knowing when you will pitch every week and sitting in a bullpen wondering if you’ll get in that day.

“It’s a little mental and a little physical,” Brown said. “There’s every aspect you have to check off when it comes to the mentality of pitching out of the bullpen and pitching as a starter. There are a lot of differences.

“I think it’s easier to bring a reliever’s mentality into the starting rotation than a starter’s mentality into the bullpen. It’s just a matter of acknowledging that (difference).”

Wesneski has a 2.20 ERA in three starts and a 3.32 ERA in 13 relief outings. Like Brown, he had no previous relief experience until last year with the Cubs, when he switched roles after beginning the season in the rotation and being demoted to Iowa.

Wesneski said the biggest challenge is variations in his workout schedule because he wants to do enough running and lifting on days he doesn’t get to pitch.

“Starting, it’s very scheduled,” he said. “These five days, I’m doing this, this, this and this. I always throw every day. I probably should start taking a day off or so, but the amount of stuff you do (working out) is the difference.”

Like Brown, Wesneski said the mental side of the switch is something he’s learning about on the job.

“You have to be able to calm your nerves and use them,” he said. “The first two innings I don’t need to be nervous. I should be enjoying the game, talking to the guys, feeling things out with the lineup, kind of feel how the game is going. And once the game starts ramping up, that’s when I should start paying attention to the routine and figure out, ‘OK, where am I going to pitch again?’ And be ready. Then you start getting a little nervous, and it happens.

“You have to be able to turn it on and shut it off. Starting, you only have one day of it, so you’re off, off, off, off, all the nerves are gone.”

Wesneski pitched on back-to-back days for the first time last week in the City Series against the White Sox, serving up a home run in both appearances. He has allowed four homers in his last seven outings. Heading into Tuesday’s game at Tampa Bay, he’ll have had five days of rest — basically the typical rest time of a starter.

Wicks threw six innings in his last start with the Cubs on April 23 against the Houston Astros before going on the injured list with the forearm strain. The Cubs could have kept him starting at Iowa until he was needed but opted to bring him back in the bullpen. Wicks allowed one run on three hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Cincinnati Reds, coming on in relief of Brown.

Counsell said Wicks is “obviously a big candidate” for a rotation spot when one is open. With Shota Imanaga, Justin Steele, Javier Assad, Jameson Taillon and Brown all throwing well, Wicks was being used out of the pen, but Brown’s injury could change that.

It was one year ago that the Cubs bullpen began to jell, helping the team climb out of a big hole and get back into contention. The Big Three of the surge were Mark Leiter Jr., Julian Merryweather and Adbert Alzolay, the high-leverage trio manager David Ross turned to over and over again with great success until early September, when the heavy workload appeared to catch up.

Counsell hasn’t been able to find the right combination, which is reflected in the numbers. The Cubs bullpen ranked 22nd entering Monday with a 4.33 ERA, and its 13 blown saves were tied for third-worst. It hasn’t been much better than the White Sox bullpen, which led the majors with 17 blown saves through Sunday.

Alzolay’s struggles in the first month forced Counsell to audible, with Héctor Neris taking over as closer. Neris has been scary but effective of late, while Leiter has been solid in a high-leverage role. But the Cubs have yet to locate a suitable replacement for Merryweather, who has been out since April 6 with a stress fracture in a rib.

Wicks and Wesneski will get chances, along with Tyson Miller, to fill the void while Cubs President Jed Hoyer continues to look for relief help before the trade deadline.

Winning while developing young pitchers is never easy, and when you’re trying to do it with a team that’s expected to contend, the degree of difficulty only increases.

The Cubs are in another swoon, with most of the same cast from 2023 and a new manager in Craig Counsell. A two-game mini-sweep of the White Sox did not provide the balm the Cubs hoped for, despite the entertainment value of the City Series.

The Sox, meanwhile, are in another free fall, with fans eagerly lampooning the team, the owner, the manager and the new announcer who dons blinders daily and pretends all is well. Even partner Steve Stone has often been rendered speechless.

As we head into the sweet spot of June, here’s what we know so far:

Wake-up call

The Cubs woke up Sunday in Cincinnati three games under .500 and tied for last place in the National League Central, 7½ games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. One year earlier, on June 9, 2023, they entered the day 10 games under .500 at 26-36 and 7½ games out of first.

Deja vu all over again?

Maybe. The 2023 Cubs went 50-28 over their next 78 games, aided by Cody Bellinger’s bat, moving into wild-card position before faltering down the stretch. Can another 2½-month summer run help the Cubs — who salvaged the finale of their four-game series in Cincinnati on Sunday — escape their blues?

“Definitely, I think so,” Bellinger recently told me. “A lot of the same guys and a few improvements on top of it. It’s been a little harder than we want it to be, but at the end of the day, there is so much baseball left. We’ve got to wake up, keep fighting and try to be the best version of ourselves every day.”

The operative words are “wake up.”

Channeling his inner Hawk

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Sox broadcaster John Schriffen did a solid for former Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson. Schriffen did his best Hawk impersonation Saturday on his call of Paul DeJong’s solo home run, bellowing: “Put it on the board, yeeeee-ess!”

Social media went wild, as it often does when Schriffen goes “Full Metal Schriff,” exaggerating a moment to compensate for the Sox remaining the worst team in baseball and the worst in franchise history. He has become a regular feature on the “Awful Announcing” blog and seems to enjoy his newfound notoriety.

Schriffen’s faux pas have been chronicled ad nauseam. During the Cubs-Sox game Tuesday he said: “And the Cubs retake the lead, their first lead of the game.”

Some Sox fans were upset Schriffen used Harrelson’s patented call. But Schriffen has Hawk’s stamp of approval, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, so repeating “Hawkisms” is probably kosher. Like Harrelson, calling attention to himself is part of Schriffen’s shtick.

Mercy.

Welcome to Wrigley

NBC Sports Chicago analyst Ozzie Guillén was charged $60 to park in the Wrigley Field lot Wednesday, even though he is a full-fledged member of the media. Someone from the station neglected to put him on the media pass list.

Guillén was happy to pay the fee out of his pocket but later said: “For that kind of money I should be parking in the bullpen.”

As Sox manager, Guillén famously complained there were “20,000 rats” running around under the Wrigley bleachers. Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney, then the team chairman, politely listened to Guillén’s rant before a game in 2008 and replied: “But Ozzie, the rats are part of the Wrigley Field ambience.”

Kenney insists every revenue stream goes right back into the ballclub, so the Cubs can thank Guillén for helping to pay the players’ salaries.

MLB partners with White House

MLB is stepping up as part of the White House’s “Challenge to Save Lives from Overdose,” an initiative to increase access to overdose reversal medications.

MLB announced that naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication, will now be stored in multiple locations such as clubhouses, weight rooms, dugouts and umpires dressing rooms. All certified athletic trainers also will travel with naloxone on the road.

Players have been subject to testing for pain pills and other drugs of abuse since 2020 after the 2019 death of Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who died after ingesting fentanyl.

Wham! Pham! Thank you, ma’am!

Before Saturday’s Boston Red Sox-White Sox game, MLB Network was on in the visitors clubhouse with a segment listing five players you wouldn’t want to get into a fight with. One was White Sox outfielder Tommy Pham, who was shown shadow boxing after his incident last week with Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras. (Another classic Schriffren call, by the way).

Pham said afterward he works on his fighting in the offseason because “I’m prepared to f— somebody up.” Pham injured himself on the slide into Contreras and went on the IL two days later. The MLB Network list also included former Cubs pitcher Kyle Farnsworth, who slammed the Reds’ Paul Wilson to the field in an epic fight in 2003.

But the list somehow left off the late White Sox infielder Tony Phillips, who didn’t just talk tough. Phillips actually took himself out of a game in 1996 at County Stadium to confront a heckling Brewers fan in the bleachers and then knocked him out. Phillips was arrested, but charges were dropped and he received only a $5,000 fine from MLB and no suspension.

In a fight between Pham and Phillips, I’d bet on Phillips.

Epic fail

Kudos to former White Sox closer Liam Hendriks for pointing out the obvious in the downfall of the team in 2022 and ’23. Hendriks, currently with the Red Sox and rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, said the players “failed the city. We failed the front office. We failed everyone around that fan base. And it’s a tough pill to swallow.”

That’s true, of course, but it should be added that the owner and front office failed the team, the city and the fan base with decisions that greased the skids for the downfall. Yet we’re still waiting for an admission of guilt from Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, former executives Ken Willams and Rick Hahn or former manager-turned-adviser Tony La Russa.

Don’t hold your breath, Sox fans.

Although they again didn’t fully capitalize on their opportunities Sunday at Great American Ball Park, left fielder Ian Happ’s three-run double in the first inning off Cincinnati Reds starter Frankie Montas gave the Cubs an early cushion as they held on for a 4-2 victory.

The Cubs (32-34) finished 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base, but they got the win they desperately needed to avoid a four-game sweep.

Miscues in seemingly small moments have turned into game-affecting sequences that hurt the Cubs during their slide, including this series. Happ, though, delivered a well-executed throw to second base with the Reds threatening in the seventh with two on and nobody out to derail a potential big inning.

Santiago Espinal’s RBI single cut the Cubs lead to two, and he tried to stretch out a double that would have put runners on second and third. Instead, Happ’s outfield assist to David Bote notched the first out, and the next two Reds struck out to end the inning.

“At that point you’re fighting 27 outs,” Happ said, “so when you can get one there, kill the momentum a little bit, puts us in a spot where we have a guy coming out of the bullpen that can strike somebody out, that can have the ability to get out of that without allowing another run, it’s huge. Two-run lead versus one-run lead is a big deal.”

The Cubs are off Monday before beginning a three-game road series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s game.

1. Shota Imanaga returned to form.

The Cubs fully expected Imanaga to be challenged at some point after an electric beginning to his big-league career.

Coming off two rough outings versus the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago White Sox in which Imanaga surrendered 12 runs (eight earned) in 8 2/3 innings, he regained his form Sunday. Imanaga held the Reds to two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings while walking one and striking out seven on 94 pitches.

“Obviously it feels good to win. The most important thing is the team winning,” Imanaga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “And then I would say the second thing would be the game that I pitched helped the team win. I was able to do that today, so it feels good.”

Imanaga has issued only 11 walks this season, the fewest by a Cubs pitcher in his first 12 career starts since 1901. Meanwhile, the lefty’s 72 strikeouts trail only Kerry Wood (107 in 1998) and Mark Prior (86 in 2002) for the most by a Cubs starter through 12 career starts since 1901.

The limited walks has been particularly encouraging for Imanaga, even on days he doesn’t have his best stuff, such as his previous two outings. He does well to avoid self-inflicted trouble, allowing one walk or fewer in 10 of his 12 starts.

“(The Reds) were very aggressive early on the fastball, and then as he went through, he sprinkled in some off-speed first pitch,” manager Craig Counsell said. “And once he got ahead of hitters he was really, really good.”

2. Dansby Swanson is heating up.

The Cubs need multiple hitters to get rolling offensively, and with Happ getting locked in over the last 2½ weeks, Swanson appears to be among the hitters in the process of heating up.

In the last three games of the series, Swanson went 6-for-12 with three doubles, one home run and two RBIs. That’s the most hits the shortstop has tallied over a three-game stretch since September.

All while swapping his typical high-socks look for low pants the last three days.

“Just trying to switch things up a little bit, see if we can get some different mojo going,” Swanson said this weekend. “Definitely been putting in the work and so it’s nice to be able to see some rewards.”

With second baseman Nico Hoerner’s availability this week uncertain as the Cubs weigh a stint on the injured list due to a fracture in his right hand and with inconsistent offensive production elsewhere in the lineup, Swanson stepping up and providing power in the process could provide a boost for a still-searching offense.

3. The Mark Leiter Jr.-Héctor Neris combo continues to provide stability.

The Cubs entered the season feeling comfortable with their mix of relief options for high-leverage, late-inning spots.

Injuries to Adbert Alzolay and Julian Merryweather have forced Counsell to get creative at times in the eighth and ninth innings. But the presence of right-handers Mark Leiter Jr. and Héctor Neris gives the Cubs at least two reliable options, and so far both have thrived.

Leiter entered in the seventh to replace Imanaga and struck out Jake Fraley to strand a runner at third. He followed that with a scoreless eighth, and Neris followed with a perfect ninth to lock down the win.

“By nature, their jobs, they pitch in close games a lot, but we’ve probably given them less room for air than most and that’s hard pitching like that,” Counsell said. “But they’ve done a good job and both have stepped up and got big outs in big moments in both situations.

“It’s never too big for either of them. They’re always in the moment very well. I think it showed up today.”

Leiter has nine holds and has struck out 31.5% of the batters he has faced, while Neris is 9-for-11 in save opportunities.

“Everyone here, we have confidence when we come to the mound — we expect to win,” Neris said. “Everybody here is prepared to win. … Today we came in hungry.”

The event included a doubleheader with a WAAC softball game at 6 p.m. between teams from Fort Sheridan and Camp Grant near Rockford, followed by an all-star baseball game at 8:30 with players from the four original All-American Girls Professional Baseball League teams (the Racine Belles, Kenosha Comets, South Bend Blue Sox and Rockford Peaches).

To help light the field for the later game, three banks of temporary lights were installed on poles situated behind home plate, first base and third base.

Yes, in the first night game held at the North Side ballpark, it was women who took the field. They would play a second night game there the following year.

More than 80 years later, two professional women’s teams made history again.

Neither rain nor wind nor rapidly dropping temperatures could keep fans away from Wrigley Field on Saturday evening to see the Chicago Red Stars play Bay FC in a National Women’s Soccer League game. The 35,038 fans in attendance broke the league record of 34,130 set last October at Seattle’s Lumen Field for Megan Rapinoe’s final regular-season match.

Gallagher Way, the enclosed grassy area outside of Wrigley, was a festive scene. Families moved about excitedly while a DJ played tunes.

As I looked around, every other person was wearing a shirt or hoodie that read, “Everyone watches women’s sports” — a mantra and a call to action. The momentum of women’s sports is growing across leagues as college and professional sports see tremendous growth in viewership, attendance and interest.

Cheryl and Clair Rollman-Tinajero, along with their kid Rowan, traveled from Austin, Texas, to be part of the moment.

Photos: Chicago Red Stars set NWSL attendance record at Wrigley Field

The Rollman-Tinajeros’ love of women’s sports has taken them to San Jose, Calif., for Bay FC’s home opener, to Kansas City, Mo., for the opening of the KC Current’s CPKC Stadium and to Dublin to watch the Irish women’s national team play Sweden.

“Anytime we can be part of making history for women’s sports, we’re excited,” Cheryl said. “We’re excited every day that we get to wake up and support women in any industry, but to be part of something historic, we are absolutely excited.

“I really am going to cry. When you empower women, you change the world. There is no world that we know of without women. And we have had a really tough time for the last, oh, a couple centuries, getting the boot off of our necks. Anytime that the world can see how much women matter, it’s an important event. Anytime that we can personally contribute to empowering women, we contribute to changing the world and that is a huge thing.”

Decked out in denim vests covered in NWSL and soccer patches from their shop, Odd Colored Sheep, the Rollman-Tinajeros were all smiles as they handed out stickers and patches to other supporters and waited in line for their turn at the photo booth to commemorate the historic occasion.

“Part of what drew us to soccer and women’s soccer is the community is such a great, supportive group,” Clair said. “We travel around rooting for the home team. We don’t have a home team but would like NWSL to come to (Austin). Everywhere we go, though, everyone is just so open and welcoming to us, and that’s the coolest part.”

Though parts of the baseball field were still obvious along the first-base line, Wrigley Field had been transformed. The famous scoreboard displayed NWSL scores, and the flags on the outfield poles were those of the league’s teams. Shops throughout the ballpark were selling Red Stars apparel made for the once-in-a-lifetime game. No detail was spared.

When players from both teams took the field, they were met with raucous applause. Fans were a little damp and cold, but their enthusiasm was unaffected. Behind the Cubs dugout, Red Stars supporters held flags, sang and beat drums while hardly ever sitting down.

“Oh, when the Stars go marching in! Oh, when the Stars go marching in! Oh, lord, I want to be in that number, when the Stars go marching in!” they sang.

Defender Kiki Pickett scored in the 25th minute for Bay FC, with her shot from outside the box finding the bottom right corner of the net, and Joelle Anderson scored what became the deciding goal in the 79th minute as Bay FC earned a 2-1 victory.

Twenty-five years after her father, Denny Hocking, hit a home run at Wrigley Field as a member of the Minnesota Twins, Red Stars forward Penelope Hocking scored in the third minute of extra time. Fireworks went off behind the ballpark. Though the game had been decided, the crowd erupted. The home team lost, but the game was a victory for the NWSL, women’s soccer and women’s sports in general.

Pretty cool when your daughter @penelopehocking reps your MLB jersey to an @NWSL game at #WrigleyField @chicagoredstars pic.twitter.com/MKAoA9VBAu

— Denny Hocking (@bigleagueswings) June 9, 2024

“We taught (our kids) to be the ripple,” Cheryl Rollman-Tinajero said of the importance of showing up to support women’s sports. “You never know the impact you’re going to make when you throw a stone. We are the stones. We don’t know what the ripple is going to do when it hits the shore.”

As the crowd took to the streets after the game, fans sang, danced and took photos. A few told me they hope the Red Stars return to Chicago from suburban Bridgeview for good soon so they could enjoy more moments like that. For many in attendance, it was more than a game.

“Seeing women take up space that they absolutely deserve to show off and show how incredibly talented they are, it’s fantastic,” Rowan Rollman-Tinajero said. “I’m a little bit biased. I love (Red Stars goalkeeper) Alyssa Naeher with my entire being. She’s just such a badass.

“I don’t want to play soccer but it makes me feel like I could do anything. Seeing women coming into the spotlight now makes me feel like I can take up space and be important.”

The match drew 35,038 fans, setting a National Women’s Soccer League record. Seattle Reign FC held the previous record at 34,130 for Megan Rapinoe’s final regular-season appearance on Oct. 6, 2023.

For one more day at least.

Further imaging revealed a small fracture in Hoerner’s right hand, which he suffered Thursday when being hit by a 96.5-mph fastball on a check swing. A couple of doctors provided the Cubs opinions on the injury, and they felt comfortable with Hoerner being OK to continue to play — if the swelling and pain subside.

When that will happen remains unknown as Hoerner was still experiencing both Saturday. It creates a murky timeline for his return to the lineup. He is considered day to day and did not play Saturday in a 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds after pinch running in the ninth inning of Friday’s 3-2 defeat. The doctors said the risk is very, very small that Hoerner’s fracture would become from worse from playing.

Manager Craig Counsell compared it to Cody Bellinger’s situation this season with his two rib fractures.

“All things considered, this is good news, really,” Counsell said. “And we’ll just kind of see where we go.”

The Cubs are weighing whether to put Hoerner on the 10-day injured list. Sunday appears an important day for that determination on top of trying to prevent the Reds from securing a four-game sweep.

Saturday’s loss featured another one-run game, their 25th of the season. The Cubs (31-34) outhit the Reds but went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base. Dansby Swanson (two doubles, RBI) and David Bote (double, two runs) each had three hits. And as often has happened during this rough stretch, the Cubs nearly rallied late. They scored in the eighth on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s pinch-hit groundout and put runners on first and third with one out in the ninth but failed to bring home the tying run.

“We’ve got to keep fighting for every inch of every game, and that’s the only way to get out of it,” Counsell said. “No one’s going to feel sorry for you and we’re not feeling sorry for ourselves. That’s not what’s happening. We’re not getting the results we want and that always leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, but we’ve got an opportunity tomorrow to turn the page and do better.”

With 12 losses in their last 16 games, the Cubs are only .001 points ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals for last place in the National League Central as the Milwaukee Brewers remain in the control. The other four division teams are within one game of each other while sitting below .500. Asked if he’s keeping an eye on the standings, Swanson replied, “It’s June.”

“It’s obvious there’s a lot of talent in this division,” Swanson said. “There’s a lot of good pitching, a lot of good position players. Every game seems to be a fight, seems to kind of come down to who can make plays when it matters and I’m looking forward to our day coming soon.”

Hoerner landing on the injured list would be a blow to the Cubs’ continued efforts to get rolling. As of pregame Saturday, Hoerner had not attempted to throw a baseball, and swinging a bat previously bothered him following the injury.

“No matter what the injury is saying when the perfect time to come back from things I think is usually the hardest part of rehab,” Hoerner said. “Whether it’s a two-month thing or a two-week thing or a five-day thing, whatever it is, I think that’s usually the hard conversation. Counsell has done a nice job throughout the year whenever things have popped up with guys communicating how he sees things honestly.

“Obviously you don’t want to be in a position where you’re on the roster and limiting the manager’s options, so we’re going to go day by day and as far as predicting out it’s a little hard to say right now.”

Hoerner felt better Saturday than the day before, noting “it’s nice that there is a sign of opportunity of progress.” However, managing the pain and swelling and knowing how that will play out over the coming days complicates the situation.

“As far as day-to-day pain, I think that is something that you can make worse, unfortunately, so I think being aware of just managing that,” Hoerner said. “But I think that’s going to be more where my head’s at and making sure that I come back at a time that’s as soon as possible but also in a place that’s going to allow me to be a good version of myself and not deal with something that lasts for weeks or months on end.”

The Cubs also were without right fielder Seiya Suzuki in Saturday’s starting lineup. Suzuki remained sore after being hit with Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson’s throw on a successful steal of second base in the first inning Friday.

Suzuki initially remained in the game but was removed in the sixth when his left side tightened up. Counsell was optimistic Suzuki would be back in a day or two, adding he is not dealing with an oblique issue. The bruise is affecting Suzuki’s muscles on his swing.

“He kind of got hit on that side earlier in the week so it’s just kind of multiple shots to the back,” Counsell said. “He should improve pretty rapidly here though.”