Cubs considering new translator for star closer Chapman

Jason Hammel (10-5) allowed one run and five hits while striking out seven in seven innings.

CHICAGO (AP) – John Lackey and Aroldis Chapman outperformed Chris Sale in his return from a jersey-trashing suspension.

Ranaudo didn’t allow a hit until Kris Bryant’s solo homer with one out in the sixth tie the score 1-1. The Sox though will focus on the task at hand and do get Quintana going tonight who has been excellent this season and matches up well with the Twins despite their bats heating up as evidenced by last night’s 6-2 thrashing of the Orioles.

Ben Zobrist added an RBI single in the third.

Chapman entered with a runner on third and two outs in the eighth and struck out Melky Cabrera on six pitches, with four registering 100 miles per hour or higher.

Chapman earned his first save for the Cubs since being acquired from the Yankees, leaving the crowd buzzing by consistently throwing 102 miles per hour.

White Sox: DH Justin Morneau, who won the AL MVP with the Twins in 2006, returns to Minnesota on Friday.

This one looked better, in Sale’s view, but it didn’t help the Sox win a game they badly wanted at Wrigley Field Thursday night. The Cubs tweeted out their lineup before the game with the line “Throwback Thursday, anyone?”

“I’m trying to build a relationship with this guy so he starts trusting me”, Maddon said.

“He’s our teammate. He’s our guy”, Eaton said.

“I knew who they were before this, but I found out who they really are and what they’re about”, he said.

For his part, Sale says he missed being with his teammates for five days but doesn’t regret the notion behind or the act of cutting up the uniforms, which earned him the suspension that ends Thursday – a day he says will be like any other when he takes the ball. “I think this going to free him up a little bit”. INF Carlos Sanchez was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. LHP Carlos Rodon (sprained left wrist) threw a side session Wednesday that went well, Ventura said.

Cubs: With OF Jorge Soler (hamstring) close to returning, the team will have a hard roster decision. Sale has now missed two turns through the rotation: his last start came on July 18 against the Seattle Mariners, when he pitched eight scoreless innings only to see David Robertson give up four runs in the ninth in a walk-off win for the Mariners.

Mets steady closer Jeurys Familia stumbled for a second straight game, allowing two runs in the ninth inning as the Colorado Rockies beat NY 2-1 Thursday for their seventh win in eight games. In his last six starts, Lackey has a 6.38 ERA.