Christopher Morel's Walk-Off Homer Sparks Bedlam at Wrigley Field
Key Highlights :
Christopher Morel’s walk-off home run sparked bedlam at Wrigley Field as 40,869 fans watched the Chicago Cubs pull out a 4-3 win over the White Sox in the final game of the City Series. It was a moment of redemption for Morel, who had struck out in the ninth inning the day before against White Sox closer Gregory Santos.
Morel quickly fell behind 0-2, whiffing at a 100.5 mph inside sinker and chasing a low-and-away slider out of the zone. Santos and catcher Yasmani Grandal went back to the slider away, but Morel didn’t chase. Instead, he pounced on the next pitch, a sinker mistakenly left down the middle, to dramatically avenge his strikeout.
Morel’s heroics were made possible by the Cubs’ late-inning comeback fight, exemplified during his at-bat. Cody Bellinger’s leadoff double and a Dansby Swanson walk set up Morel’s heroics. Right-hander Michael Fulmer was also instrumental in the victory, called into the game with no outs and the bases loaded in the top of the eighth, Fulmer struck out Luis Robert Jr., Yoán Moncada and Andrew Vaughn to get out of the jam. Nick Madrigal put the Cubs on the board in the eighth to cut the Sox’s lead to 3-1 with a basket shot to left field for his second home run of the year.
Morel’s walk-off homer was the first by the Cubs since Jason Heyward’s on Sept. 8, 2021. He credited his success to the advice he received last year from former teammate Willson Contreras, reminding himself to “stay in the eye of the hurricane” when he fell behind in the count to Santos. “Just try to make the moment just about me,” Morel said through an interpreter. “Just think about what I’m doing in that moment. Don’t think about anything else, focus in the moment and focus on myself.”
David Ross, the Cubs’ manager, was impressed with Morel’s offensive development. “He doesn’t always get the big hit, but he just seems to be maturing and controlling the strike zone and putting his best swing on the pitches he’s looking for. When he’s swinging the bat well, our offense rolls.”
Morel’s moment of euphoria was made possible by the late-inning comeback fight the Cubs have often manifested. “You can feel there’s something brewing in this clubhouse,” Madrigal said. “Games like this, to pull those out when it wasn’t looking good for most of the game, lets me know you’ve got special teams that win these kinds of games.”
