Two ninth-inning home runs gave the Chicago Cubs three insurance runs they would end up needing as the Cubs defeated their Windy City rival Chicago White Sox 10-7 Friday afternoon. 

With the Cubs leading 7-5 as the top of the ninth began, Taylor Teagarden led off the inning with a solo shot (1). One out and one walk later, Anthony Giansanti gave the Cubs the extra runs they would need as he popped a two-run shot (1) to score Chris Valaika ahead of him. The ninth-inning home runs were two of four the Cubs would hit on the day.

The White Sox would score two in the bottom of the ninth on an Andy Wilkins RBI single and a Rob Brantley RBI groundout. However, Gordon Beckham popped out to end the threat and leave the potential tying and winning runs on base. 

The White Sox jumped on Cubs starter Travis Wood for three runs in the first inning. Adam LaRoche, Avisail Garcia, and Alexei Ramirez all had RBI hits, LaRoche's a double. The Cubs bounced back with two in the top of the second when David Ross homered (1) with a man on. 

The White Sox extended their lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third when Garcia drove home Jose Abreu with a single. 

The Cubs took the lead with three in the top of the sixth. Junior Lake's two-run double tied the game, and a wild pitch from Jairo Asencio allowed Lake to score the go-ahead run.

The lead was short-lived as the White Sox' Micha Johnson tied it up again in the bottom half of the inning with a single that scored Ramirez. 

The Cubs took the lead for good with their second home run of the day, a two-run shot from Arismendy Alcantara (1). They would need those ninth-inning insurance runs.

Brian Schlitter (W:1-1, 14.29 ERA) took over in the fifth and pitched 1 2/3 innings to pick up the win. He allowed one run on two hits and a strikeout. Zac Rosscup allowed the two ninth-inning runs. Jason Motte and Joe Ortiz each pitched a scoreless inning in relief.

Travis Wood survived his rough first inning to make it into the fifth although he had a lot of trouble. He pitched 4 1/3, allowing four earned runs on 11 hits with no walks and two strikeouts.

Matt Albers (L: 0-1, 3.00) allowed the seventh-inning hits that gave the Cubs the lead and was charged with two of the three runs. Hector Noesi started and pitched 4 2/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs on two hits while walking one and striking out five.

Both Chicago teams have home games Saturday with the Cubs hosting the Seattle Mariners and the White Sox playing the Kansas City Royals.

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About the author
Raymond Bureau
Raymond became a baseball fan at a very young age. He played baseball through high school and soon after became a varsity coach. He is now the P.A. announcer at his high school where he teaches. Raymond previously produced radio sports talk shows and hosted a weekly MLB radio call-in show. His favorite teams are the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. Raymond is a devoted husband, father, and Christ follower. His life verses are Philippians 4:13, John 14:6, and Isaiah 41:10.