He said he visualized the moment the night before.
White Sox catcher Edgar Quero walked off the team’s crosstown rival Sunday with a 10th-inning, two-run home run off Cubs reliever Ryan Rolison, capping a wild game and giving Round 1 of the season series to the home team.
They’ll face each other again at Wrigley Field in August.
“It feels amazing,” Quero said after the White Sox’s 9-8 win. “Right away when I hit the ball, I knew it was going deep. I didn’t know if it was a homer. I felt like it was good contact.
“I visualized it last night.”
The left-center-field blast brought the sellout crowd to its feet as the White Sox continue to take major steps in their rebuild. After three consecutive 100-loss seasons, they’re in the early hunt for a playoff spot, sporting a winning record after taking two of three from the Cubs.
“This team has a ton of belief,” said Sunday’s starter, Erick Fedde. “We’ve been playing great baseball, and when you play a quality opponent in a difficult atmosphere and come out on top, it just further proves to ourselves what this team is and where we think we can go.”
The White Sox hit 10 home runs in the series, bringing their season total to 64 and tying them for the second most in MLB behind the New York Yankees (67). It’s part of the DNA of the team now. The White Sox’s two blasts Sunday came late in the game, including center fielder Tristan Peters‘ first career homer to break a 4-4 tie with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
“It was incredible,” Peters said. “Probably the most emotion I showed on the field. And what a series to do it in, too. It was amazing.
“I’ve never experienced anything like that. It was electric.”
His home run came off Cubs reliever Phil Maton, who saw his ERA rise to 9.49 after signing a two-year, $14.5 million deal over the winter. Known for his ability spin the ball, Maton’s misses keep ending up in prime hitting spots in the strike zone.
“We have to put our heads together and go to work,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of Maton’s struggles. “We need better for sure. We’re counting on Phil.”
Maton was bailed out by Cubs designated hitter Michael Conforto, who tied the game in the ninth with his own three-run homer, raising his OPS to 1.111. The Cubs tallied a run in the top of the 10th but left the bases loaded after Seiya Suzuki struck out — before Quero’s heroics ended the game in the bottom of the inning.
Chaos ensued on the field.
“It’s obviously great to win a big series, to win at home, in front of the fans,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “At the same time, I think this team believes in themselves and every time we’re able to go out and do something like this, that belief grows.”
The wild affair included several good defensive plays, including one by Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who crashed into the wall while catching a ball hit off the bat of Derek Hill in the bottom of the fifth. A few moments later, Crow-Armstrong had another chance after a long run toward right-center — but the leaping attempt deflected off his glove for a game-tying, two-run double by Miguel Vargas.
Crow-Armstrong landed on the warning track and got an earful from some fans in the stands.
“Some lady decided to start talking s—, and I felt the need to say it back,” Crow-Amstrong said.
It was one of many intense moments between the fans and two teams who were separated by just a run over the weekend, 22-21, in favor of the White Sox. While it was just two wins in the standings, it meant so much more.
“Walking around the city, sometimes you run into people and they say, ‘Give it to the Cubs this weekend,'” Fedde said. “These games mean a lot to people in this city.”
