Chicago baseball report: Cubs’ Michael Fulmer on career-saving surgery — and Elvis Andrus’ latest milestone for the White Sox

The Chicago Cubs’ chance to earn a London Series sweep and make up more ground slipped through their hands.

The Cubs are trying to become only the third team in franchise history to fall 10 games under .500 and get back to .500 in the same season. They return home to Wrigley Field on Tuesday after a memorable overseas trip with a great opportunity to build off the momentum they’ve found the last two weeks.

The White Sox didn’t have much success during a June 13-18 West Coast trip, going 2-4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners. They’ll aim for a better outcome this week as they head west again to face the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics.

Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead — for the Cubs and Sox.

Michael Fulmer provides guidance for Brandon Hughes

The conversation first came up during spring training.

Cubs left-hander Brandon Hughes approached veteran reliever Michael Fulmer to discuss a bothersome degenerative left knee issue that derived from Hughes’ meniscus surgery in 2015. Fulmer recognized Hughes was experiencing a lot of the same problems he endured leading to a distal femoral osteotomy in 2019 with the Detroit Tigers. Fulmer had Tommy John surgery at the same time, leading to a double rehab.

“Looking back at it, it saved my career because there was no way I was going to pitch on the knee with the way it was,” Fulmer told the Tribune on Sunday. “(Hughes) was still able to pitch, so I don’t know if his pain tolerance is better than mine or what, but we had the same thing going on, bone on bone and no cartilage with the meniscus. One of those freak things, but he’s done a heck of a job trying to work through it.”

Hughes will undergo a distal femoral osteotomy at the end of the month and is expected to be sidelined nine months.

“I think it’s going to help his career long term and it definitely saved my career,” Fulmer said. “And looking back at it, everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t be pitching now unless I had the surgery.”

Fulmer tried pitching through his knee problems and believes he hurt his arm, subsequently requiring Tommy John surgery, because of the stress his lower body put on his elbow. Hughes’ surgery will be performed by the same surgeon who did Fulmer’s procedure, which requires breaking the femur for a realignment.

“Watching him go through this process, it’s finally like, OK, enough is enough,” manager David Ross said. “And when you come to this conclusion to have this type of surgery, it’s a major surgery and the frustration is real. I think he wants to pitch for a really long time and feels like this is on the front end the best way to take care of that.”

Hughes’ left knee, which had been drained six times this year as part of the effort to keep him on the field, also was affecting his quality of life when he wasn’t pitching.

“I wake up and I feel like so many of my hours are spent trying to deal with the knee or trying to make the knee better, and it’s debilitating a little bit,” Hughes said Sunday. “So the surgery and physics behind the surgery should be working to my advantage and then (I can) come back stronger.”

Elvis Andrus milestones adding up

Elvis Andrus jumped into Eloy Jiménez’s arms, celebrating Saturday’s walk-off single in the White Sox’s 5-4 victory against the Boston Red Sox.

It was a memorable week for the White Sox infielder, who played the 2,000th game of his career Wednesday against the Texas Rangers at Guaranteed Rate Field.

“I was not aware (I was reaching the mark) until a few days ago, somebody mentioned it to me,” Andrus told the Tribune on Wednesday. “It’s an honor. One of the things I always feel proud about, showing up every day and preparing myself to play every day. I accomplished something like that, it means a lot for sure.”

He became the 247th player to reach the milestone.

“What he’s done is difficult because you have to stay healthy and you have to perform,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Wednesday. “There’s always someone trying to take your job, trying to push you out, and for the last 15 years nobody has done that. That’s a credit to his work ethic, his talent, his makeup, his drive, his will just to be a major-leaguer.”

Earlier this season, Andrus collected the 2,000th hit of his career. His first came April 6, 2009, in his major-league debut for the Rangers. Andrus spent the first 12 years of his big-league career with the Rangers (1,652 games), giving added meaning to Wednesday’s achievement.

“That’s the crazy part of the game,” Andrus said. “Sometimes when stuff happens like that, it’s crazy. Too much coincidence. Something to celebrate a little bit, but at the same time, get back to work.”

Week ahead: Cubs

The Cubs get Monday to regroup after a late-night return to Chicago following Sunday’s finale in the London Series. Jameson Taillon is lined up to start Tuesday’s series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies with Drew Smyly and Kyle Hendricks likely to follow in an undetermined order as of Sunday afternoon.

Marcus Stroman’s availability to pitch in the weekend series versus the Guardians could be a day-to-day development based on how the blister on his right index finger heals. Ideally he will make two more starts before the July 10-13 All-Star break. The Cubs rotation continues to be a strength, and a strong finish before the break would set them up well to become trade-deadline sellers.

• Monday: off

• Tuesday: vs. Phillies, 7:05 p.m., Marquee

• Wednesday: vs. Phillies, 7:05 p.m., Marquee

• Thursday: vs. Phillies, 7:05 p.m., Marquee

• Friday: vs. Guardians, 1:20 p.m. Marquee

• Saturday: vs. Guardians, 6:15 p.m., Fox-32

• Sunday: vs. Guardians, 1:20 p.m., Marquee

Week ahead: White Sox

The Sox saw what Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani can do at the plate when he hit three homers and drove in five during a three-game series in late May at Guaranteed Rate Field.

They’ll see Ohtani on the mound Tuesday as part of a four-game series at Angel Stadium.

Ohtani leads the majors in homers (tied, 25), RBIs (61) and OPS (1.000). He’s 10th in the American League with a 3.13 ERA and third with 117 strikeouts.

“To be able to see a guy every night that’s probably one of the best power hitters in the game — and when he’s on the mound he’s one of the best pitchers in the game — it’s a generational talent,” Grifol said Sunday. “You don’t see this that often.”

• Monday: at Angels, 8:38 p.m., NBCSCH

• Tuesday: at Angels, 8:38 p.m., NBCSCH

• Wednesday: at Angels, 8:38 p.m., NBCSCH

• Thursday: at Angels, 3:07 p.m., NBCSCH

• Friday: at Athletics, 8:40 p.m., NBCSCH

• Saturday: at Athletics, 3:07 p.m., NBCSCH

• Sunday: at Athletics, 3:07 p.m., NBCSCH

What we’re reading this morning

• Column: What we know about the Cubs and White Sox — and what we don’t — as midseason approaches

• London Series: Cubs settle for a split after Marcus Stroman leaves 7-5 loss early with a blister

• Luis Robert Jr. is making an All-Star case with 2 more homers in the White Sox’s 4-1 win vs. the Red Sox

• London Series: Ian Happ’s 2 HRs fuel the Cubs’ 9-1 win against the Cardinals in Game 1

• White Sox fan describes ‘bizarre’ episode that left him dangling through sunroof after a hit-and-run incident at Sox Park

• Cubs relievers Codi Heuer (fractured elbow) and Brandon Hughes (knee surgery) out for the season

• Sights and sounds from London Stadium: Cubs expect high-scoring games this weekend. ‘The ball flies out of here.’

• ‘There’s a camaraderie we have.’ For Cubs fans who made the trek to London, the trip is unique — and bittersweet.

• Column: Why is sports fandom so emotional? It’s an attachment to the community, to the game, to ourselves.

This week in Chicago baseball

June 26, 1916: Indians wear numbers on their sleeves in a game against the White Sox.

It marked the first time players were identified by numbers corresponding to the scorecard.

June 27, 1958: White Sox’s Billy Pierce retires 26 straight Senators batters before pinch hitter Ed FitzGerald doubles for the only hit.

Pierce had a perfect game, and FitzGerald, a first-ball, fastball hitter, was the villain. He hit a first-pitch, knee-high curveball to the opposite field for a double that sailed about 20 to 30 feet over the head of first baseman Ray Boone. It was not a smash but was well-hit, not a bloop. Pierce fanned Albie Pearson, the next batter, on three pitches to end the game — a 3-0 win.

In the clubhouse after the game, Nellie Fox, Pierce’s longtime buddy and roommate, expressed regret that he was unable to get his glove on the ball, which would have increased the possibility of an error. But Fox had to be joking. The ball landed almost halfway down the right-field line, fair by no more than a foot or two.

“It was a clean hit,” Pierce said. “If it had been questionable, it would have been tough to take.”

June 27, 2016: Cubs’ Kris Bryant becomes the first major-leaguer to hit three homers and two doubles in a game.

Bryant went 5-for-5 with six RBIs in the 11-8 win over the Reds. He set a franchise record with 16 total bases, surpassing the previous mark of 14. He also became the youngest player in Cubs history to hit three home runs in a game.

“It’s definitely the best game of my whole life,” Bryant said. “I just feel so fortunate and so thankful for this opportunity to play on a stage like this every day.”

June 28, 1910: Cubs’ Joe Tinker becomes the first major-leaguer to steal home twice in the same game, an 11-1 win over the Reds.

June 28, 2007: Frank Thomas hits his 500th home run to become the 21st major-leaguer to reach the mark.

The former White Sox slugger hit the three-run shot with the Blue Jays, connecting against the Twins’ Carlos Silva. Thankfully for Thomas, he hit the homer early enough for his wife, three children and father-in-law to see him make history.

“They had to leave for the airport at 1:45,” he said. “My daughter said, ‘Dad, you’ve got to do it in the first couple of at-bats.’”

In the ninth, Thomas was ejected by plate umpire Mark Wegner after being called out on strikes for the second time in the game.

“I’m probably the first to get 500 home runs and get thrown out of the ballgame,” Thomas said. “That’s something I didn’t want to happen, but the moment just got the best of me.”

When Thomas left the Sox in 2005, he was the franchise’s career leader in many categories, including runs, on-base percentage, walks, doubles and RBIs in addition to home runs (448).

June 28, 2017: Cubs visit President Donald Trump at the White House

A little more than five months after a robust East Room celebration with President Barack Obama, several Cubs players, coaches and executives had a more modest celebration in the West Wing with President Donald Trump.

“This is a great team,” Trump told reporters of the 2016 World Series champions. “They were actually here, but they wanted to be here with Trump.”

Trump noted that he tried to bring Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts’ brother, Todd Ricketts, into his administration as deputy commerce secretary. He also singled out Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, another brother, calling him a “great governor.”

The entire Cubs roster did not attend. Manager Joe Maddon, star sluggers Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant and pitchers John Lackey and Jon Lester were among those present.

July 1, 1943: The first night game is played at Wrigley Field, a benefit All-Star contest featuring the All-American Girls Professional Ball League.

“Let it be known,” Sugar Koehn said, “that it was not the Chicago Cubs that played the first night game under lights at Wrigley Field. On July 1, 1943, two all-star teams from the AAGPBL played a night exhibition game as part of a gigantic WAC recruiting rally.”

The Cubs’ first night game at Wrigley would come 45 years later on Aug. 8, 1988.

Quotable

“It’s weird to be in a stadium so big and to see so many people in stands so far away, which is very unique and very different. It felt like it was a soccer game. I’ve been to a few (Paris Saint-Germain) games and an AC Milan game, and it felt very similar to the vibe of the soccer game. It’s pretty incredible.” — Marcus Stroman on the experience of pitching in London Stadium on Sunday