Conforto comes through with clutch HR, but Cubs fall in extras

CHICAGO -- In the hours leading up to Sunday’s game against the White Sox at Rate Field, Cubs manager Craig Counsell fielded questions about Moisés Ballesteros and the decision to hold the rookie out of the lineup. After offering some thoughts on Ballesteros and the bench, Counsell turned the spotlight elsewhere.

“We’ve got a really good option here with Michael Conforto. That’s part of this story, too,” Counsell said. “It’s just hard to deny Michael at-bats right now. It just is. That’s probably the bigger story here.”

Conforto backed up his manager’s words in the ninth inning, when he launched a game-tying, three-run homer off White Sox closer Seranthony Domínguez. The blast put the Cubs in position to leave the South Side with a series victory, but Edgar Quero’s two-run, walk-off shot off Cubs lefty Ryan Rolison in the 10th sent the North Siders to a tough 9-8 loss.

In the end, the blast did not deliver a win, but what Conforto has done of late is hard to ignore.

Conforto already earned cult hero status among Cubs fans with his pinch-hit, walk-off homer against the Reds on May 4 at Wrigley Field. The veteran outfielder has since become a semi-regular part of the lineup, given the steady production that began in a part-time role has continued into his starts.

Through 27 games this season, the 33-year-old Conforto has hit at a .345 clip with a 1.111 OPS (.456 on-base and .655 slugging). He has belted three homers, legged out eight doubles, collected 11 RBIs and has nearly as many walks (12) as strikeouts (15) in his 68 plate appearances out of the gates this year.

For Sunday’s game, Conforto slotted into the lineup as the designated hitter with the struggling Ballesteros (3-for-46 in his past 14 games) on the bench. Conforto drew a walk in the third and added a single in the fifth inning. In the ninth, he connected on a 3-1 sinker from Domínguez after the reliever walked Alex Bregman and saw Seiya Suzuki reach via a throwing error by third baseman Miguel Vargas.

Conforto’s latest heroics effectively erased the three-run homer that White Sox outfielder Tristan Peters launched against Cubs righty Phil Maton in the eighth to put the Cubs in a 7-4 hole. That blast came after the South Siders chipped away at the Cubs’ early lead against righty Colin Rea (four runs in 4 2/3 innings).