Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner shows off all-around game against the White Sox

CHICAGO (AP) — Nico Hoerner delivered for the Chicago Cubs on Sunday — at the plate and in the field. He even made the most of a rare baserunning mistake.

Hoerner had two hits, drove in a run and made a heady defensive play in a 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. The all-around performance by the second baseman helped the Cubs to a second straight victory going into a big series at Milwaukee.

The 28-year-old Hoerner — a Gold Glove winner in 2023 — started an unusual double play in the third at Rate Field.

The White Sox had runners on first and second with one out when Chase Meidroth popped up toward the right side of the infield. Meidroth was called out via the infield fly rule, and Hoerner let the ball drop.

“First thought was just watching the hitter,” Hoerner said. “Looking to maybe drop the ball and get him out and then hopefully get a double play. But they called infield fly, so the batter's out. Then kind of makes it possible is having my feet on the grass. I don't really like letting it drop in the dirt. Kind of chaos after that.”

Hoerner was focused on Brooks Baldwin at first when shortstop Dansby Swanson pointed to Lenyn Sosa breaking for third. Hoerner turned and threw across the diamond to Matt Shaw, who applied the tag for the inning-ending double play.

“That was a huge play,” manager Craig Counsell said.

Hoerner said he's constantly going over possible scenarios in his head.

“Got a group that likes talking the game,” he said. “So it's really satisfying to get extra outs like that.”

Hoerner also hit an RBI single in the sixth and scored from first on Shaw's double. He reached on an infield single in the second on the 14th pitch of his at-bat against Sean Burke.

He walked in the eighth and was picked off first by Mike Vasil, but he stayed in the rundown long enough that the Cubs got a run when White Sox third baseman Colson Montgomery was called for interference, allowing Ian Happ to score.

“It started with a mistake on my end, just getting too far off,” Hoerner said. “Fortunately, Ian's able to kind of capitalize on just some chaos out there and turn it into something.”

Chicago improved to 62-43 to remain tied with Milwaukee for first place in the NL Central. The Cubs visit the Brewers for a three-game set beginning on Monday night.

Hoerner has hit safely in 14 of his last 17 games, batting .328 (21 for 64) with two triples and seven RBIs during the stretch. He is batting a team-high .289 on the season, to go along with his stellar defense.

“I'm just super grateful to have Nico as a teammate,” pitcher Ben Brown said. “The baseball IQ out of him is, I mean it's Nico. It's just the way he is. It's just kind of like through his veins and through his blood.”

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Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner scores during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Sunday, July, 27, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Sunday, July, 27, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Sunday, July, 27, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner scores during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Sunday, July, 27, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

Chicago Cubs' Nico Hoerner scores during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Sunday, July, 27, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez is set Thursday to deliver her first state of the union speech, addressing an anxious country as she navigates competing pressures from the United States – which toppled her predecessor less than two weeks ago – and a government loyal to former President Nicolás Maduro.

The speech comes one day after Rodríguez said her government would continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro in what she described as “a new political moment” since his ouster by the United States earlier this month.

In her address to the National Assembly, which is controlled by the country's ruling party, Rodríguez is expected to explain her vision for her government, including potential changes to the state-owned oil industry that U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to reinvigorate since Maduro’s seizure.

On Thursday, Trump was set to meet at the White House with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose political party is widely considered to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. But in endorsing Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, Trump has sidelined Machado.

After acknowledging a Tuesday call with Trump, Rodríguez said on state television that her government would use “every dollar” earned from oil sales to overhaul the nation’s public health care system. Hospitals and other health care facilities across the country have long been crumbling, and patients are asked to provide practically all supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

The acting president must walk a tightrope, balancing pressures from both Washington and top Venezuelan officials who hold sway over Venezuela's security forces and strongly oppose the U.S. Her recent public speeches reflect those tensions — vacillating from conciliatory calls for cooperation with the U.S., to defiant rants echoing the anti-imperialist rhetoric of her toppled predecessor.

American authorities have long railed against a government they describe as a “dictatorship,” while Venezuela’s government has built a powerful populist ethos sharply opposed to U.S. meddling in its affairs.

For the foreseeable future, Rodríguez's government has been effectively relieved of having to hold elections. That's because when Venezuela’s high court granted Rodríguez presidential powers on an acting basis, it cited a provision of the constitution that allows the vice president to take over for a renewable period of 90 days.

Trump enlisted Rodríguez to help secure U.S. control over Venezuela’s oil sales despite sanctioning her for human rights violations during his first term. To ensure she does his bidding, Trump threatened Rodríguez earlier this month with a “situation probably worse than Maduro.”

Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn jail, has pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges.

Before Rodríguez’s speech on Thursday, a group of government supporters was allowed into the presidential palace, where they chanted for Maduro, who the government insists remains the country’s president. “Maduro, resist, the people are rising,” they shouted.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez makes a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, smiles flanked by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, right, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez after making a statement to the press at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)