Charles Tillman must be the Cubs' good luck charm.
Just a few minutes after the Bears legend sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley Field, Javy Baez sent one almost out onto Waveland Ave.
That two-run shot put a charge into a Cubs offense that had been scuffling as Baez and Co. wound up beating the White Sox 8-1 in front of 41,166 fans at Wrigley Field.
"Living the dream," Baez said. "It was one of my dreams to [hit a go-ahead homer] late in the game. There it is."
White Sox starter Anthony Ranaudo was tossing a no-hitter against the team with the best record in baseball before Kris Bryant parked one into the left-field bleachers with one out in the sixth inning.
Baez's blast in the seventh inning turned out to be the game-winner and helped lift this offense out of its funk by tacking on five eighth-inning runs.
Cubs starter Jason Hammel admitted that homer helped provide a sense of relief for the Cubs offense.
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"It's almost like...wait. Just wait. It'll happen," Hammel said. "We got enough pop in the bats to score pretty quickly and a lot in a hurry. So as long as we can do a good job on the mound, just keep it close, just give them a chance."
Ben Zobrist had an RBI double in that eighth inning and then Addison Russell delivered the big blow with a grand slam off former Cub Jacob Turner that nearly brought the house down at Wrigley.
"It was kinda surreal," Russell said. "Just rounding the bases, trying to remember the pandemonium of the fans and then stepping on home plate was awesome."
That late rally ensured Aroldis Chapman did not get his first save in a Cubs uniform, but manager Joe Maddon still employed his shiny new bullpen anyway.
Hector Rondon worked a perfect eighth inning and then Chapman came on to toss the ninth with a seven-run lead.
The new Cubs closer wowed the Wrigley crowd with fastballs clocked at 102 and 103 mph as he struck out Jose Abreu, got Todd Frazier to ground out and then struck out Avisail Garcia.
Ranaudo was the story for the first two-thirds of the game, driving in the only run with an opposite-field homer off Hammel and then keeping the Cubs offense at bay.
Ranaudo's first career MLB hit was the only blemish on Hammel's line, as the Cubs veteran right-hander struck out seven in seven innings.
"I felt great," Hammel said. "I was trying to hide in the dugout from Joe so he wouldn't take me out. It was nice to let go. I felt like I got better as the game went on."