CHICAGO -- Before Duke Ellis made his Major League debut in the ninth inning of the Cubs' 7-6 victory over his White Sox on Tuesday at Wrigley Field, he shared his secret for being such a good basestealer.

¡°No fear of getting thrown out or picked off,¡± Ellis said. ¡°If you have any fear or doubt, then automatically you¡¯ll get thrown out. Go get it with confidence and whatever happens, happens.¡±

Whatever happened for Ellis on Tuesday was the good and the bad of an exciting Crosstown Cup showdown. After pinch-hitter Oscar Col¨¢s fought back from a 1-2 count against H¨¦ctor Neris to draw an eight-pitch, one-out walk in the ninth, Ellis entered as a pinch-runner and promptly swiped second.

That effort is why the White Sox (15-46) added Ellis, after the 26-year-old picked up 34 stolen bases in 35 attempts for Double-A Birmingham this season. Ellis was sent out in the ninth to steal third, as well, with the White Sox trailing by one. After successfully nabbing second, he had a good jump on the next pitch from Neris to Corey Julks before pulling back on the attempt.

Neris and Nico Hoerner caught him two pitches later on a 1-2 count with a back pick at second, as Ellis was picked off for the second out of the inning. It¡¯s a learning experience for the rookie coming as part of the White Sox 12-game losing streak.

¡°Got a little too aggressive and the back pick got me,¡± said Ellis, who handled the postgame interview session like a veteran before going to share the debut with his family back on the field. ¡°It was a big learning experience for me. For the next time I¡¯m in that situation, trust the instincts and go on the first jump. Then we don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±

¡°He was looking to take third in that situation, to be on third with one out,¡± Cubs left fielder Ian Happ said. ¡°And that's a completely different ballgame. So to get that out there, massive. Great job."

Ellis wasn¡¯t the only young White Sox player to take something away from Tuesday¡¯s setback.

Lenyn Sosa launched a two-run home run off Cubs starter Shota Imanaga to cap off a five-run fourth and give the White Sox a 5-0 lead. Sosa had two hits and lined out hard to left to open the ninth.

Jordan Leasure (0-1), who has been pitching effectively in high-leverage situations for much of his rookie campaign, entered in the eighth with a 6-5 White Sox lead. The right-hander walked Cody Bellinger on four pitches with one out, and Christopher Morel reached on an infield single when shortstop Paul DeJong¡¯s diving attempt resulted in a glove flip to Danny Mendick that was too high to nab Bellinger at second.

On a 1-0 pitch to Happ, the switch-hitter ripped a double to right to drive in two for the go-ahead runs.

¡°Just knowing in that situation trying to lock in a little better, make a better pitch, especially to those caliber of hitters,¡± Leasure said. ¡°Overall it felt great, stuff felt great. Just falling behind hitters. That was the difference.

¡°I threw not a good pitch to Happ and he¡¯s a really good hitter, so he got me. Not much I can do from that looking back.¡±

This short series finishes Wednesday night, and Ellis will be right back out there for the White Sox if the situation dictates. He¡¯ll have that same speed, that same fearless approach, but maybe with a little more knowledge from a big-game situation.

¡°Oh, it was exciting,¡± Ellis said. ¡°It was honestly a dream come true and that was the situation I wanted to be in. I¡¯m glad they trust me to be in that situation and hopefully there will be a lot more to come. All I can do is learn from it and be better for the next one.¡±

¡°He¡¯s going to be good here for a long, long time. And he¡¯s going to learn from this. He¡¯s a student of the game,¡± White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. ¡°He was put there to do exactly what he did, and he got picked off. It¡¯s not a big deal. That¡¯s not what won us or lost us the game. This one got away.¡±