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Cubs starter Ryan Dempster placed on DL

Ryan Dempster has been the Cubs’ most effective starting pitcher in the early going, but he went on the disabled list Saturday with a strained right quadriceps.

Randy Wells, whom the Cubs brought to Chicago on Friday because they feared Dempster would not be able to pitch, will start Sunday’s game upon officially being recalled from Class AAA Iowa.

The Cubs immediately called up center fielder Tony Campana from Iowa, fueling speculation current center fielder Marlon Byrd would be traded to Boston.

As for Dempster, he pitched 6 strong innings and got a no-decision last Tuesday at Miami. Manager Dale Sveum said Dempster was not hurt during that start.

“It happened in the bullpen the other day,” Sveum said, referring to Dempster’s throwing session. “He’s much, much better. He just still feels it a little bit. Just precautionary, just going to miss a couple of starts and hopefully end up with 31-32 starts when the season’s over.”

Castro moving forward:

Shortstop Starlin Castro expressed relief that prosecutors will not pursue charges in an alleged sexual-assault incident. Castro, 22, was accused last fall of sexual assault by a woman. No charges were brought, and prosecutors late Friday said they no longer would pursue the case.

“I’m happy,” Castro said. “I’m happy that we got this over, but I still focus on the field, stay focused on the game. I don’t want to think about that. I feel that it’s over.”

Castro said he learned to “be careful” from the incident.

On the field, Castro is hitting well, but his fielding needs work. He’s 21-for-59 (. 356) at the plate. However, he committed 2 more errors Saturday, giving him 7 for the season.

“I’m still going to be working,” he said.

All’s well for Randy:

Randy Wells chose not to mope over his demotion to Iowa late in spring training. Now, he’s back and ready to start Sunday.

At Iowa, Wells was 1-0 with a 9.42 ERA. In 3 starts, he pitched 1413 innings, giving up 16 hits and 15 runs, all earned.

“I feel real good,” he said. “I’m throwing the ball well. The ball’s coming out good. Still, I’m excited to be back. Unfortunately, it’s under these circumstances. Nevertheless, it’s an opportunity to get back up here and show them I’m ready to go and I can pitch at this level.

“You can’t sit there and dwell on the negatives. You’ve got to find the positives in everything. I just went down there and worked on some stuff and got some stuff straightened out. The ERA actually doesn’t do justice, but the pitch quality, even when I was giving up hits, the ball was coming out of my hand good.”

The quote:

Lefty Paul Maholm won his first decision of the year, working 6 innings and giving up 4 hits and 1 run to the Reds, an opponent he has faced in 20 starts, dating to his days in Pittsburgh. Did the familiarity help?

“I’ve also seen the Brewers and Cardinals a few times in my career, too,” he said, referring to the teams that beat him this season.

Paul Maholm leads Cubs past Reds 6-1

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