Maddon manages to win for Chicago Cubs

Sorry, Joe. I ain't buying it.

Before Thursday night's big game against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field, Cubs manager Joe Maddon was trying to make it sound no bigger than any other.

The way he managed the opener of this four-game series said something different. And the way he managed it helped the Cubs prevail with a 5-4 victory to put them one-half game ahead of the Giants in the National League wild-card race.

The Cubs led San Francisco 5-0 after two innings, but the Giants got 2 back in the fourth on a homer by Brandon Belt.

When they threatened again in the fifth, Maddon did not hesitate to pull starting pitcher Jason Hammel after he walked the first two batters of the inning.

It turned out to be the right managerial move, as Justin Grimm came in and squelched the threat.

Yes, Maddon was playing this one like the big game it was.

“He had really good physical stuff from where I was sitting,” Maddon said of Hammel. “Maybe the command was off a little bit with the fastball. I did not want to let them back into that game. I thought it was really important that we did not. It's been my experience when you get to the point where you get to the playoffs there's some really great work done in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings by the relievers who never get any credit.”

Hammel wasn't happy about coming out. He and Maddon talked about it, and Hammel said he understood, for the most part.

“Yes and no,” he said. “I felt like I earned the right to kind of get out of that situation. He leveled with me. We're on the same page.”

Before the game, Maddon was sounding his usual theme, one he began sounding in spring training.

“I don't think any one is more or less important,” he said of games. “I do look at standings. For me, they're all the same. The games in April, the games in August, they all matter. The concept in spring training is to hopefully get your guys to play the game one way, every day. Just play this way every day.

“Whenever you're playing that game, you should not be nervous, upset or concerned or having to turn the dial up or turn the dial down because you're used to playing that game. Here comes October, and you're playing in a playoff game.

“The last thing I want them to do is to do anything differently then. Please keep playing the same game. If we can convey that and your guys understand that, it gives you your best chance to play in October in a meaningful way and get to the final game of the season and win it. I don't see any other way to do it.”

Maddon has his reasons for not wanting to oversell four games in early August, but for the Cubs and their fans, it's a big deal.

“It's an important series,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “The two teams are fighting for the playoffs. Obviously, they're the ultimate in battle tested, three World Series. I think it's a good test for our guys. Obviously, it has incredible importance as far as the standings.”

The Cubs got going quickly against Giants starting pitcher Chris Heston in the first inning as Heston couldn't find the plate. After a pair of walks and a hit batter, Heston gave up a 2-run single to Jorge Soler to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Hammel and Addison Russell opened with singles. After Dexter Fowler struck out, rookie Kyle Schwarber crushed a 3-run homer into the bleachers in right-center field.

Belt's homer got the Giants back into the game in the fourth. The came within 5-4 in the sixth on a 2-run homer by Brandon Crawford off reliever Tommy Hunter.