Cubs, Cardinals move on from dispute

All parties seemed interested Saturday in moving on, one day after the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry picked up a new spark.

Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was able to joke about being hit by a pitch during Friday's 8-3 victory, after which manager Joe Maddon laid down the law with the Cardinals, saying the Cubs weren't going to take it anymore.

"One more, I'm 30-30," Rizzo said, referring to 30 homers and 30 hit by pitches.

Rizzo was hit by reliever Matt Belisle in Friday's seventh inning, in apparent retaliation for Cubs starting pitcher Dan Haren hitting Matt Holliday on the batting helmet in the fifth. Rizzo also was hit in the fourth inning.

"We've played these guys a lot this year," Rizzo said. "Obviously, at that moment, I want to kill someone because I know it's intentional. We didn't hit Holliday on purpose there. Thankfully he's all right. At the moment, you want to go out and strangle someone. But that's not necessary right now with the position we're in."

Maddon said he didn't want to rehash Friday, when he said he was "disappointed" in the Cardinals plunking Rizzo and that the Cubs don't start things but they'll end them.

Cubs pitchers hit three batters Saturday, with closer Hector Rondon and Maddon getting ejected in the ninth inning.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's over," Maddon said. "It's time to move on. Just play some good solid, baseball. We've been doing that for a bit. I just want our guys to keep doing what they have to do and to do nothing differently.

"I'm pretty good at moving on to the next day. We've talked about that a lot. Our biggest concern still is to catch them - the Pirates first and the Cardinals second. We have time to do that, and that's where our focus is."

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny drew a big media crowd in the dugout Saturday morning.

"I get it, that it's a hot topic of conversation, but for us, we just realize that almost every day we have somebody saying something about us and that's just part of the business and we've just got to stick to what we do and take care of what we've got to do and play the game," he said.

"There's a number of ways different messages get out and thoughts about what we do and how we go about our business and we can't let that get in the way of what we have to do."

Give it to the kid:

Joe Maddon came right out and said it about Kris Bryant on Saturday: "He is the Rookie of the Year."

Bryant hit an RBI double in the first inning and then hit his 25th homer of the season in the fifth. By doing so, he tied Billy Williams' team record for homers. Williams set the mark in 1961.

Bryant has a batting line of .275/.369/.499 with a team-leading 95 RBI. Bryant appreciated Maddon's praise.

"He's had my back all year, all the way back in spring training," he said. "Just an awesome guy to play for. I've learned so much. I've had a blast with him. To hear that from him … he believes in me that much."