Chicago Cubs' Hammel delivers strong outing

Jason Hammel took the mound for the Chicago Cubs on Monday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

Whenever he does so, talk turns to whether he will be part of the team's playoff plans.

The Cubs no doubt will use four starting pitchers in the postseason, and Hammel could be the odd man out, based on how Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Jake Arrieta have pitched. And the Cubs may prefer the playoff-tested John Lackey to Hammel.

Hammel did nothing to hurt himself against the Reds. He went 7 innings and gave up 4 hits and 2 runs as the Cubs rallied for a 5-2 victory. Hammel got the win to improve to 15-9. The Cubs have four 15-game winners: Hammel, Lester, Arrieta and Hendricks.

Home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning by Addison Russell and Willson Contreras against Reds starting pitcher Tim Adleman tied the game. Chris Coghlan greeted reliever Blake Wood with a double. Coghlan scored one out later on Dexter Fowler's single.

Jason Heyward provided insurance with a 2-run homer in the eighth.

Either way, manager Joe Maddon said Hammel should not approach his remaining regular-season starts differently.

“No, he should not,” Maddon said. “Just go out there and pitch. Just go out there and pitch and play like he has been. We have not concluded anything yet.

“Just go play, go pitch. Our meetings will start this week regarding how we're going to plan it out.”

In other words, Maddon said Monday's start was not an “audition” for Hammel.

“Honestly, it's not,” he said. “From my perspective it is not. It's not an audition.”

Hammel seems ready to go with the flow.

“The way I look at it is there's really no wrong choice,” he said. “We've got 25 guys that are going to put up some wins for us, whether it's hitting, pitching, defense. We've got a good collective group here. Their decisions are going to be really hard, so we're just going to continue to do what we do, individually do our work and show up and play, and they'll put the best team out there whenever it is.

“I'm not trying out. I'm just doing what I do. Check your ego at the door. Whoever gets taken gets taken and you cheer on from there.”

The Reds scored the game's first run in the second when Brandon Phillips led off with a line-drive home run to left. Hernan Iribarren tripled with one out in the sixth and came home on Joey Votto's bloop single to center over a drawn-in infield.

Injury updates:

The Cubs say reliever Pedro Strop threw well Sunday as he recovers from knee surgery and a subsequent groin injury.

A simulated game could be next for Strop. Team president Theo Epstein said Strop should get enough regular-season outings in before the playoffs begin.

“If he stays on schedule, he'll get all that he needs,” Epstein said. “He'll be fine. He'll get multiple outings if he stays on schedule.”

Outfielder Jorge Soler, who has a sore right side, may be able to pinch hit Tuesday, according to Joe Maddon.