advertisement

Early power fades as Cubs fall to Red Sox

BOSTON - Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon has proclaimed his allegiance to the National League.

But Maddon's Cubs did have some success playing by American League rules at Cleveland last fall in the World Series.

So for this weekend's interleague series at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, Maddon will get to use the designated hitter.

Both the Cubs and Red Sox came out swinging Friday night. Kris Bryant got the Cubs going with a solo homer in the top of the first inning, but the Red Sox hit Jake Arrieta with 5 runs in the bottom of the inning and held on for a 5-4 victory. The Cubs chipped away most of the night but they left two runners stranded in the eighth. For the game, they left 10 on base.

"How many times have we seen that game this year?" said Maddon, whose team fell to 12-10. "We've played that game almost every night. Once we start getting that big hit, it's going to turn in a good way."

The Cubs used Kyle Schwarber as the DH and put Ben Zobrist in left field.

"It's just like last year in Cleveland, the fact where our lineup is programmed and the ability to get Schwarbs as DH as well as put somebody else out there defensively, it makes us stronger, there's no question," Maddon said. "An American League lineup should make your team stronger, offensively speaking.

"Having said that, I love that. But I still like the National League game better. I think the National League game is a better game of baseball than American League baseball. I can say that now after having been here a couple years and doing both. To me, the National League game is a much more interesting game, at least from the dugout it is."

Arrieta lasted only 4⅓ innings, giving up 10 hits and 5 runs. It was his shortest outing since he went 4 innings on Aug. 28, 2014 at Cincinnati.

"We got beat today based on their output in the first inning, and that was on me," Arrieta said.

Monster mash:

Kris Bryant cleared the Green Monster in left field with his first-inning home run. This was Bryant's first game as a pro at Fenway.

"We had practice here in college, and I didn't hit one home run out in BP (batting practice), so hopefully I can change the tides there," he said before the game.

Welcome back to Fenway:

Former Red Sox players Jon Lester, John Lackey and Koji Uehara were recognized in a videoboard tribute during Friday's game. Lester met with reporters from both Boston and Chicago in the dugout before the game.

"I didn't know exactly where the visiting clubhouse was; I had never really been over here," he said. "It's definitely different."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.