Cubs' Lackey gets win after long delay

The Cubs and John Lackey had to wait and wait some more Tuesday night in Atlanta.

All eyes were going to be trained on Lackey at SunTrust Park as the Cubs and the Braves tried to play Game 2 of their three-game series.

But persistent rain showers kept pushing the start of the game back and back from its scheduled 6:35 p.m. CDT first pitch. Finally, after 2½ hours, the game began and Lackey (6-9) got the win in a 5-1 decision. Javier Baez and Willson Contreras both hit homers for the Cubs.

Lackey, the Cubs' 38-year-old war horse, was activated off the 10-day disabled list, where he had resided since July 6 with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. To make room in the rotation, the Cubs optioned pitcher Eddie Butler to Class AAA Iowa.

This year has been a struggle at times for Lackey, who entered the day with a 5.20 ERA.

The Cubs do have options with their rotation in the coming days. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks, baseball's defending ERA champion, pitched 5 perfect innings Monday night in a minor-league rehab start for Class AA Tennessee as he comes back from inflammation in his pitching hand. The Cubs' other starters are Jon Lester, Jose Quintana, Jake Arrieta and Mike Montgomery.

Unless Lackey is terrible, it's hard to imagine him losing his spot in the rotation. He does have the faith and respect of manager Joe Maddon and seems less adaptable to bullpen work than lefty Montgomery, who opened the season as a relief pitcher. Maddon has said the idea of sending Lackey to the pen has not been discussed seriously.

"It is almost as if you get two acquisitions with Quintana, and Kyle coming back," Maddon told reporters. "You get two starting-pitching acquisitions, and that is what I am mentally looking at going forward."

In his previous start, on July 5 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Wrigley Field, Lackey got a no-decision. He did turn in a quality start, working 6 innings and giving up 6 hits and 3 runs as the Cubs won 7-3. Lackey gave up 8 runs at Washington on June 28, but he turned in a pair of quality efforts before that.

"A lot has been said about John's struggles," pitching coach Chris Bosio said on his WSCR pregame show. "You look up and down our roster. A lot of people here have struggled. He's a winner."

Lackey gave up a homer to Nick Markakis leading off the bottom of the second. In the top of the third, Baez tied it for the Cubs with a homer, and Contreras hit a 3-run blast to make it 4-1. The Cubs tacked on a run in the sixth when a Ben Zobrist groundout allowed Albert Almora to score.