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Rizzo's charity work impresses Maddon

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon took the extraordinary step Tuesday of beginning his pregame news conference with praise for first baseman Anthony Rizzo.

The praise was for Rizzo's charitable work, specifically a $3.5 million donation from the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation to Lurie Children's hospital in Chicago.

Rizzo and his family cut the ribbon on the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation Waiting Room at Lurie Children's. Rizzo unveiled a new mural and a framed Rizzo jersey which has been signed by dozens of patients he has visited at Lurie's.

"I don't think there's enough been said about this," Maddon said. "Kind of staggering, $3.5 million given to the Lurie Children's Hospital, and Anthony actually shows up. I talked to him myself. It's one thing to give money. But he's always there.

"I know he gets recognition, but I don't know if he gets enough for what he does off the field. That is really impressive, so I just wanted to make sure I started with that."

Rizzo talked with reporters at his locker about baseball before Tuesday night's game, but the subject of his charity work also came up.

"It's obviously steps in the right direction with the foundation to help out as much as we can," he said. "It was pretty special. I feel like I try to do a really good job of keeping baseball in perspective."

Rizzo overcame limited stage classical Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2008 while a member of the Boston Red Sox minor-league system.

Schwarber stays positive:

Kyle Schwarber was back in the lineup Tuesday. He was a part of the Cubs' 2015 run to the wild card. But last season he entered September on the disabled list, rehabbing a serious knee injury. He returned to help the Cubs win the World Series.

It has been an up-and-down season this year, with Schwarber getting sent to Class AAA Iowa in late June for a stint to work on his swing and his mental approach.

"This is a big learning experience for me," he said. "I'm not looking negatively on it. I look at this as a positive outlook, to be on a winning ballclub and to know what it's like to struggle and know how to get yourself out of it."

Injury updates:

Shortstop Addison Russell took Tuesday off after going 1-for-3 with a double Monday in the first game of his injury-rehab assignment at Class AAA Iowa. Russell will play 6-7 innings for Iowa on Wednesday as he recovers from a foot injury. He could be back this weekend.

Reliever Justin Grimm (finger) pitched 1 inning Monday at Iowa, giving up a home run. He is scheduled to pitch again Thursday.

Left-handed ace Jon Lester (shoulder fatigue) will throw a bullpen session Wednesday at Wrigley Field. He could return to the rotation as early as Saturday against the Atlanta Braves.

Hurricane help from Cubs:

Cubs Charities will chip in Wednesday to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey by donating that night's 50/50 raffle proceeds to the American Red Cross.

Fans can purchase 50/50 tickets from uniformed Cubs Charities sellers starting two hours before the game until the middle of the seventh inning.

The winning ticket will be announced at the top of the ninth, and the winner will receive a check for half of the net proceeds from raffle sales. The other half will be donated by Cubs Charities to the American Red Cross.

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