Cubs push back Darvish's next start until Tuesday
Maybe the Cubs are trying to take some of the pressure off pitcher Yu Darvish.
Manager Joe Maddon said Friday Darvish will not pitch Monday, as originally scheduled, in a makeup game against the Atlanta Braves at Wrigley Field. Instead, the Cubs will hold Darvish back until Tuesday night when the two teams shift sites to Atlanta.
"We've rearranged that," Maddon said. "We want to give him one extra day. So we're going to push him to Tuesday, and (Jose) Quintana will come back on Monday. The day off (Thursday) permitted us to do that."
Darvish has been on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to May 4, with parainfluenza virus.
It's not been a good start to his Cubs career for Darvish, who signed a six-year, $126 million contract on the eve of spring training. He is 0-3 with a 6.00 ERA, and he was booed by the Wrigley Field crowd during his last start. He has had trouble in the fifth innings of 4 of his starts.
Here comes Bryant:
Catcher Willson Contreras had a big day in Friday's 11-2 victory over the White Sox. But third baseman Kris Bryant had another good game.
He homered (No. 7), singled, walked twice (once intentionally) and was hit by a pitch. Bryant has homered in five of his last eight games. His line is up to .302/.434/.612.
"He's starting to hit the ball hard," said Joe Maddon. "It's getting to the barrel. That home run was really crisp. I loved the double down the line. His defense, his baseruning. He's just plays a complete game. When he's on base, it sets it up for everybody else."
Don't run on Schwarber:
Left fielder Kyle Schwarber picked up an outfield assist, easily throwing out Nicky Delmonico at the plate to end the fifth inning. Delmonico tried to score from second base on Jose Abreu's single, which scored Adam Engel.
"I always want to pride myself on my defense," he said. "Just being able to be accurate with throws is a big thing for me. There I had a decent amount of time. He hit a scorcher right to me. Take your time and put a good throw there."
This and that:
STATS Inc. notes that Willson Contreras is the fourth major-league player since at least 1913 to record at least 2 doubles, 2 triples and 2 homers in a two-game span, joining Colorado's Larry Walker (1996), the Braves' Hank Aaron (1960) and the Giants' Dusty Rhodes (1954). Contreras is the second Cub since at least 1908 to record at least 4 extra-base hits and 7 RBI in a single game, joining George Mitterwald (April 17, 1974).