Maddon knows importance of Cardinals series

Yes, it matters.

It's the Cardinals, after all.

And, yes, the Cubs started Sunday 9½ games behind first-place St. Louis in the National League Central with 28 games left. But while the Cardinals appear en route to the division title - they lead second-place Pittsburgh by 5½ games after the Pirates' 7-1 victory Sunday night - Cubs manager Joe Maddon views his young team's upcoming three-game series at Busch Stadium important for reasons beyond potentially gaining ground in the standings.

The Cubs play the Cardinals in a Labor Day matinee (1:15 p.m.), with Dan Haren facing Lance Lynn.

"When you're playing really good teams like that, you eventually have to beat them in their own ballpark," Maddon said. "That matters."

The Cubs are 4-9 against the Cardinals this season, just 1-6 at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals swept the visiting Cubs in a three-game series in late June.

"We go in there with a lot of confidence this time," Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks said. "We don't question our abilities or anything. We're ready to take it right to them and see what happens."

"We've played well down there, a lot, and we've given up leads late," Maddon said. "If we grab a lead, we've got to learn how to hold on to it there. I think that's the next learning step for us."

Maddon has gone through this learning process before when he was the Tampa Bay manager. Eventually, his Rays defeated the mighty Red Sox.

"That was a big moment when we were able to beat the Red Sox in September," Maddon said. "That does a lot for you … and makes them think a little bit, too."

Your table is ready, Mr. Arrieta:

You can call Jake Arrieta a Cy Young candidate.

Sunday, Joe Maddon called his bearded right-hander a "foodie." Arrieta has devoured opposing hitters all season, posting an MLB-best 18 wins and a 2.03 ERA, second best in the National League behind the Los Angeles Dodgers' Zack Greinke's 1.59.

A "foodie?"

"He just loves restaurants and food," Maddon said of Arrieta. "He'll tell you all the best restaurants in Chicago and probably every city that we play in. He's always referencing different restaurants to me."

Maddon likes when a player has varied interests and balance in his life. Before Arrieta's breakout season started, Maddon had conversations with the 29-year-old right-hander in spring training about "stuff," not necessarily the good kind that pitchers may or not have when pitching on a given day.

"I was really impressed with his ability to have interests outside of baseball," Maddon said. "He's a really dedicated family guy. When you talk to him, he wants to talk about food and his family. He'll get into his workout, maybe some other things."

Biting the hand:

Welington Castillo, who started the season with the Cubs, went 3-for-4 with an RBI double and a solo home run Sunday for Arizona. It was the 18th homer for Castillo, who was traded by the Cubs to Seattle, which then dealt him to the Diamondbacks on June 3.

Castillo's 46 RBI are a career best. He hit a career-high 13 homers for the Cubs last season.