Cubs welcome back familiar faces as Yankees come to town
It's a big deal anytime the New York Yankees come to town.
It will be even bigger this weekend when the Cubs play them in a three-game interleague series at Wrigley Field.
Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman will get his 2016 World Series ring from the Cubs during a pregame ceremony, and Yankees reliever Adam Warren also will get a ring in perhaps a more low-key moment. Warren spent time with the Cubs last year before being traded back to the Yankees in July for Chapman, who rejoined the Yankees in the winter as a free agent.
Another weekend focus will be former Cubs infielder Starlin Castro, who is on fire for the Yankees with a line of .362/.402/.543 with 5 homers and 16 RBI.
Castro was a Cub from 2010 through the 2015 season, Maddon's first as manager of the Cubs. During the 2015 season, Castro lost his shortstop job to Addison Russell and was benched before finding a home at second base and helping the Cubs to the National League championship series.
Maddon said he's glad Castro is playing well.
"The other day I was watching a game during the day," Maddon said. "They (tied) a game because he beat out of the back side of a double play. I was very proud and kind of beaming watching that whole thing. He beat out, and they rallied. They came back and tied it late because he beat out a groundball.
"It's part of his gig. That guy can run. When he really wants to get after it, he can go. I know he's playing a pretty good second base. I know the offense is way up. I'm happy for him. He was a great teammate here. I really thought I had a great relationship with him. He never made an excuse, man. He was not an excuse maker. When anything went poorly, he stood tall, I thought. You've got to like everything about him, I think. I'm happy for his success. Looking forward to saying hello to him."
That's some relief:
The Cubs used eight pitchers in Thursday's 5-4 win in 13 innings over the Phillies. That included lefty Mike Montgomery, who worked 3 innings and threw 45 pitches.
The Cubs are trying to stretch Montgomery out to use him as a sixth starter down the line.
Closer Wade Davis pitched a scoreless ninth inning and kept his ERA at 0.00. He extended his scoreless innings streak to 20⅓ innings, dating to last season with the Royals.
"His body of work so far has been outstanding," Maddon said. "It's just the way he is, also. I think the other guys gain a lot of confidence from watching him do his work and how he does. But having that guy at the end of the game permits you to juggle a little bit prior to that."
This and that:
Kris Bryant had his fifth career game with at least 4 hits. He has reached base in 15 consecutive games … Miguel Montero is 15-for-28 with 3 homers in his last 11 games … Reliever Koji Uehara earned his first win with the Cubs.