With Hendricks returning, Cubs' rotation likely set
The Cubs' starting rotation will get a boost and begin taking a more permanent shape this week.
Right-hander Kyle Hendricks is scheduled to come off the disabled list and pitch Monday afternoon against the White Sox at Wrigley Field. John Lackey will start Tuesday. When the series shifts to the South Side, it will be Jake Arrieta going against the Sox Wednesday night and Jon Lester Thursday.
Hendricks has been on the DL since June 5 with tendinitis in his pitching hand.
Jose Quintana will start Friday's series opener at Milwaukee, and these five starters should carry the load the rest of the way.
Lester earned the win in Saturday's 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. He is 7-6 with a 3.95 ERA. Since the all-star break, Cubs starting pitchers are 6-0 with a 2.16 ERA.
The upshot of Hendricks' return is that lefty Mike Montgomery has moved back to the bullpen, where he opened the season. It's possible the Cubs could use Montgomery as a sixth starter, but there are no immediate plans to do that.
"Once Kyle gets back in there, you feel much more comfortable, and if you want to just keep Montgomery stretched out, then you just pop him back out there while he is stretched out," said manager Joe Maddon. "We haven't had that discussion. After the all-star break it seems like they all came back pretty good. It's still a possibility. But we haven't discussed it yet."
Montgomery has stated his preference to start, but Maddon said the pitcher has a good attitude.
"He's processed things really well," the manager said. "He's going to be a major-league starter. He is a major-league starter. He's going to do that on a more consistent basis in his future. But right now he understands how valuable he is to us doing this particular role. I think acceptance and understanding matters a lot. I just talked to him. He's doing great. He gets it. He's very valuable to us."
All over the place:
The Cubs have had three different starting times this weekend: 1:20 p.m. Friday, 3:05 p.m. Saturday and 7:05 p.m. Sunday.
They'll turn right around Monday and play a 1:20 game against the White Sox. Joe Maddon has never been a fan of the different starting times. He lobbied successfully through the media two years ago to get rid of as many Friday and Saturday 3:05 p.m. starts as possible.
"I got to go to my coffee shop this morning," he said Saturday. "I believe it should be homogenized throughout baseball. I think start times should always be the same in each city. There should be like two times. I know sometimes national TV could interfere with that, but I like homogenized start times, day and night. That would be awesome. I think it would really help players."
Pena up to bolster bullpen:
In part because of Friday's bullpen meltdown, the Cubs recalled Felix Pena from Class AAA Iowa and optioned infielder Tommy La Stella to Iowa.
This is Pena's fourth stint with the big club this season. La Stella has been up and down, as well. He played in 37 games with the Cubs, with a line of .298/.414/.509 with homers and 5 RBI.