Maddon not expecting suspension for ejection
Joe Maddon said he has not heard from Major League Baseball about his ejection from Wednesday night's victory over Cincinnati, but the Cubs' manager doesn't expect to be suspended.
Maddon said any contact he made with first-base umpire Chris Conroy was incidental and no big deal.
"If I did, it was basically just patting somebody on the back or something," Maddon said. "I didn't hit anybody."
Maddon was furious over the fact that a bunting Ben Zobrist was ruled to have offered at a ninth-inning pitch while getting hit in the left leg. Zobrist went on to move runners to second and third with a groundout, and the Cubs won when Javier Baez scored on a wild pitch.
Maddon said - for the most part - he's toned down how vehemently he argues when he feels a call has been blown.
"There's times when I used to get kicked out in the minor leagues and I would say some really bad words at umpires," Maddon said. "(The next day) I would go out to the plate with the (lineup) card and apologize for my language, and say that I have to do a better job of arguing with them."
Schwarber second:
Kyle Schwarber batted second against Cincinnati on Thursday, going 3-for-5 with a home run. It was the ninth time Schwarber was in the No. 2 spot this season, a spot Joe Maddon would love to keep him in.
"That's where he's been very successful," Maddon said. "Either (batting behind) Jon Jay or (Ben) Zobrist. I kind of like what that looks like right now. I think his confidence is coming back up."
Schwarber batted second 52 times in 2015, hitting 15 home runs and driving in 38 runs in 188 at-bats.
Around the horn:
The Cubs and Reds combined for 23 runs Thursday, the most in a Cubs game this season. ... When the Cubs hit 4 home runs in the fourth inning, it was the first time they accomplished that feat since June 21, 2008. Kris Bryant (1-for-4) has reached base safely in 14 straight games with a .500 on-base percentage (32-for-64) over that span. ...
Joey Votto's streak of reaching base at least twice in a game ended at 20 when he went 1-for-4 in the Cubs' 7-6 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday. Votto, who went 2-for-5 with a walk Thursday, fell one game short of tying Ted Williams' major-league record, which was set in 1948. … The Cubs won for the second time in a little over a year Wednesday on a walk-off wild pitch. The other victory came on Aug. 3, 2016 against Miami. The Cubs hadn't won in that fashion in the previous six seasons.
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