Chicago Cubs' Maddon chooses to remain consistent

MILWAUKEE - Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon insisted Sunday the team's recent woes haven't gotten to him personally.

"No, I mean that sincerely," Maddon said Sunday before the Cubs salvaged the finale of the three-game series against the Brewers with an 11-4 victory. "Weirdly, after (Saturday) night's loss, I went back and was kind of calm about the whole thing and just trying to figure out, 'OK, what's the next thing to do?'

"One is to remain consistent. The next thing is to believe in your guys. They have to see you being the same cat, also. If you show belief in them that we're good enough, it will come back to you. If you don't … if you're not good enough, it's not going to play anyway. But they need the consistency from me."

Hamels update:

Cole Hamels gave up 3 hits and 3 runs Sunday in a rehab start for Class AAA Iowa. Hamels walked three, struck out four and gave up 2 home runs.

He has been on the injured list since June 29 with a strained left oblique. If Hamels is feeling OK, he could come off the IL and get a start over this coming weekend against the Brewers at Wrigley Field.

Taking a walk, finally:

Free-swinging shortstop Javier Baez drew his first walk in the month of July on Sunday. Until the game, he had a batting average and on-base percentage of .289 this month.

"I wanted to really grab the baseball," said Joe Maddon. "(The OBP) is finally exceeding his batting average. That was awesome."

Ryan's help:

Left-handed reliever Kyle Ryan turned in another strong performance Sunday with 2⅓ innings of work, giving up an unearned run and striking out three. In his last 26 games dating to May 25, Ryan has a 1.85 ERA. He should get some help with the Cubs having traded Friday for veteran lefty Derek Holland.

"He's been pitching well," Joe Maddon said. "His numbers have been outstanding since the beginning of the season. He's progressively gotten better. And you can see that we like him on certain righties, too. The guy's an absolute pro."

This and that:

Joe Maddon earned his 443rd regular-season win with the Cubs, passing Joe McCarthy (1926-30) for fifth most in franchise history. … Victor Caratini hit his first career pinch home run and the second by a Cub this season. Albert Almora had a pinch homer July 14 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.