advertisement

Chicago Cubs to face NL aces Bumgarner, Kershaw

Manager Joe Maddon joked before Monday's game at Wrigley Field how the Cubs are going from "American Legion Week" to "Cy Young Week."

The Cubs faced last year's AL Cy Young winner, Cleveland's Corey Kluber, on Monday, then expect to see San Francisco postseason hero Madison Bumgarner and Los Angeles' Clayton Kershaw, last year's NL Cy Young winner, in consecutive games Thursday and Friday.

Kluber locked up with Cubs starter Jon Lester for quite a pitchers' duel Monday. Kluber was perfect for 5⅓ innings and finished the day with 11 strikeouts. After the game, Lester was asked if Kluber's performance forced him to be especially sharp on the mound.

"No, I'm not worried about him," Lester said. "If I'm not focused on my start, then I'm worried about the wrong thing. With Corey over there, you're going to have a little bit of a battle. You've got to keep your team in the game the best you can."

With the help of four double plays, Lester was able to match zeros with Kluber. The Cubs finally broke the scoreless tie in the seventh on Anthony Rizzo's RBI triple. Cleveland prevented a Lester complete-game shutout when Carlos Santana delivered an RBI single with two outs in the ninth.

"We had to pitch that well. Their guy was outstanding, our guy was outstanding," Maddon said. "Not a lot of well-struck baseballs with the wind blowing out."

Lester's previous start was one of his worst of the season - 7 earned runs in less than 3 innings against Detroit - and he didn't appreciate being reminded of that fact after the game.

Cubs head west:

The Cubs finally left town Monday evening after a very successful "Chicago-stand." Between two homestands and three games against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, the Cubs haven't played a game outside the city limits since Aug. 5.

The home cooking paid off. The Cubs went 14-3 during this stretch and will head into an important road trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles on a roll. The West Coast swing begins Tuesday in San Francisco with Jake Arrieta against Matt Cain. The Cubs are 6 ½ games ahead of the Giants for the second wild card slot.

"We've been playing really good," Kris Bryant said. "We can't change anything. There's no need to think differently, play differently. Just go out and do what you've been doing and things will take care of themselves."

Cubs manager Joe Maddon was asked if he's fired up to see how his young club fares in some high-pressure road games, and he went off topic with the answer.

"I'm fired up every day," Maddon said before the game. "I may not look it right now because my wife came into town last night."

Russell a healthy scratch:

Shortstop Addison Russell suffered a groin injury on Sunday. Cubs manager Joe Madden maintained the injury is no big deal, but Russell skipped Monday's 2-1 win over Cleveland to be with his fiancee for the pending birth of the couple's child.

"I've been looking to give the guy a rest anyway," Maddon said. "Maybe this little (injury) indicates 'back off.' You'd rather be proactive in regards to doing it on your own volition as opposed to being forced into a DL spot.

"He's a very important part to what we're doing right now, so this little rest might actually be very beneficial."

Cub notes:

Rookie Kyle Schwarber struck out four times in Monday's game. "He got schooled a little bit today," manager Joe Maddon said. "Their pitcher (Corey Kluber) is really good. I know that Kyle will definitely file that, but I really believe he'll have a nice game tomorrow." … Cubs catcher David Ross hit a ball onto Waveland Avenue in the third inning. It was initially ruled a home run, but quickly overturned by replay. … Maddon said he's not too concerned with the health of Dexter Fowler, who was hit on the right hand during an eighth-inning at bat.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.