Cubs' Strop aims to pitch in postseason

Pedro Strop on Saturday ruled out pitching in the final regular-season game of the season, saying that he is shooting for the postseason.

Strop has been out for just over two weeks with a strained left hamstring, an injury he picked up running the bases in Washington.

“We already tested it twice on the mound, and it went well,” he said. “Now we'll make the next step, which is running and make sure that if I get into the game, I'll be able to at least cover first, which I think I'll be able to. We're going to just test it today and see from there.”

Strop said he didn't want to think about the possibility of the Cubs playing Tuesday in the wild-card game. Instead he was focused on the division series.

“Thursday,” he said. “Don't talk about Tuesday. We're looking for the A Plan.”

While the hamstring has been healing, Strop has been able to keep his right arm active.

“The most important thing is that I've been able to throw,” he said. “My arm is in shape, so I don't have to go through that. That's what is going to make the process quicker. Good thing I was able to throw.”

Strop had been the Cubs' de facto closer since Brandon Morrow went on the disabled list in July.

Much respect given:

Joe Maddon said he has high regard for the Milwaukee Brewers, who are battling the Cubs for the top spot in the National League Central.

“I like a lot of their players, using the word ‘character' meaning they have character,” he said. “They're kind of interesting. The addition of (Mike) Moustakas, I thought that was a great move on their part, too. I've liked this group for a couple of years now. The have a nice group that provides a lot of good energy.”

Going the extra Miles:

Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas earned his 18th victory of the season by beating the Cubs 2-1. That's the most wins by a Cardinals pitcher since Adam Wainwright had 20 in 2014. The Cardinals were trying to stave off elimination in the wild-card race and were hoping for the Giants to beat the Dodgers so they could stay alive.

“We did everything we could today,” Mikolas said. “I know a few guys on the Giants, maybe send them some text messages, pump them up, get them ready for the game and maybe go grab dinner and a beer and see how that game shakes out. I knew we had to win so my role is just to keep that game close as long as I could, and things worked out real well for us.”