Mills controls cold night at Wrigley as Cubs beat Reds
A question hovering over the Cubs for the past few years and foreseeable future is whether the World Series nucleus can provide more team success.
When the Cubs got off to a 13-3 start this season, there was certainly hope, along with talk that the positive clubhouse chemistry would pay off in the shortened season.
Newcomer Cameron Maybin, a veteran playing his 14th big-league series, shared his thoughts about walking into a tight-knit clubhouse.
"This is a good group," Maybin said. "I'm from a town, Asheville, North Carolina - I guess you could call it a hippie town, lot of good vibes. So I'm big on energy and vibes. From the moment I walked into this clubhouse, it's been more than welcoming. Guys have one thing on their mind and that's finding a way to win a ballgame. So that's nice."
The Cubs increased their lead in the NL Central by shutting out Cincinnati 3-0 on Tuesday at Wrigley Field. Starter Alec Mills threw 6 innings, with help from relievers Duane Underwood, Ryan Tepera and Jeremy Jeffress.
Maybin said he did have a couple of friends on the Cubs before he arrived last week in a trade with Detroit. Maybin started in right field the last two days while Jason Heyward was checked out after leaving Sunday's game with lightheadedness and shortness of breath.
"I've known Rizzo since he was 18," Maybin said. "We were in San Diego together, so I've known Riz for a long, long time. JayHey's my boy, even before I came here we were constantly texting, talking to each other. I like to think I'm a guy who gets along with everybody.
"(Kyle) Schwarber's my locker mate. I love talking to him, he's a great guy. Everybody's been open. There's no cliques in this locker room, which I like. It's one big group, one big happy family and that's what you want to be a part of."
It was the coldest night of the season and the wind was blowing in. The Cubs took an early lead with a couple of opposite-field triples. David Bote found the right-field corner to drive in 2 runs in the second and Javy Baez did the same to drive in 1 run an inning later.
Mills (4-3) had a nice throwback start, tossing 6 scoreless innings and 102 pitches. Mills won his first two starts this season while allowing 2 earned runs in 13 innings. In his last five starts, Mills went 1-3 with a 7.66 ERA.
"On a night like tonight, it's one of those things, 'Hey, here's a fastball, see how hard you can hit it.' A lot of times they're not going to be able to get it out of the yard," Mills said. "I think a couple fly balls tonight are probably a different story on a different night But pitch to the conditions, that's part of Wrigley Field.
"Tonight really just made pitches when I needed them I think the big thing. I hadn't been doing that lately."
Reds starter Tyler Mahle struck out 10, but took the loss. He had 11 strikeouts in a win over the Cubs on Aug. 28.
One sidebar in recent days has been the quest to get Baez and Kris Bryant above the .200 mark in batting average. It's a strange place for those guys to be, considering Bryant was National League MVP in 2016 and Baez finished second in 2018.
While the triple helped Baez finish the night at .208, Bryant (.194) got a scare when he was hit by a pitch on the tip of his left elbow in the third inning. Bryant stayed in the game, scored on Baez' triple and wore an elbow guard to the plate after that.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls