Tyler Chatwood steps up, leads Chicago Cubs to a much-needed win

Chicago Cubs: A day of obstacles for the club

As if Lester’s illness weren’t enough, the team optioned beleaguered shortstop Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa before the contest in order to make room for catcher Willson Contreras, who returned from the IL.

Couple that with the fact that Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo departed the game within minutes of one another in the fifth and you can see the type of ballgame this could have been for Chicago. Rizzo was ejected by home plate umpire Jordan Baker for arguing balls and strikes.

Bryant, meanwhile, tweaked a knee in the cage during the game and left for precautionary reasons – but not before blasting a two-run shot off Giants starter Tyler Beede in the third.

“With everything that had been going on — sending Addison out, Jonny being ill, Rizzo getting kicked out, K.B. having to come out of the game — you get on an airplane and not winning that game, that’s where the dialogue becomes fabricated in a negative way,” Maddon told MLB.com after the game. “It’s very difficult to control that. You try to but it is. Now we can get on the airplane, get on back home, have a day off, and regroup a bit.”

Chicago Cubs: Offense, pitching finally on the same page in this one

After Chatwood departed in the fifth, the Cubs bullpen did not allow the Giants to score – with Kyle Ryan, Rowan Wick, Pedro Strop and Brandon Kintzler bridging the gap to closer Craig Kimbrel, who nailed down his seventh save of the season.

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What stood out there, though, was the order in which these guys were utilized by Maddon. Strop, who has struggled lately, entered in the seventh – while Kintzler took the eighth, the frame historically handled by Strop.

There’s little doubt his struggles of late prompted the move – and, although Strop turned in a scoreless frame, his velocity was still way down from where we’ve seen it in the past.

As for the bats, the long-ball gave the Cubs what they needed Wednesday. As I mentioned, Bryant blasted a two-run shot in the third – but that wasn’t the team’s first homer of the day. Javier Baez got things started in the top of the first with a solo blast to left-center, his 25th homer of the season.

After the Giants had pulled within two at 3-1 in the bottom of the third, Albert Almora hit a solo shot to left to add to the Cubs’ lead – capping the scoring for the day with his 10th homer of the year.

Chicago now boasts seven players on the Major League roster with at least 10 home runs – and David Bote will likely eclipse that before it’s all said and done, as well – as he has nine on the year. As a team, the Cubs ranks third in the National League with 160 home runs – trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers.

What’s Next?

The Cubs get an off-day Thursday before opening a three-game set against the rival Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Chicago is clinging to a slim half-game edge over the second-place St. Louis Cardinals with Milwaukee just two games out in the NL Central.