May 4, 2015 ESPNChicago.com Young Cubs offense shows its inexperience By Doug Padilla CHICAGO -- Nobody said the young Chicago Cubs offense would not have its growing pains, and during a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers those pains showed themselves. The Cubs scored just five runs the entire weekend against the Brewers, but still managed to win one of the three games, thanks to the pitching of Jon Lester, whose ace ability emerged just in time to help his club to Friday’s 1-0 triumph. The Cubs had their biggest offensive output of the series Sunday, but still dropped a 5-3 decision. Runs definitely were a rare commodity this weekend, as the Brewers seized upon a strategy that the baby Cubs were slow to adjust to. “Their first pitcher [starter Jimmy Nelson], he’s not a very experienced dude, but you could see it in the end there with their bullpen guys that pitched really well against us,” manager Joe Maddon said. “But [Nelson] got better as the game progressed. From my perspective, I’ve been around this stuff before with young hitters like these, you just have to keep being patient, just give them the right information and keep them kind of loose actually. That’s the only way to do it.” There is always a boom/bust cycle that comes with power hitters, especially young ones, which the Cubs have in spades. Young slugging phenom Kris Bryant has been productive in the first few weeks of his budding career, but he still is without a home run and already has Saturday’s four-strikeout game on his resume. On Sunday, he rebounded with an RBI double in the fifth inning that snapped a mini three-game hitless skid. Jorge Soler, who had been struggling recently, suddenly looks more comfortable after having a heart-to-heart with Maddon. He delivered two hits Sunday, giving him a hit in each of his past three games. The early part of the season not only is key for Cubs players to learn the National League, it also has given Maddon a chance to learn what buttons to push with his talented but young crew. So much of a hitter’s success is mental, and Maddon is learning what buttons he can push with what players. “You can’t be uptight and hit on the major league level,” Maddon said after Sunday’s series defeat to a team that hadn’t won a series all season. “You have to go up there with a nice approach, and a plan, and we do. We have all that. It will come to fruition, it’s just one of those moments that some guys are struggling a bit right now, but it will come back to them.” Minimal run support heightens pitching mistakes and, as a result, Cubs starter Jason Hammel was unable to make a difference despite a quality start, the 12th from a Cubs starter this season.

While his run support was low Sunday, he wasn’t complaining since the offense produced nine runs in his season-opening start April 11, and he got five runs of support April 17 to cover the four-spot he allowed, enabling him to escape with a no-decision. “What we did in the last series against the Pirates was that we had some two-out knocks,” Hammel said. “We had chances today and we got a couple of them in, and left a few out there. It’s a matter of timely hits and we had some today but not enough.” Hammel even tried to help the cause with a second-inning sacrifice fly, the first he has delivered in his career. As far as the two-out RBIs go, the Cubs got two of them in the fifth inning, one on a triple to dead center field by Anthony Rizzo and another when Bryant followed with his double to shallow right. Before the game, Bryant said he wasn’t worried that he had yet to hit a home run in the major leagues, and showed he learned a little after his four-strikeout game Saturday by going with a pitch and dropping it into right field. “We’re all going to struggle at some point this season, but I trust my teammates that they can pick me up when I’m not doing well and I’ll pick them up when they’re not doing well, so that’s what a team is all about,” Bryant said. “I’m not here to put up crazy numbers or any of that stuff. I’m here to win and I feel like maybe at previous levels you’re trying to get here so you feel the pressure to put up big numbers, but here it’s all about winning and that’s what I’m all about too.” If anything came from this weekend’s offensive struggles it is that a positive approach is alive and well. “We did OK and had opportunities,” Maddon said. “Of course we’re not stringing it together. We’re not really driving the ball like we can. We’re definitely a team with more power than that and it will come. As these young hitters begin to understand what these pitchers are trying to do against them, and get their feet under them a little more, you’re going to see them all become more consistent with their power too.” All was not a bust as Addison Russell’s first career home run was the difference in Friday’s narrow victory, and the youngster currently is riding a six-game hitting streak. The Cubs just need it from more than one source at any given time. “In the meantime, I love their fight,” Maddon said. “We didn’t get it done [Sunday], but I’ll take the effort.” -- ESPNChicago.com Cubs skate off to St. Louis in Blackhawks unis By Doug Padilla CHICAGO – Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon is big on civic pride and off-beat bonding rituals, so on Sunday he combined both of his interests into one event. Each Cubs player boarded the team flight to St. Louis on Sunday evening wearing a Chicago Blackhawks jersey with their own name and Cubs uniform number on the back. And they weren’t some cheap replicas either, but rather the same quality the actual Blackhawks players wear, meaning the tab for the entire thing easily was a couple thousand dollars. The Blackhawks were playing host to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday night in the second round of the NHL playoffs and the gesture sent support from one Chicago team to another.

For a baseball team, flying to St. Louis wearing all red might not make sense, but in this case it works because St. Louis’ NHL team is known as the Blues, after all. And whether he meant it or not, the move also serves as a tweak to St. Louis sports fans because the Blues were eliminated by Minnesota in the first round of the NHL playoffs. Maddon is big on themes for some flights to visiting cities. While he was manager with the Tampa Bay Rays, he had a James Bond-themed trip, one that celebrated Woodstock, a trip to Miami where players wore all white and others that included Rays letterman jackets and preppie fashions. At the end of his media session with reporters following Sunday’s 5-3 defeat the Milwaukee Brewers, Maddon dropped a “Go Hawks” into the microphone before walking away. He was wearing his Blackhawks jersey with the No. 70, of course. -- ESPNChicago.com Rapid Reaction: Brewers 5, Cubs 3 By Doug Padilla CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs could not corral the Milwaukee Brewers late in a 5-3 defeat Sunday at Wrigley Field. How it happened: Former Cub Aramis Ramirez delivered a two-run single in the eighth inning to break a tie and put the Brewers up for good. It was just the second series the Cubs have lost so far this season after winning four of them and tying two more. Cubs starter Jason Hammel gave up three runs on five hits over six innings. Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson gave up three runs on seven hits over 6 2/3 innings. What it means: The dynamic, but young, Cubs offense was held in check for a fourth consecutive game. The Cubs had scored just one run in each of its previous three games, before matching that total output Sunday. Even with those three runs, it means the Cubs are scoring just 1.5 runs per game over their last four contests. Before that, the Cubs had averaged 5.4 runs a game over their previous eight games. Scary stuff: The Wrigley Field crowd was silenced to a whisper in the eighth inning when the Brewers’ Jean Segura was hit in the front of the helmet by a Pedro Strop pitch. Segura, who was attempting a bunt when he was beaned, lay on the ground motionless as he was helped by the Brewers training staff. He eventually got to his feet and jogged to first base, but was then removed from the game and replaced by Hector Gomez. Outside the box: By giving up three runs over his six innings, Hammel gave the Cubs their 12th quality start of the season. The Cubs entered 10-1 in the previous 11 instances. And before Hammel’s outing, Cubs starters had been 8-1 with a 1.95 ERA in those 11 quality starts. When the Cubs don’t get a quality start, they are 3-8. Off beat: The starting pitchers were dueling all right, but not in the most obvious place. In the bottom of the second inning, Hammel gave the Cubs their first run, tying the score 1-1, on a sacrifice fly to center field. A half inning later Nelson topped that with a one-out double and then scoring on a single from Carlos Gomez, sliding home just ahead of the throw from Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler. Up next: The Cubs will send out left-hander Travis Wood (2-1, 3.04 ERA) to start a four-game series at St. Louis on Monday. The Cardinals will counter with right-hander Carlos Martinez (3-0, 1.73) in the 8:10 p.m. ET start at Busch Stadium. -- ESPNChicago.com Cubs add relief depth with Anthony Varvaro claim By Doug Padilla CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs added veteran bullpen depth Sunday, claiming right-hander Anthony Varvaro off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.

To make room on the 40-man roster, left-hander Joseph Ortiz was designated for assignment. Varvaro, 30, has 166 games of major league experience, including nine appearances with the Red Sox this season, when he went 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA. He had been designated for assignment by the Red Sox on April 29. A former 12th-round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners in the 2005 draft, Varvaro is 7-9 in his major league career with 20 holds and has a 3.23 ERA in stints with the Mariners, Atlanta Braves and Red Sox. In four seasons in the National League with the Braves, Varvaro had a 2.99 ERA over 153 outings, going 6-4 with a 2.74 ERA in his last two seasons in the NL. Ortiz, 24, was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in eight relief appearances at Triple-A Iowa this season. -- ESPNChicago.com Cubs' Kris Bryant playing game of percentages By Doug Padilla CHICAGO -- One day after striking out four times in four trips to the plate, Chicago Cubs rookie Kris Bryant was right back in the cleanup spot Sunday and salivating for another chance. Showing the determination that has helped him to become a potential top power producer for an extended period, Bryant isn't afraid of repeating days like Saturday, using it as more of a challenge moving forward. "It's baseball, man; it's baseball," Bryant said Sunday morning. "It happens all the time. Just play the game, man. It's a game. Have fun with it. I never look into a bad game too much. I realize why I'm playing this game." Pitcher Mike Fiers was adept at changing speeds in Saturday's 6-1 Milwaukee Brewers victory, striking out 12 batters over six innings. While the Cubs are young and talented, Fiers exposed their youth in an impressive victory. "It's understanding what these [opposing pitchers] are trying to do to you now," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, when asked how coaches participate in the young players' adjustments moving forward. "It's not always about making a physical adjustment with your mechanics, it's about understanding what's going on and have them hopefully raise their level of awareness with all that. So it does, it takes time. "It's not going to happen overnight. They're going to struggle at times, and they're going to get hot at times. Yesterday's pitcher was just a bad matchup for us and he exploited some things to his credit." Indeed, the zero-hit, four-strikeout game has been far from a rarity for the Cubs as they start introducing their inexperienced, high-upside players into the mix. Fellow rookie Addison Russell already has a zero-hit, four-strikeout game and he has only been in the major leagues since April 21. Last year, Javier Baez had three such games for the Cubs, while Arismendy Alcantara had one, according to information compiled by ESPN Stats ∓ Information. "Twenty-four hours can make a huge difference in everybody's life and with anybody's baseball game," Maddon said. "If anything, I want guys how to realize how to turn the page, how to get to the next game, good or bad. It's incredible. That's the one thing I have learned, how much of a difference 24 hours can make. And if our guys can understand that and come out and treat this as a separate game, which it is, just learn from it and have a good game, you can come back and have yourself a good day." Bryant is on board with that concept.

"Maybe I kind of got out of my approach a little bit," Bryant said. "It's a percentage game with me. I have games like that a certain amount of times. I expect to have another game like that sometime this year, but it's all about minimizing it and learning from it. This is a whole learning experience for me. Facing the Brewers for the first time, I kind of see how they're attacking me, so make my adjustments and see where I'm at." Known for how power, Bryant still has yet to deliver a home run, but Maddon doesn't see that as an issue to this point. "I'm sure that monkey coming off his back will help," Maddon said. "I don't necessarily see him trying too hard right now. I don't see that. For the most part, he has been accepting his walks and having good at-bats. If it really bothers him, I'm not seeing that but I think we can agree that the moment he does it, he will relax a little more." Bryant did have 43 combined minor league home runs last year and three in seven games at Triple-A this year, before getting his call to join the major leagues. He has also hit the wall twice with long drives so that first blast is coming sooner rather than later. "No, I can go all season without hitting a home run as long as we're winning games," Bryant offered. "Right now we're doing pretty good, so we'll see. I know the type of player I am and it's a percentage. I hit home runs and I'm just due. [Saturday] I was due for a bad game, so it happens." -- CSNChicago.com Cubs U: As Cardinals await, Maddon's bunch still learning how to win By Tony Andracki Sometimes it seems like Joe Maddon is holding a life seminar rather than meeting with the press, working through the psychology of it all. The Cubs manager is a sort of mad scientist who likes to go against the grain, hitting the pitcher eighth and turning road trips into costume parties. Maddon's latest class at Cubs University is teaching young, inexperienced players how to win consistently and instilling a winning culture in a franchise nicknamed "The Lovable Losers.' "[Learning how to win] is really important," Maddon said. "It's important to think that as the game gets deeper and it's close, that you're going to win it somehow. There's also the alternative side, where, as the game gets deeper and closer, you feel like you're going to lose it somehow. "That's the culture you definitely don't want to create. I've been on teams where you just can feel that. They know that and then sure enough, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy in a negative way. You don't want that. "Right now, the needle is pointing in the right direction." Maddon said this all before his team dropped the final two games to the Milwaukee Brewers, who left the weekend series at Wrigley Field with the worst record in baseball, even after the back-to-back victories. The Brewers responded to the series win by firing manager Ron Roenicke Sunday evening. But Maddon was still positive even after Sunday's loss, sounding almost chipper while sporting his personalized Blackhawks sweater. It's that attitude that helped lure veteran catcher David Ross to Chicago's North Side. "[A winning culture] starts at the top," veteran catcher David Ross said, crediting the Cubs front office with making moves that have improved the clubhouse dynamic. "Joe definitely is a huge influence. That's one of the reasons I came here is because it made a statement on how much they were wanting to win.

"Joe's doing a great job. He's been on a ton of winning teams, has a great track record and it's because, I believe, he's positive. When in doubt, find a positive outlook on something. "It's easy to look at the negative, especially as a coach or manager. He doesn't do that. He knows how hard this game is. He's a very detailed person, which is nice. He's not anal in the sense of just nitpicking every small mistake. He sees the big picture." Ross and Jon Lester won a championship in Boston in 2013 and they headline a group of veteran voices in the Cubs clubhouse that passes along messages from Maddon and the coaching staff. That's key on a roster packed with young guys who are still trying to figure out their identity as players, let alone how to win on a consistent basis. "I can't overstate how important the veterans have been to this whole thing as far as leading the charge in the clubhouse and on the bench during the game," Maddon said. "These guys have been spectacular. "Our veterans are great at staying in touch with our kids and really encouraging them. I'm very fortunate as a manager to have that kind of help in the clubhouse. "It's one thing for the staff to put [a message] out there. It's another for the veteran players to put it out there. That's when it really sticks." Lester is a good example for Maddon to point to as the Cubs manager tries to instill the right habits in the young players. After struggling through four starts to being the 2015 campaign, Lester finally showed why he earned that $155 megadeal with a dominant performance in a 1-0 win Friday. Still, after the game, you couldn't tell he had just won. His message was still the same, like the chorus of that Jay Z song - "On to the next one." Lester refuses to get complacent and continues to keep the same work ethic, win or lose. He's loving the youthful energy with the Cubs right now and the dance parties in the locker room after victories. "It's fun. Especially for us older guys. I've never really been around anything like it," Lester said. "... It's hard to win a game in the big leagues. You should celebrate it. Regardless of how pretty or how ugly it is. "You enjoy it and the thing I've really liked - especially from these young guys - is they're able to separate it. They're able to have their fun, celebrate their wins. "Tomorrow is a new day. You show up the next day and you do it all over again. That's the beginning of a really good team when you're able to separate each individual day. It's a long season. You have to separate the losses with the wins, then show up the next day and try to do the same thing." That's the type of process and mindset Maddon points to as examples of what sets winning teams apart. "You win hard for 30 minutes, you lose hard for 30 minutes and move on," Maddon said. "I love the guys like that - [Lester] probably had a beer or two and thought about it. So he gets over the moment, he's thinking about the next team he's going to pitch against and how he's gotta be better. "Twenty-four hours can make a huge difference in anybody's life and and in anybody's game. If anything, I want our guys to turn the page, get to the next game, good or bad. That's one thing I've learned - what a difference 24 hours can make. It's incredible."

One of the staples of Maddon's style is each game carrying the same amount of weight. Whether it's a spring training contest, a regular season game or a postseason series. When players start to look at some games as "bigger" or more important than others, it lets pressure creep in. Still, the Cubs have a nice measuring stick in front of them this week - a four game series in St. Louis with a first-place Cardinals team that is rallying after losing ace Adam Wainwright for the season. "This is a good test," Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel said. "We gotta win these games. To be the best, you gotta beat the best. These guys are playing hot and we're going into their territory now. "We'll find out what we're made of in this series." -- CSNChicago.com Maddon trying to keep young Cubs loose through struggles By Tony Andracki It's hard to stay negative in Joe Maddon's clubhouse. The Cubs may have dropped two out of three to the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field over the weekend, but they left the stadium in style, sporting personalized Blackhawks sweaters for the trip to St. Louis. That's just another way Maddon likes to keep things loose and fresh during the grind of a long season. The Cubs scored just five runs in the series and have only six runs in the last four games after averaging 5.5 runs a game on a four-game winning streak from April 24-28. Following the Cubs' 5-3 loss to the Brewers Sunday, Maddon said he felt the hitters' approaches were "OK." "We had some opportunities, but we're not stringing [hits] together," Maddon said. "We're not really driving the ball like we can. We're definitely a team with more power than that. "It's gonna come. As these young hitters get to understand what these other pitchers are trying to do against him and get their feet on the ground a little bit more, you're going to see them all become more consistent with their power. "In the meantime, I love the fight. We didn't get it done today, but I'll take the effort." While Anthony Rizzo maintains his consistent production in the middle of the Cubs' lineup, a quartet of young players around him are enduring some struggles. Addison Russell is on a modest six-game hitting streak and homered in Friday's win, but struck out five times in the series and is still hitting just .211 with a .599 OPS. Kris Bryant remains homerless in his first 15 big-league games and apart from a gift double that popped out of the glove of Milwaukee second baseman Elian Herrera, Bryant was a non-factor in the series, going 0-for-9 with six strikeouts in his other at-bats against Brewers pitchers. Jorge Soler entered the series in the midst of a 2-for-26 stretch, but showed signs of life against Milwaukee by going 5-for-12 with a double and a walk. Starlin Castro may be in his sixth big-league season, but he's still just 25 and constantly refining his approach at the plate. He is mired in a 2-for-15 slump that has seen his average dip from .342 all the way to .309.

This Cubs lineup has had a lot of success already this season and Maddon isn't stressing about the lack of success lately. He wants to keep the pressure at bay, which is how things like the Blackhawks-themed road trip can wash away the negative feelings. "From my perspective, I've been around stuff like this before," Maddon said. "With young hitters like these, you've got to be patient, just keep trying to give them the right information, keep them kinda loose, actually. "That's the only way to do it. You can't be uptight on the major-league level. You have to go up there with a nice approach and a plan and we do. We have all that. "But it'll come to fruition. Just one of those moments where some guys are struggling a bit right now, but it'll come back to us." -- CSNChicago.com Brewers outlast Cubs in series finale By Tony Andracki The Cubs got more offense Sunday, but it still wasn't enough to pull out the victory. The Brewers (7-18) set the tone early again and then put the Cubs (13-10) away in the eighth inning en route to a 5-3 victory in front of 33,398 fans at Wrigley Field. The Brewers scored solo runs in the second, third and fourth innings before breaking a 3-3 tie in the eighth. "Gotta set the tone better early," Cubs starter Jason Hammel said. "The first inning was nice. But single runs in the next three innings kinda dampens the mood a bit. I kept us in it, but it could've been a lot better." Hammel ended up with the minimum requirements for a quality start, tossing six innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out four. He admitted he didn't have a good feel for the ball Sunday as he's dealing with a nail/blister issue on his pitching hand. Cubs reliever Pedro Strop had a rough eighth inning, giving up a double and a bunt base hit before plunking Jean Segura on the forehead with a high fastball in a scary moment on the field. Play was halted for a few minutes as the Brewers tended to Segura, who initially tried to stay in the game before calling time and pulling himself off first base for a pinch-runner. "Definitely a scary moment," Cubs catcher Miguel Montero said. "It really scared me. I went down with [Segura] to see how he was, but I just couldn't say anything, so I just moved to the side and called the trainers." Montero said he thought Segura's helmet broke as he saw a piece of plastic fly off immediately. Strop was shaken up, but said he had been in touch with the Cubs and Brewers training staffs and planned to reach out to Segura. Strop was given some time to breathe and get back to the task at hand when play resumed, getting Ryan Braun to bounce into a 5-2-3 double play. Maddon called for Strop to intentially walk lefty Adam Lind to load the bases for former Cub Aramis Ramirez, who had already homered in the game. Ramirez fisted a 95 mph fastball into left field for a two-run, game-winning single.

"It's a better matchup," Maddon said of the choice between pitching to Ramirez or Lind. "It's just one of those things under the category of the right thing to do, but it didn't work. "That doesn't mean it was wrong' it just didn't work out at that time. I'll take Stroppy in that matchup. It's just an unfortunate moment." Ramirez agreed that Maddon made the correct call. "It’s the right move," Ramirez said. "Lind has been hitting hard all year. The guy's hitting over .300 and I’m hitting .200." The Cubs picked up a run in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly from pitcher Jason Hammel. They tied the game in the fifth thanks to some shoddy fielding by the Brewers that led to an Anthony Rizzo RBI triple and Kris Bryant RBI double. The Cubs had scored just three runs in 31 innings prior to their second-inning tally. This is the first series the Cubs have lost since April 17-19 against the Padres at Wrigley Field. It's also the first series the Brewers have won all season. "They got a couple important pieces back in [Carlos] Gomez and Ramriez, but it's Major League Baseball," Hammel said. "There are good teams. You can't keep a team down long. "Even some of the teams that are struggling the most can find a good game or two here or there. We've all been through it. Pleased we were able to come back and make a game of it, but to get where we want to be, we obviously need to win these games." The Cubs head to St. Louis for a four-game series with the Cardinals beginning Monday night on Comcast SportsNet. -- CSNChicago.com Cubs add waiver claim Anthony Varvaro to bullpen mix By Tony Andracki The Cubs and manager Joe Maddon are still trying to get all the bullpen pieces to fit together. Sunday, they added Anthony Varvaro to the mix, claiming the 30-year-old right-hander off waivers from the Boston Red Sox. Varvaro has appeared in 166 big-league games (all out of the bullpen) and has a 7-9 record, 3.23 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. Varvaro made 123 appearances from 2013-14 for the Atlanta Braves, posting a 2.74 ERA and 1.18 WHIP while striking out 93 batters in 128 innings. Varvaro pitched in nine games for the Boston Red Sox this season with a 4.09 ERA in 11 innings, allowing 14 hits and six walks. But his FIP (fielding independent pitching) was only 3.32, indicating he was getting a little unlucky. The Cubs bullpen took a major hit when hard-throwing right-handers Justin Grimm and Neil Ramirez went on the disabled list, and both are said to be progressing toward a return in the next couple weeks. The Cubs designated left-hander Joseph Ortiz for assignment to make room for Varvaro on the roster. --

CSNChicago.com Cubs: Kris Bryant keeping his head up despite recent struggles By Tony Andracki It can be easy to forget that Kris Bryant is just 23 years old and only in his third week in the majors. The top prospect in the game sounds mature beyond his years whenever he talks and when asked about his recent struggles, Bryant again said all the right things. "It's baseball, man," he said before Sunday's series finale with the Brewers. "It happens all the time. Just play the game. Have fun with it. I never look into a bad game too much." Bryant hasn't gotten a hit in his last 10 at-bats, watching his average dip from .341 to .280. He went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Saturday's loss and now has whiffed 18 times in his first 15 big-league games. "That's what happens in the major leagues," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "You have to adjust. He was swinging at some pitches out of the zone [Saturday] too. "Just get back into the zone because that's something he had been doing well coming out of spring training. He wasn't chasing. "He's been doing really well at maintaining the integrity of the strike zone. I'm fully confident he's going to do it again." Bryant is in his usual No. 4 spot in the Cubs lineup Sunday and said Maddon has not talked to him about the slump. "I don't think I need to be talked to," Bryant said. "I've been through this plenty of times before. It's part of the game. It's a hard game. The ball is small, the bat is small. "You gotta take it with a grain of salt and learn from it and that's what I'll do." Bryant called his slump a learning experience and said he knows he will have more rough games throughout this season and the rest of his career. Maddon has been impressed with the way Bryant hasn't sacrificed his patient approach at the plate, for the most part. The slugger is still taking his walks - 12 on the season and four in the last four games. With Bryant and some of the other young players like Jorge Soler and Addison Russell, Maddon has preached patience and focusing on changing their mentality rather than physical mechanics during struggles. The veteran manager understands these kids won't just figure it all out overnight. After leading all of Major League Baseball with nine spring training homers and pacing professional baseball with 43 in the minors last season, Bryant is still without a longball in his first 15 games, spanning 50 at-bats now. Cubs fans are getting impatient for Bryant's first homer, especially now that fellow rookie Russell hit his first Friday at Wrigley Field. But don't point to that home run drought as a reason for Bryant's struggles. "I don't necessarily see him trying too hard right now," Maddon said. "For the most part, he's been accepting his walks and working good at-bats. "If it's really bothering him, I'm not really seeing it. But I do believe the moment he does, it will relax him a bit more. Get the monkey off his back."

For his part, Bryant insists he's not pressing at the plate, either. "I could go the whole season without hitting a home run, as long as we're winning games," he said. "Right now, we're doing pretty good, so we'll see. "But I know the type of player I am and like I said, it's a percentage game with me. I hit home runs and I'm due. Yesterday, I was due for a bad game. It happens." -- Chicago Tribune Former Cub Carlos Villanueva perfect fit with Cardinals By Mark Gonzales Perhaps no one knows the current landscapes of the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals better than Carlos Villanueva. Villanueva, who spent the past two seasons in the midst of the Cubs' rebuilding program, is thriving in his new duties with the Cardinals in his 10th major league season. “When the Cardinals called me, I thought I could be more valuable on a team like this that has everyone’s role defined, and I think my role is for winning teams, teams that need their bullpen rested and have their starters rested," Villanueva said last month during the Cardinals' visit to Wrigley Field. The fact I have a flexible arm helps a lot." Villanueva's decision has worked out better than planned. As a swing reliever, Villanueva has a 3-1 record and 0.87 ERA in six appearances. But the Cardinals left a favorable impression on Villanueva, 31, immediately in spring training. "Just the way they go about their business is something caught my eye on the first day," Villanueva said. "The first day of spring training meetings, the way they don’t have to say anything. I drank the Kool-Aid without offering it. You see there’s not a lot of talk involved. It's the way they run their team from the owner to the general manager to the manager. "Everyone is professional and on the same page. It's refreshing. Not to say it wasn’t like that with other teams, but with a more established team, it’s no coincidence that they're at the top or near the top every year." At the same time, Villanueva is happy to see the Cubs' plan for sustained success start to crystallize. Villanueva was a popular mentor for many of the Cubs' relievers over the past two seasons. “I’m impressed," Villanueva said. "You knew it was coming, but you didn’t know when. I’m glad. The boys deserve it, the city deserves it. Everyone knows what the team has been through. So I’m excited for them. "I’m on the other side, so I want to see it go the other way, but I’m happy they did it and the plan is on its way." -- Chicago Tribune For Cubs to contend this year, Kris Bryant must flip power switch By Paul Sullivan Aramis Ramirez says the Cubs are no longer a "Cinderella" in the National League Central, meaning no one should be surprised at their early success.

Like the Astros in the American League, the Cubs qualify for the "C-la" tag after five straight fifth-place finishes. But they don't really fit the mold. They're spending money again, they hijacked a prime-time manager from the Rays, they have four veterans in their rotation and three of the top-ranked prospects in baseball — Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Addison Russell — in their everyday lineup. So perhaps it's unnecessary for management to ask Cubs fans for patience on the parallel fronts of renovating Wrigley Field and rebuilding the team. Maybe it's time to hold them to a higher standard and suggest anything less than a postseason appearance in 2015 would be a disappointment, especially with parity rampant. Before Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Brewers, fangraphs.com projected the Cubs for 86 wins, with a 51.8 percent chance of making the postseason by division title or wild-card berth. Only three National League teams, including the Cardinals, look dominant, and the Cubs get a chance to face the best team in baseball with a four-game series in St. Louis starting Monday. It's only May, but it's the most anticipated series the Cubs have had since 2009. "From the fan's perspective, I get it, and I think that's wonderful that they've just gotten excited," manager Joe Maddon said. "I went to watch the (Floyd Mayweater-Manny Pacquiao) fight (Saturday) night at the (Old Town) Pour House and people were coming up all the time and they're really jacked up about the Cubs, and that's a good thing. Of course you want to keep that going, and if I was a fan, I would get excited." To keep that going, the Cubs obviously will need more offensive production. They were 11th in NL hitting and last in strikeouts on Sunday, and have scored only six runs in their last four games. Surprisingly, Bryant is still homer-less after 54 at-bats, after becoming a sensation in March with a major-league-leading nine homers in spring training. The home run barrage even led to a commercial for an energy drink that ends with Bryant taking a goat with him from Iowa to Chicago. It's no big deal yet, though quite an anomaly. Bryant averaged one home run for every 11.7 at-bats during his two-year minor-league career, and one for every 11.4 at-bats last year while hitting 43 at Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa. Asked Sunday morning if he's anxious to get that first one out of the way, Bryant shrugged. "I can go the whole season without hitting a home run, as long as we're winning games, and right now we're doing pretty good," he said. "We'll see. I know the type of player I am. It's a percentage. I hit home runs and I'm just due, and (Saturday) I was due for a bad game. It happens." Bryant went 1-for-4 Sunday with a blooper that turned into a game-tying double, after his four-strikeout performance on Saturday. Maddon isn't concerned about Bryant's mini-drought, and he wants his players to put a bad day to bed once it's over. "Twenty-four hours can make a huge difference in anybody's life, and in anybody's baseball game," he said. Bryant is still adjusting to major-league pitching, while facing the daily pressure that comes from being the next in a long line of alleged Cubs phenoms. There's no doubt he'll be fine in the long run. But if the Cubs hope to contend this year, Bryant has to flip the power switch on soon. -- Chicago Tribune Cubs drop series to Brewers, but Joe Maddon isn't worried By Fred Mitchell

The Cubs dropped two out of three against the last-place Brewers over the weekend. But Cubs manager Joe Maddon considers that more of a referendum on the genuine quality of Milwaukee as more of their injured players return to the lineup. One of those key returning players is former Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez, who drove in three runs. He hit a solo homer, the 371st of his career, in the Brewers' 5-3 win Sunday at Wrigley Field. The Brewers won their first series of the season as starter Jimmy Nelson limited the Cubs to three runs over seven innings. Reliever Will Smith was credited with the win after the Brewers scored twice on a bases-loaded single by Ramirez in the eighth inning. Cubs starter Jason Hammel revealed after the game that he was dealing with a fingernail problem on his pitching hand that he feared would turn into a blister. Nonetheless, he went six-plus innings, allowing three runs on five hits. "I was a little off today; I cracked my nail," Hammel said. "So the feel really wasn't there. Today was a battle, just grind it out. Trying to keep it close, and we were able to do that for the most part." A frightening moment in the game occurred in the eighth inning when Cubs reliever Pedro Strop hit Brewers batter Jean Segura, who had squared around to bunt. The ball hit Segura squarely on the bill of his helmet and he lay on the ground for several minutes as the medical staff rushed out to the scene and a crowd of 33,398 grew quiet. "It was really scary to me," Strop said. Segura eventually was able to climb to his feet and even made it to first base, where pinch runner Hector Gomez took his place. Segura reportedly was complaining of nausea and a headache and was taken to the hospital for observation. "Definitely it really scared me," Cubs catcher Miguel Montero said. "First of all, you don't want to hit anybody, especially in that situation (with two men on in a tie game). And even worse, in the head ... especially a guy throwing hard." After inducing a double-play grounder off the bat of Ryan Braun, Maddon elected to have Strop intentionally walk Adam Lind to load the bases. Ramirez then muscled a soft liner to left to drive in the go-ahead runs. "That was in the category of the right thing to do, but it didn't work," Maddon said. The Cubs now embark on a seven-game road trip, starting in St. Louis against the first-place Cardinals on Monday night. "I think every game is a big game. I never apply more weight to a game over another game. Never," Maddon said. "I talked about it in spring training, playing the same game in March as you are in October. Then when you go out and play, it doesn't feel any different, which is a good thing. Now from a fan's perspective, I get it. And I think that's wonderful that there's this kind of excitement. If I was a fan, I would be excited." The Cubs have scored just six runs in their last four games and Maddon wants to tread delicately with some of his slumping players. Third baseman Kris Bryant remains in pursuit of his first MLB home run. "That monkey coming off his back will help," Maddon said. "I don't necessarily see him as trying too hard right now. For the most part he has been taking his walks. (Mike Fiers on Saturday) exploited us a little bit. If it really bothers (Bryant), I am not seeing it." --

Chicago Sun-Times Jean Segura's head shot gives Pedro Strop, Cubs a scare By Toni Ginnetti Pedro Strop’s worst moment in the eighth inning Sunday wasn’t when Aramis Ramirez singled home the go-ahead runs in a 5-3 Milwaukee Brewers victory. It came two batters earlier when Jean Segura squared to bunt and was hit hard in the head — saved by his helmet. ‘‘It was really scary,’’ Strop said. ‘‘I heard he’s doing all right. I asked our trainers how he’s doing, and they said they took him to get a scan.’’ Segura fell to the ground instantly. Cubs catcher Miguel Montero immediately summoned the Brewers’ training staff. He later got up, and trainers were talking to him and checking him before he went to first. But he left the game after a few minutes. Segura was taken for testing afterward, nauseated but walking under his own power. ‘‘It scared me,’’ Montero said. ‘‘I think it broke his helmet. I saw a piece go flying.’’ Cubs manager Joe Maddon lauded Strop for composing himself and staying in the game, though he took the loss (0-1). But Strop admitted it was easier knowing Segura was OK. ‘‘Their guys helped me. [Carlos] Gomez and [Gerardo] Parra were telling me he was all right, and that helped,’’ he said. Showdown series It’s been years since the Cubs (13-10) and St. Louis Cardinals (18-6) were in a first-place showdown. And it’s fine for fans to get excited about it in the four-game series that starts today in St. Louis, Maddon believes. ‘‘What I always talk about is I never put more weight on one game over another,’’ he said. ‘‘That’s why I talk in spring training about playing the game the same way you would in October. That way it doesn’t feel any different. But for the fans? I get it.’’ Maddon sees how fans are reacting to the Cubs’ winning start: ‘‘I was watching the [Mayweather/Pacquiao] fight [in a restaurant] and people were coming up to me the whole night really excited about the Cubs. If I was a fan, I’d be excited, too.’’ Turning the page After four strikeouts Saturday, Kris Bryant went 1-for-4 with an RBI double Sunday. ‘‘It’s baseball,’’ Bryant said. ‘‘It’s a percentage game for me. It’ll happen at times, but it’s all about minimizing it and learning from it.’’ From first to second Jorge Soler was back to batting second Sunday after going 1-for-3 with a walk in the leadoff spot Saturday. He was 2-for-5. Coming and going

The Cubs claimed right-handed pitcher Anthony Varvaro off waivers from the Boston Red Sox and designated Iowa left-handed pitcher Joseph Ortiz for assignment. Varvaro, 30, spent the last four seasons with the Atlanta Braves. -- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs hit skids against lowly Brewers; Cardinals up next By Toni Ginnetti Winning series is every team’s mantra. Keep winning the majority of each cluster of games, ‘‘and it really piles up by the middle of the season,’’ Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ‘‘And it gets that vibe going in the clubhouse.’’ Maddon’s Cubs had won two of their last three series and four of their first seven, something the team didn’t accomplish last season until June 7. The Milwaukee Brewers, with the worst record in baseball, had only five victories and no series wins before coming to Wrigley Field. Yet they left with their first series win of the season after a 5-3 victory Sunday. They might have swept the three games had it not been for Cubs rookie Addison Russell’s home run Friday in a 1-0 final. ‘‘They have some important pieces back,’’ Cubs starter Jason Hammel said of the injury-plagued Brewers, against whom he has a 5-0 career record, his best against any opponent. ‘‘It’s major-league baseball. You can’t keep a team down too long. We’ve all been through it, and we were able to come back and made a game of it. But to get to where we want to be, we have to win these games.’’ That was more the point as the Cubs fell to their National League Central rivals, who pitched well in the series and got timely hitting and defense from a player who always loved Wrigley, ex-Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez. ‘‘We’re not driving the ball like we can, but I still love the fight [in the team],’’ Maddon said. ‘‘We didn’t get it done, but I’ll take the effort.’’ He wouldn’t take back the eighth-inning decision to walk Adam Lind to load the bases and face Ramirez with two outs. That came after Pedro Strop got Ryan Braun to hit into a bases-loaded double play one batter earlier. ‘‘It was the right matchup,’’ Maddon said, despite Ramirez’s second-inning homer off Hammel. ‘‘It just didn’t go our way.’’ Strop already had overcome a worse danger two batters earlier when one of his pitches hit Jean Segura in the head as Segura squared to bunt with two men on. Segura was on the ground for several minutes with trainers from both teams tending to him before he rose and went to first. He was there only a few minutes before leaving the game. ‘‘Hopefully Jean will feel OK tomorrow,’’ Hammel said, recalling times he has hit batters inadvertently. ‘‘It’s not fun. It shook me up pretty good [when it had happened]. It’s scary.’’ Hammel helped his own cause with a sacrifice fly in the second — ‘‘We Cubs pitchers take our hitting seriously,’’ he said — and lasted into the seventh in a 3-3 tie before walking Ramirez to start the inning. ‘‘I was a little off today,’’ Hammel said. ‘‘I cracked a nail and was trying to avoid blisters. The feel wasn’t there. It was grind it out and try to keep it close.’’ Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson, a career 0-2 against the Cubs, was tough this time, going 6 ‰ innings (three runs, seven hits, six strikeouts). The Brewers’ bullpen was tough as well, not allowing a run in the series. ‘‘Some guys are struggling a little bit now, but you can’t get uptight,’’ Maddon said.

Not when the division-leading St. Louis Cardinals are next on the schedule. ‘‘To be the best, you have to beat the best,’’ Hammel said. ‘‘They’re hot, and we’re going to their territory. We’ll find out what we’re made of in this series.’’ -- Daily Herald Right call, wrong result for Cubs By Bruce Miles Baseball is a second-guesser's delight, and Sunday's 5-3 Cubs loss to the Milwaukee Brewers had them out in full force. Situation: Brewers had runners at second and third with two outs in the eighth after the Cubs had gotten a big double play. Cubs manager Joe Maddon intentionally walked left-handed hitting Adam Lind with right-hander Pedro Strop on the mound. That loaded the bases for the right-handed hitting Aramis Ramirez. The former Cub came up and dunked a 2-run single to left field, and that proved to be the winning hit. When Ramirez was with the Cubs, he liked to say he got paid to drive in runs and that he lived for those situations. Maddon defended his move. "It's a much better matchup," he said of Strop vs. Ramirez. "It's just one of those things under the category of right thing to do, but it didn't work. So that doesn't mean it was wrong. It just didn't work out at that time. I'll take Stropie in that matchup." Ramirez said he understood what the Cubs were doing. "It's the right move," he said. "Lind has been hitting (the ball) hard all year. The guy's hitting over .300 and I'm hitting .200." The Cubs dropped two of three in this Wrigley Field series to fall to 13-10 for the season with a big four-game series coming up this week in St. Louis. Starting pitcher Jason Hammel gave up single runs in each of the second, third and fourth innings, including a homer by Ramirez in the second. "A little off today," Hammel said. "I cracked my nail. I'm trying to avoid a blister. Today was a battle. Just grind it out. Just try and keep it close. We were able to do that for the most part. I've got to set a better tone early." Hammel said the Cubs are looking forward to playing the division-leading Cardinals. "It's a good test," he said. "We've got to win these games. To be the best, you've got to beat the best. We're going into their territory now. We'll find out what we're made of in this series." Very scary moment: Pedro Strop hit the Brewers' Jean Segura on the front part of Segura's batting helmet in the eighth inning. As Segura lay on the ground, players from both teams looked shaken. Segura eventually got up and walked to first base. But a few moments later, he took himself out of the game. The Brewers said he was experiencing nausea. They were sending him to a Chicago hospital for more tests. "Yeah, that was really scary," Strop said. "I heard he's doing all right. It was really scary."

Strop stayed in the game to pitch and said he took some deep breaths to be able to get back on the mound. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said he hoped Segura could get to Milwaukee on Sunday night. "That's two in the helmet," Roenicke said. "It's not a good thing. You hope a guy doesn't get a little tentative in what he's doing. He does such a nice job with the things we ask that you hope it doesn't start to bother him." This and that: Cubs players, manager Joe Maddon and the coaches donned red Blackhawks sweaters after the game in support of the Hawks in the playoffs. … The Cubs have scored a total of 6 runs in their last four games. … Catcher Miguel Montero extended a hitting streak to five games. He's 9-for-19 in the streak. -- Daily Herald McKnight: Nothing scares this Cubs manager By Connor McKnight Just one month into the season, Cubs fans already have had two of their biggest questions answered. Kris Bryant arrived and Addison Russell followed shortly thereafter. While the team puts on a more-than-respectable show at a less-than-ready Wrigley Field, it's been fun to hear how the chatter around the ballpark has changed. Now, instead of fans giving each other odds on "if" and "when" the kids would arrive, they're betting on whether they'll be any good. In fact, I'm told that in the upper deck, down the third base line, you can get 20-1 on Anthony Rizzo's OBP staying above .475 come June 1. It's early. And in baseball, for some teams, it's early right up until the point it's not. It's too early to worry about Jorge Soler speeding past 30 strikeouts. Too early to worry about Jon Lester's WHIP. Too early to worry about the emptiness in left field. Too early to bet on Rizzo's OBP. (Though if you're getting 20-1, maybe drop a 10 spot.) There are things it's not too early for. They're not so much on the field, but in the brain of the guy making calls. Like probably everyone else, I'm fascinated by Joe Maddon. First, he seems committed to the pitcher batting eighth. At best, it's a strategy that gives the top of the order a few more at-bats by the end of the season. Perhaps those extra at-bats result in getting a run or two across. And maybe, just maybe, those runs score when it matters. Worst case? Nothing. Sure, you can argue that someone (anyone) else might have knocked in a run with the bases loaded when Jon Lester came up to the plate. Then again, maybe not. Even Kris Bryant strikes out. Regardless, it's fun to see convention discarded like a rosin bag. Oh, and has anyone really noticed the Cubs have been carrying three catchers while playing an entirely NL schedule so far? Of course you have. I think you'd admit it has worked out pretty well. I'm not sure how long that luck can hold, but it's darn interesting. Cubs fans were sold several promises this season. That Bryant would come eventually. That there was a commitment to actually winning this year. That the lease on the NL Central Cellar was finally up. One promise I think you can actually cash in on is Maddon. He really is that kind of guy. He's bucking convention and rolling the dice. He will take the mile if given the inch. He's not a savior -- baseball is too cruel to allow one to

exist (even Mike Trout can't do it alone). At some point, Maddon will get it wrong, maybe even have it blow up in his face every now and then. He's not scared, though. Not of failing and not of the magnitude of the job in front of him. The dice will keep rolling; the roulette wheel will keep spinning. I like that. Now … where's that guy giving 20-1 in the upper deck? -- Cubs.com Bryant not worried about home run numbers By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- Kris Bryant led the Minor Leagues with 43 home runs last season and paced the Major Leagues in Spring Training with nine, but has yet to connect in his 15 games so far with the Cubs. "I could go the whole season without hitting a home run as long as we're winning games, and right now we're doing pretty good," Bryant said Sunday. "I know the type of player I am. It's percentages -- I hit home runs and I'm due, and [Saturday] I was due for a bad game. It happens." On Saturday, Bryant struck out four times in the Cubs' 6-1 loss to the Brewers, and on Sunday, he was 1-for-4 with an RBI double and struck out once in a 5-3 loss. "It's baseball," he said. "It happens all the time. It's part of the game. I never look into a bad game too much. I realize why I'm playing this game." Cubs manager Joe Maddon says he doesn't see the Cubs' top prospect pressing. But he wouldn't mind seeing him launch a ball into the unfinished bleachers at Wrigley Field. "I'm sure that monkey coming off his back will help," Maddon said. "I don't see him trying too hard right now. For the most part he's been accepting his walks. [The Brewers' Mike Fiers] exploited him. I agree, the moment he does [homer], he'll relax a little more." The rookie third baseman has drawn 12 walks and struck out 19 times so far. "[Saturday] was a little different and maybe I got out of my approach a little bit," he said. "It's a percentage game with me and I have games like that a certain amount of times and I expect to have another game like that sometime this year. It's all about minimizing and learning from it. This is a whole learning experience for me. Facing the Brewers for the first time and seeing how they're attacking me, I'll make my adjustments and see where I'm at." He's not kidding about having a high strikeout game. In Bryant's first game as a pro with short-season Boise in 2013, he struck out five times. "I've been through this plenty of times before -- college, high school," he said. "It's a part of the game. It's a hard game. The ball's small, the bat's small. You've got to take it with a grain of salt and learn from it and that's what I'll do. "I'm not here to put up crazy numbers or any of that stuff," he said. "I'm here to win. Maybe at previous levels, you're trying to get here so you feel the pressure to put up good numbers. But here it's all about winning and that's what I'm all about, too." --

Cubs.com Cubs come up short in rubber match against Brewers By Adam McCalvy and Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- Aramis Ramirez hit a solo home run in the second and a tie-breaking two-run single in the eighth to lift the Brewers to a 5-3 victory Sunday over the Cubs and their first series win of the season. Ramirez spared the Brewers from letting an eighth-inning rally slip away. Cubs reliever Pedro Strop had loaded the bases with nobody out when he struck Brewers shortstop Jean Segura in the head with a fastball, but recovered to induce a 5-2-3 double play from Ryan Braun. "Strop was really upset at that moment but he did right himself," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "I'm proud of him coming back and getting the double play against a really good hitter and making a pitch [to Ramirez] that just found some grass -- nothing you can do about it. I loved the fight in the group. You've just got to keep plugging away." After an intentional walk to Adam Lind, Ramirez came through with a broken-bat single over third base to break a tie that had stood since the fifth inning. Ramirez agreed with Maddon's strategy. Strop had not been charged with a run in his first 12 appearances while limiting right-handed batters to one hit in 21 at-bats. "That's the right move," Ramirez said. "I mean, Lind has been hot all year. The guy is hitting over .300, I'm hitting .220. That's a no-brainer. … It was the right move, it just didn't work out." It gave the Brewers their first back-to-back wins this season, and their first series victory. The Brewers had not gotten this deep into a season without taking a series since 1972. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED (Hitter)-Friendly Confines: With the temperature sitting at 78 degrees and a stiff wind blowing straight out to center field, it looked like a hitters' day at Wrigley Field. Ramirez took advantage in the second inning when he hit a long solo home run to the construction zone that is the left-field bleachers. It was Ramirez's third homer of the season and his first since missing two games this week with a tight hamstring. When he came through again in the eighth, Ramirez had his second multi-RBI game of the season. "I've been swinging the bat well the last week or so," Ramirez said. "I worked hard. Struggled in the beginning, but I think I'm starting to turn it around." Another Segura scare: The Brewers' season is only 25 games old, and Segura has already endured two beanings. On April 7, a pitch from Rockies starter Jordan Lyles glanced off the bill of Segura's helmet and struck his face. On Sunday, Segura squared to bunt a Strop fastball and could not avoid being hit on the helmet again. He briefly appeared well enough to stay in the game, but after going to first base, he was replaced by a pinch-runner. Hammel time: Cubs starter Jason Hammel had not given up a run in his two previous starts vs. Milwaukee and was charged with three over six plus innings this time. He did not get a decision, and remained unbeaten against the Brewers in seven career starts. The right-hander helped himself, hitting a sacrifice fly in the second. It was his first RBI of the season and 11th of his career. "The sac fly was nice but I gave [the lead] right back," Hammel said. More > Jimmy in the swing: Brewers pitchers were hitless in their last 37 at-bats since a Kyle Lohse single on Opening Day before Jimmy Nelson delivered a third-inning double against the Cubs. It was Nelson's fourth hit in his 30th Major League at-bat, and he promptly scored his second career run on a Carlos Gomez single for a 2-1 Brewers lead. Nelson was also effective on the mound, allowing three runs in 6 1/2 innings for his team-best third quality start.

Near misses allow Cubs to tie: Brewers defenders found the spotlight as the Cubs tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth. Anthony Rizzo made it 3-2 with a triple that got over Carlos Gomez's head in center field after Gomez took an awkward route, and Kris Bryant knotted the game with a bloop double that popped out of second baseman Elian Herrera's glove. Gomez saved further damage when he made a nice running catch of Miguel Montero's line drive to the left-center field gap. "To let them back in the game like that, it would have been a tough loss," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. QUOTABLE "This is a good test. We've got to win these games. To be the best, you've got to beat the best. [The Cardinals] are hot and we're going into their territory. We'll find out what we're made of in the series." -- Hammel, on upcoming four-game series in St. Louis SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The Brewers were on an 11-series losing streak dating to last season before taking two of three this weekend from the Cubs. Miguel Montero extended his hitting streak to five games and is batting .382 (13-for-34) with three homers, four walks, seven RBIs and four multi-hit games since April 18. WHAT'S NEXT Brewers: For the first time since the season-opening series, the Brewers will see a non-divisional opponent when the Dodgers arrive at Miller Park on Monday to open a four-game series. Lohse will make his sixth start of the season and the 400th start of his Major League career beginning at 6:20 p.m. CT. Cubs: Travis Wood opens the Cubs' four-game series against the Cardinals on Monday. The lefty is on a roll with a 2-0 record and 2.37 ERA over his last three starts. In 16 career outings against the Redbirds, Wood is 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA. First pitch was scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CT. -- Cubs.com Hammel has to battle to earn quality start By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- Jason Hammel didn't lose to the Brewers on Sunday, but couldn't quite get the win. The right-hander threw his second consecutive quality start, and did not get a decision in the Cubs' 5-3 loss to the Brewers. Hammel was charged with three runs over six innings, a lot considering he entered the game having not given up a single run in his two previous starts against Milwaukee. He cruised through a nine-pitch first, but admitted he was dealing with a cracked nail on the middle finger of his right hand and was trying to avoid getting a blister. "My feel wasn't there," Hammel said. "Today was a battle, grind it out, and try to keep it close. ... I kept us in it but it could've been a lot better." This was the first series the Brewers have won this season, but Hammel wasn't surprised. "They got a couple important pieces back in [Carlos] Gomez and [Aramis] Ramirez," Hammel said. "It's Major League Baseball, and you can't keep a team down too long.

"Even some of the teams struggling the most will find a good game here or there. We've all been through it. I'm pleased we were able to come back and make a game of it. But to get where we want to be, we have to win these games." -- Cubs.com Wood, Cubs travel to St. Louis for first time to face Cards By Carrie Muskat When he was 10 years old, Joe Maddon used to listen to the Cardinals games on his transistor radio, tuning into KMOX. He had become a fan of the Redbirds after his father took him to a Yankees-White Sox game, and offered to buy young Joe a cap. The youngster picked the Cardinals one because he liked the logo. His favorites back then were Curt Flood and Lou Brock and Bob Gibson. Maddon fulfilled a childhood dream by managing at Busch Stadium in 2009 when he skippered the American League team in the All-Star Game. And Maddon's AL squad won, 4-3. He's also been there for five Interleague games with the Rays, and has a 3-2 record. On Monday, Maddon will get his first taste of Cubs vs. Cardinals at Busch. The two teams did square off in a rain-shortened series at Wrigley Field to open the season, with each team winning a game. "I think every game is a big game," Maddon said. "I never apply more weight to a game than another game. We talked about it in Spring Training that you play the game the same way in March that you do in October. So when you go out and play it doesn't feel any different, and that's a good thing. From a fan's perspective, I get [the rivalry]." The Cubs will send Travis Wood to the mound to start the series opener. The lefty is on a roll with a 2-0 record and 2.37 ERA over his last three starts. In 16 career outings against the Redbirds, Wood is 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA. Righty Carlos Martinez will get the start for the Cardinals and is looking to run his record to 4-0 and turn in his fifth quality start in as many attempts this season. Three things you need to know • Left-hander Tyler Lyons will be recalled from Triple-A Memphis and start Tuesday for the Cardinals in the second game of the series. That would've been Adam Wainwright's spot in the rotation. • Chicago's Jorge Soler was 4-for-7 with two home runs in two games last season at Busch Stadium, while Starlin Castro was 13-for-43 with two home runs, three doubles and seven RBIs in 10 games there. • Yadier Molina batted .377 in 15 games last season vs. the Cubs, and has a .306 career average with 13 home runs and 79 RBIs. -- Cubs.com Jackson settling in as a reliever By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- The Cubs' Edwin Jackson seems to be making the transition from starter to reliever. The right-hander has not given up an earned run over nine innings in his last six outings, and held opponents to a .171 average. "I always thought he could [pitch in relief], even back in the day in Tampa," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Sunday of the right-hander, who was on the Rays staff in 2007-08. "His stuff was really good [Saturday]. He was very assertive with all his pitches and his breaking ball was really good. Hopefully, that's a sign of things to come with him."

• How long will it take Maddon to feel he has a good enough sample size to know whether having the pitcher bat eighth is more effective than ninth? The Cubs manager said it may take the entire season. "I like the idea of being able to [pinch]-hit a little sooner," Maddon said. "If you've got a guy pitching deeply in a game, and you get caught in a situation with bases loaded and two outs, then you have to make a decision. But that could happen anywhere in the batting order." • Justin Grimm, who has been on the disabled list since April 2 with inflammation in his right forearm, was to join Triple-A Iowa for a rehab assignment on Sunday. Grimm was on the Cubs' Opening Day roster but never appeared in a game before going on the DL. He has been rehabbing at the Cubs complex in Mesa, Ariz. • The Cubs claimed right-handed pitcher Anthony Varvaro off waivers from the Red Sox, and lefty Joseph Ortiz was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster. Varvaro, 30, was 7-9 with 20 holds, one save and a 3.23 ERA in 166 Major League relief appearances with the Mariners, Braves and Red Sox. He's held left-handed hitters to a .201 batting average in his career. In nine relief appearances this season for the Red Sox, he gave up five earned runs over 11 innings. He was designated for assignment on April 29. Ortiz, 24, was 0-1 with one save and a 3.38 ERA in eight relief appearances with Triple-A Iowa this season. --