May 16, Still, manager Joe Maddon, Castro and the Cubs maintained it was the right call to gamble and send Castro.

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1 May 16, 2015 CSNChicago.com Better lucky than good? Cubs escape with wacky win over Pirates By Tony Andracki A win's a win, right? Not sure that really applies to every victory, but the Cubs still escaped with their fifth straight win Friday, walking off for an victory over the Pirates in 12 innings at Wrigley Field in a game that lasted five hours. The Cubs mounted a rally in the bottom of the 12th when Starlin Castro walked with one out. Miguel Montero followed that with a single before Jorge Soler was intentionally walked. Matt Szczur popped a fly ball into right field, and Pittsburgh outfielder Gregory Polanco fell down, leading to a Cubs walk-off and another dance party in the clubhouse. So...better lucky than good? "We'll take it," Szczur said. "Anything we can get." Szczur was faced with the exact same situation - bases loaded, one out - in the 10th inning and also hit a pop fly into right field, but Polanco stayed on his feet for that one, throwing a perfect strike to nab Castro at home by a wide margin. Still, manager Joe Maddon, Castro and the Cubs maintained it was the right call to gamble and send Castro. The Cubs jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fifth inning, but the Pirates plated four in the sixth. The Cubs came right back and scored one in the sixth and two in the seventh to make it a 10-5 ballgame. But the Pirates just wouldn't stop. They scored four more times in the eighth and then tied things up in the ninth off Cubs closer Hector Rondon with two outs. "I could have lived without it," Maddon said. "We really should have put that away earlier. We played really well today. Don t be deceived; we played really well today. We did not pitch well today, but we played a good game of baseball. "I m really happy with the way we played, whether it was the at-bats, the hitting, the defense, the baserunning, everything. "It would really have been a sin not to have won that game, based on how well we played. And that s my takeaway."

2 Kyle Hendricks was cruising along, having allowed just one run before a two-out, three-run double from Pittsburgh catcher Francisco Cervelli opened the floodgates. Hendricks was charged with five runs in 5.2 innings of work. The Cubs bullpen had been looking much better lately, but they allowed five runs in 6.1 innings Friday, with two pitchers - Justin Grimm and Jason Motte - failing to record even one out in their appearances. "I know the bullpen, we ve had those moments already this year," Maddon said. "We have to get better. We just can t maybe get better; we have to get better at that, because you re not going to the dance without that functioning properly. That s a fact. "... The big thing about the bullpen is, when you bring a guy from the bullpen, that you know what to expect. We need to know what to expect." The two teams combined to throw 496 pitches in the 12 innings, with 30 hits, 17 walks (three intentional), three hit batters, five homers and one wacky finish. The Cubs' new "Bash Brothers" (Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo) each hit a homer and combined to drive in six runs while reaching base six times. Soler drew four walks, Castro walked twice and singled twice and Szczur finished with two hits and three RBI. The Cubs are now 11-6 in one-run contests. This is a game the Cubs would have lost the last few seasons, but this is a new team with a new vibe, still figuring out how to win. They're going to need a few "lucky" wins if they're going to really make a run at the postseason. "We could recap all the times we ve had bad baseball luck this season also," Maddon said. "That was good baseball luck today. And we ll take it." CSNChicago.com Carrying three catchers comes in handy again for Cubs By Tony Andracki This is the benefit of having three catchers on the roster. In the eighth inning of Thursday's game against the Mets, David Ross stepped out of the batter's box during his atbat, grabbing at his side. He eventually bunted - with two strikes - and came out of the game. Miguel Montero had pinch-hit earlier in the eighth inning and replaced Ross in the game (after Ross had come in to replace starting catcher Welington Castillo in the fifth inning). At first, it looked as if Ross had suffered a dreaded oblique injury, which have been known to shut down hitters for more than a month. The Cubs initially called it "abdominal tightness" but Ross said Friday morning he felt fine and didn't expect a stint on the disabled list. "I don't know exactly what it was. Maybe it released some scar tissue or something. I'm 38, there's no telling what this body's been through," he joked. "It was just a little tweak and [Cubs manager Joe Maddon] wanted me to bunt, just to make sure I didn't do anything crazy. And then with Miggy having pinch-hit and us out of catchers, Miggy had to go in and catch. "It was just precautionary and hopefully everything is good. I feel fine this morning."

3 Ross was insistent it was not an oblique injury, saying the feeling was different. "It felt a little funny, but I took a couple practice swings and it didn't grab," Ross said. "I pulled an oblique once before in Double-A and know what that feels like. It didn't feel like that. "It just felt like a little sharp twinge and tightened up just a little bit and then kinda released. I came in, saw the trainer and he felt where it was tight and released it. I think I'm OK." As for the bunt with two strikes (which rolled foul for a strikeout), Ross laughed it off, saying Maddon was "pretty adament" about the veteran catcher not swinging and risking further injury. "Whenever that happens, you always think badly immediately," Maddon said. "So I went out there and he didn't think it was that bad when I talked to him. I said, 'You know, regardless, why don't you put down a bunt for a base hit here?' He's actually good at it, even though there were two strikes. "I did not want him to swing and then unnecessarily do something bad. We made the adjustment because again, there are so many little things moving right there. Montero had just hit. If that had happened back in the dugout and he said soemthing after you had already taken Montero out of the game, [that would have been bad]. That's the beauty of having three catchers." With the Pirates starting left-hander Jeff Locke on the mound Friday, the right-handed-hitting Castillo got another start behind the dish. The hope is Ross will be set to regain his usual role as Jon Lester's personal catcher Saturday against Pittsburgh. In his first year with the Cubs, Ross is hitting only.192, but he has worked seven walks and clubbed four doubles to boast a.364 on-base percentage and.346 slugging. He's also served as a strong veteran voice in a young clubhouse. The three-catcher experiment has worked for Maddon and the team so far this season. Cubs catchers have combined for an.853 OPS, tops in the National League and third in baseball. CSNChicago.com As bullpen settles in, Cubs feeling comfortable in one-run games By Sarah Langs If it seems like the Cubs have won a lot of close games lately, that feeling isn t just an illusion. Entering Friday, the Cubs have the most wins in one-run games of any team in baseball, sporting a 10-6 record. The Seattle Mariners are the only other team that s played in 16 one-run games, and they re sitting at 8-8 in those. Manager Joe Maddon pointed to the Cubs' relief corps as a major reason why the team has found success in close games. One-run games, a lot of that has to do with your bullpen, Maddon said. The fact that you can somehow gather the lead and then they can hold on, by their fingernails sometimes and they did [Thursday over the Mets]. A good bullpen permits that to happen as much as anything. Cubs relievers are ninth in the National League with a 4.14 ERA, and the 'pen s batting average against is.247, which puts them at seventh in the NL. They may not lead the league in any statistical category, but Cubs relievers have managed to keep the team competitive in these tight games. Maddon attributed a lot of this to stretching the relievers out, with a keen eye towards avoiding overuse.

4 Yesterday, I really wanted to stay away from [Zac] Rosscup, even though he only pitched to one hitter the day before. So yesterday was [James] Russell, and Rosscup didn t even move his arm, Maddon said Friday. [Pedro] Strop had almost three days off...then he goes out and gets four outs on about 12 pitches. That s outstanding. Maddon also mentioned that the team is monitoring closer Hector Rondon s workload, since he s been appearing more. Six of the 10 wins in one-run games have come during May, and five of those have happened after May 5. That's when the bullpen got a shot in the arm as the Cubs called up left-hander Russell from Triple-A Iowa. The Cubs got a further boost a day later when hard-throwing righty Justin Grimm returned from the disabled list. The two have combined to allow just 1 earned run over 9.1 innings since their respective call-up and activation. Grimm has really added to the mix, Maddon said. Grimm and Russell have really helped give definition to the group in regards to comfortably bringing different guys in to different moments and feeling like he can get things done in a positive way. It s starting to form up. Since May 6, the bullpen has posted only one loss last Sunday s 3-2 loss in Milwaukee. Ten of the 16 one-run games the Cubs have played have come against divisional opponents and the Cubs are 5-5 in those contests. If the bullpen continues to pitch at this pace, the Cubs will be able to stay competitive. Entering Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen sports the best ERA in the NL at The Cardinals 'pen has also posted the most wins (10) and has the third-best batting average against at.219. St. Louis relievers have also thrown the third-most innings, though, with The innings from Cubs relievers is tied for seventh in the NL, with just four teams bullpens having thrown fewer innings. The bullpen numbers are pretty bunched up: two teams are tied ahead of the Cubs with IP, and the Cubs are in a four-way tie with the Brewers, Braves and Dodgers. Starting pitchers going deep into games will help the bullpen stay fresh throughout the season. Last year, the Cubs went in one-run games. Chicago Tribune Cubs catch that disco dancin' fever with wild victory over Pirates By Paul Sullivan Cubs' players wore bubble gum containers on their heads as rally caps in the 12th inning Friday, a fashion statement that may catch on. "Just had to do something," Anthony Rizzo said, referring to the buckethead gang that included Jason Hammel, Kris Bryant and Jonathan Herrera. It was a good look for the Cubs, who flashed back to 1989 with one of those crazy, hazy, believe-it-or-not kind of victories over the Pirates that make Wrigley Field special. Matt Szczur's moment of deja vu in the 12th brought home the winning run in an slugfest, as right fielder Gregory Polanco inexplicably slipped on a shallow fly, two innings after he threw Starlin Castro out at the plate by a mile on another shallow fly off Szczur's bat. "It's not how we drew it up, that's for sure," Szczur said. "But we'll take it. Anything we can get."

5 After a 7-1 lead after five innings and a 10-5 lead after seven, it wasn't surprising to see Cubs' executives leaving the park in the top of the ninth, even though the Pirates had crept back to within a run by then. It was Friday night, after all, and there were celebrities to see and things to do. "Believe me man, I never pack the bats up before that last out is made," manager Joe Maddon said. "I am involved down to that last drop. It kind of looked good, and Mudville for a bit there." This was the first known instance of a Cubs' manager referring to "Mudville," the fictional town from the Ernest Thayer poem "Casey at the Bat." The Cubs often have been linked to the Mudville Nine, and the reference conjured up memories of a 1969 Tribune headline "Somewhere the Sun is Shining " after the Mets clinched the division title. Maddon admitted you have to be lucky sometimes, and Friday was one of those days the luck went the Cubs' way. Afterward, the clubhouse disco was fully operational, though Rizzo may have been the only one doing his "Bear Dance," where he waves his hands over his head and wiggles his hips. "I still do it," Rizzo said. "Maybe not on the field, but in here." As the Cubs danced off the victory, Maddon confirmed there would be no batting practice on Saturday for the third straight day, suggesting they "took it during the game today" with 15 hits. Beforehand he said he has called off batting practice for seven straight days before, believing it's overrated and sometimes counterproductive. So the players could relax and enjoy a Friday night in the city, where bucketheads are optional. "In our world, for me, every day is Friday night," Maddon said. Words to live by. Chicago Tribune Cubs pounce on Pirates' missed opportunity to take victory By Fred Mitchell The abiding theme for the Cubs during this current winning streak has stressed confidence and humility. They leaned heavily on both those qualities Friday during an emotional roller-coaster victory over the Pirates in 12 innings. The Cubs squandered leads of 7-1 and 10-5 as their bullpen yielded four runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to let the Pirates tie the game The bizarre play in the 12th that won it defied all logic, even historically strange Cubs logic. With the bases loaded and one out, Matt Szczur lofted a soft, shallow fly to right. Gregory Polanco had performed the exact same play off Szczur's bat to perfection in the 10th inning to throw out Starlin Castro at the plate by a mile. This time Polanco somehow stumbled, staggered, lost his footing and saw the ball drop for a game-winning hit. "I couldn't believe it," Szczur said. "I saw the whole thing unfold. I was running to first base and I put my head down for a second. I came back up and saw it. " Cubs manager Joe Maddon saw his team win its fifth straight before a crowd of 33,617 at Wrigley Field.

6 "Deja vu all over again. Unbelievable," Maddon said of the final play. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle could hardly believe his eyes, either. "It looked to me like (Polanco) got to the ball without (a) problem," Hurdle said. "He didn't have to go to get to the ball, and then he made a little move to his left and crossed his feet. And that just took him out of the play, took him down to the ground." The Cubs appeared poised to win in the 10th when they similarly had the bases loaded with one out. In this instance Polanco made the catch of Szczur's shallow fly and threw out Castro easily at the plate. Friday was a perfect example of what Maddon has been espousing when it comes to displaying both confidence and humility. "I've always liked humility," Maddon said. "If you have a humble group that just goes out there like a metronome, just keep it beating and stay with the process, stay with the routine and expect to win." Maddon loved the victory, but he was not pleased with the performance of his relievers as Jason Motte and Pedro Strop each gave up two runs and closer Hector Rondon was touched for the tying run in the ninth. The five-game winning streak is the Cubs' first since June 3-7 last year. The Cubs last won six in a row during a seven game winning streak July 31-Aug. 6, The four-game sweep of the Mets that preceded Friday's series-opening triumph over the Pirates really made Maddon happy. "We won (the first) three games in a four-game series. A lot of times groups would be satisfied " Maddon said. "But you won the first three, so why would you be satisfied with three out of four? To be a real playoff team, you have to win all four. The goal is always to win the series, absolutely. But when you put yourself in position to get greedy, go ahead and be greedy. The lesson learned from that is don't be satisfied go for the whole enchilada when you have that opportunity." And a little good fortune doesn't hurt, either. Chicago Tribune Cubs manager Joe Maddon prioritizes staying fresh over batting practice By Fred Mitchell Cubs manager Joe Maddon says batting practice is overrated, and he will give his players another day away from the cage Saturday. "We took it during the game," Maddon joked after Friday's 15-hit, 11-run performance. By August, Maddon said he hopes to give his players what he calls an "American Legion week," in which they can show up an hour or so before the game instead of three or four hours. "Think back to the time you played (amateur baseball) and you just showed up a half-hour before the game or 45 minutes because you were working all day, and you probably played a pretty good game of baseball without all of these extra goodies going on," Maddon said. "I like fresh minds and bodies in August and September." Getting to know you: Kyle Hendricks was denied his first win of the season Friday, but he seems to be regaining the control and confidence he displayed last season.

7 "I am just getting to know him better," Maddon said. "I have been talking to him more often lately. I didn't talk to him a lot in the beginning; I just watched. I had some observations I wanted to bring to his attention, so I did. "I thought the last (outing) was better in Milwaukee. We are going to see it, he is really going to take off. The mix of pitches that he has, his ability to locate extremely well... we've talked about as the weather warms, he should probably do even better." Feeling better: Catcher David Ross, who tweaked his side while swinging Thursday against the Mets, said he was feeling better Friday morning, and Maddon said he plans to play Ross on Saturday against the Pirates with Jon Lester pitching. Extra innings: Dexter Fowler (2-for-6) posted his 12th multi-hit game.... Kris Bryant has four home runs in seven games after going homerless in his first Anthony Rizzo's eighth home run was his first against a lefty (Jeff Locke).... Friday's 12-inning game lasted 5 hours, 1 minute, marking the Cubs' longest this season in time and innings. Chicago Tribune Joe Maddon adjusting to Friday nights in the city By Paul Sullivan One of the benefits of playing for the Cubs is having Friday nights off to enjoy the city. But Cubs manager Joe Maddon is still a "night game guy, and finds that he doesn t have the time or energy to spend Friday nights out on the town. In our world, for me, every day is Friday night, Maddon said. Everybody has been talking to me a lot about Hey, these day games. You get to go out a lot on Fridays. I m beat. I ll go back, and I ll take my nap, but who eats that much anyways? Seriously, who eats that much food? There are restaurants on top of restaurants, and they re wonderful, but who eats that much? So I think it s great, I think, but I m, still a night game guy. I wake up slowly. I do my routine during the day. I like to do the workout thing. I read a little bit and all that kind of good stuff. So I m getting used to this also. For that group that likes to eat a lot, I guess it is pretty cool, but I m pretty normal when it comes to that. The Cubs entered this afternoon s game against the Pirates with a 4-4 record in day games at Wrigley Field, as opposed to 7-3 at night. Shake it up: White Sox rookie second baseman Micah Johnson got a month and a half to prove he could play at the major league level, and by most accounts he was progressing. But the Sox decision to demote Johnson to Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday suggests that patience is a virtue the Sox can t afford these days, even with one of their most prized prospects. This is a team that s last in the league in runs scored and near the bottom in most offensive categories. Johnson, primarily the No. 9 hitter, wasn t their biggest problem by far. He hit.270 with a.333 on-base percentage, including a.308 average in limited at-bats against left-handers. But the Sox had to do something to shake things up a little, and Johnson was the victim of bad timing. Carlos Sanchez was promoted from Charlotte to take Johnson s place, and Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Johnson needs to work on his defense.

8 Sanchez deserves to be in the starting lineup, but whether Johnson should ve been the one to go is debatable. The Sox are boxed in concerning what kind of moves that can make, with veterans in every starting position other than second, and veteran back-ups in Gordon Beckham, Emilio Bonifacio and J.B. Shuck. If prospect Matt Davidson lived up to his promise they would ve had him starting at third base by now. But Davidson is hitting.238 at Charlotte after batting.199 in 2014, and a promotion doesn t seem to be in the cards any time soon. In other words, this is the team the Sox are going to have to win with, and the veteran hitters need to start picking up the pace. M-m-m-m-m-y generation: Maddon and friends went to see the concert at the Rosemont Theatre featuring Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, Joe Walsh, Joan Jett and Rick Nielsen performing songs of The Who. Townshend was unbelievable and Eddie Vedder was fantastic, Maddon said. I got to meet him for the first time. Joe Walsh? Wow. I wish they d maybe included a couple more things. No encore, which I was disappointed with, so I talked to Eddie about that afterwards. I could listen to that all night. It s inspirational when a 70-year-old dude is up there with a guitar and he s killing it. That was pretty hot. I really enjoyed all that. Maddon was impressed by Vedder s knowledge of the Cubs. It s sincere, he said. It was a treat to meet him. He s going to be around. I know he s part of the (Wrigley) fabric. So maybe that was my 800th win celebration. Chicago Tribune Cubs Game Day: Edge Pirates, 11-10, for fifth straight win By Fred Mitchell The Chicago Cubs entered Friday's game on a roll, winners of four straight. They squandered leads of 7-1 and 10-5 before Friday's game went into extra innings with the Pirates, tied at Wrigley Field. The Cubs emerged with an win after Matt Szczur hit a short fly ball to right with the bases loaded and one out. The rightfielder got his spikes caught in the grass and fell to the ground as the ball dropped and the winning run crossed the plate. The Cubs took a 3-0 lead on a three-run homer by Kris Bryant in the third inning. It was Bryant's fourth of the year. The Pirates pulled to within 3-1 in the fourth inning after Pedro Alvarez deposited his fifth homer of the year in the unoccupied rightfield bleachers that are scheduled to be fully renovated by June 11. Hendricks led off the bottom of the fourth with a double to right. He moved to third on a ground out by Addison Russell, and scored on a deep sacrifice fly by Dexter Fowler. Anthony Rizzo followed with a solo homer to the back row of the right-field bleachers to make it 5-1. It was Rizzo's 8th homer of the season. That chased Pirates starter Jeff Locke. Matt Szczur drilled a two-run single in the fifth to make it 7-1 in favor of the Cubs. The Pirates chased Hendricks in the sixth inning as 10 men batted and four runs scored. Jorge Soler drove in a run in the bottom of the sixth to give the Cubs an 8-5 lead.

9 The Pirates scored four in the top of the eighth. Andrew McCutchen hit a 3-run homer off Pedro Strop. The Cubs are coming off a four-game sweep of the Mets. That was the first time the Cubs have swept the Mets in a four-game series at Wrigley Field since The Pirates (17-18) have lost their last two games and are 7 1/2 games back in fourth place. Chicago Sun-Times Cubs' winning is something to believe in, if you can forget the losing By Rick Telander What is it that makes a person so reluctant to throw in with the Cubs? Even with these Cubs, with their record, in second place in the National League Central behind the majorleague-best St. Louis Cardinals, with a five-game winning streak and young players hitting the ball all over the place? Could it be 1908 and the 107 years since? Sort of. But not really. I wasn t alive for almost half of those years, and unless you re a total geezer, you weren t, either. You can start suffering the day you re born, but pre-existence suffering, no. I wasn t alive in 1935, either, when the Cubs had the best record in the majors, , and lost in the first round of the playoffs (also known as the World Series) to the Tigers, four games to two. In 1945, the Cubs again were in the World Series (and I still wasn t alive; nor, likely, were you). And when they lost to the Tigers once more, despite having the best regular-season record in the majors, I felt not a twinge of preconception sadness. Now, you get to 1969, and, yes, indeed, I remember that horrendous fold to the Mets. That one rocked my Cubs boat. How can you be ahead by eight games in August and do... that? There was 1984 and 1989 and 1998 teasing flops all. And then there was 2003 five outs away, my friend. Five outs. Moises Alou, Mark Prior, etc. You remember that. None of us really believes in curses, but.... Then the failures of 2007 and 2008 turned a good man, Lou Piniella, into a loony rolling a ball of string down the road. So that s why it s hard to just go all-in with these new Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon Cubs. On Friday, the Cubs beat the Pirates in 12 innings when Matt Szczur hit a weak fly to right field and Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco caught his cleats somehow, tripped and fell down, letting the ball fall harmlessly to the bright green grass. It was shocking. No analyst recalled seeing anything so stupid or inexplicable to end an extra-inning game. It was 100 percent Cub-like. But the Cubs didn t do it. Which is frightening. Disorienting. After finishing fifth in the division for five straight years, blatantly tanking for the last three, and claiming they re still not fully competing (that might happen next year or in 2017, says president Epstein), the Cubs are winning in ways we haven t seen since, well, yes, since whenever they tease us with greatness.

10 How many times can a lover have his or her heart broken before he/she says enough; I am a rock; you ll never break this heart of stone? Yet first baseman Anthony Rizzo (eight home runs, eight doubles,.341 batting average) is playing like a constant All-Star. And he s only 25. Shortstop Starlin Castro, also 25, already has 884 hits in his career, putting him on pace not to be just an All-Star but a Hall of Famer. New guys Dexter Fowler, Jorge Soler and rookie Addison Russell are playing well, with Russell showing glimpses of the team leadership Cubs management hopes for. Then there s third baseman Kris Bryant, who is ridiculous. We all knew this guy was a prospect and needed to be in the majors, pronto. But now that he is out of his rookie call-up funk, he is hitting the leather off the ball, with four home runs in the last six days and a team-leading 24 RBI. His eye at the plate is so good and pitchers are so reluctant to throw him anything in the zone that he has walked a team-high 22 times while having played eight fewer games than the other starters. Bryant is only 23, and you want to believe in him so badly it hurts. At 6-5 and youthfully slender, he looks like the framework for a modern-day right-handed Ted Williams. But that s just dreaming. Or is it? With this Cubs franchise now with new bleacher seats and a Jumbotron, ta-da! you don t know what to think, what to believe in. The young players and we haven t even mentioned the fairly decent pitching staff don t know 1969 from 1869, or 2003 from last week. But if this winning continues, and the Cubs get, say, a wild-card berth in the playoffs, talk of goats and black cats and history will rise up. That s how it goes. Will faith be rewarded? Tread carefully, my friends. Chicago Sun-Times Cubs get wild win over Pirates By Brian Sandalow It was the kind of thing you d expect to happen to the Cubs. With the same hitter up in the same situation as two innings earlier, he hits the same fly ball to the same outfielder who threw out the same runner at third to extend a game that should have been locked up much earlier and easier.that s where the similarities or any link to the Cubs unfortunate and unlucky history ended. Instead of the same disappointment, Matt Szczur s short pop-up against Radhames Liz dropped when Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco slipped and fell, allowing Starlin Castro to score from third and give the Cubs an inning victory Friday. But instead of dwelling on the weirdness, Castro was reveling in the Cubs fifth straight victory. It s fun now. We re having a really fun (time). We re not (quitting). We never quit, Castro said. We go out there and win the game, no matter what inning. We never give it away.

11 Two innings earlier, Castro was sent home by third base coach Gary Jones and likely was going again. Instead of needing to beat Polanco s throw Castro was able to trot home with his right arm in the air and give the Cubs the kind of lucky win they ll need to stay in contention this season. It means everything, Castro said. Yes, Friday s win was dramatic and meaningful. If the Cubs make any kind of run, it s the kind of win people could look back at fondly. It was also needlessly dramatic. I could have lived without it, manager Joe Maddon said. We really should have put that away earlier. The Cubs, who led 7-1 and 10-5 thanks to home runs by Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, didn t put it away because of their bullpen. After Kyle Hendricks allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings but left in position for a victory, the bullpen allowed home runs to Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen, the latter a three-run shot off Pedro Strop pulling Pittsburgh to Still, the Cubs were one out away from a 10-9 victory in the ninth but closer Hector Rondon allowed a two-out double to Harrison before Francisco Cervelli s game-tying single. That the bullpen struggled the way it did Friday is cause for concern and needs to be addressed, but it was bailed out thanks to one of the most improbable endings in recent Cubs memory. Impossible. Impossible. Déjà vu all over again. Unbelievable, Maddon said. The way the whole thing played out was remarkable, and then we got lucky. We got lucky. Szczur did too. Given a second chance to be a hero, he produced the same short fly ball but was credited with a single on Polanco s slip and fall. I couldn t believe it. I just couldn t believe it. I just crossed first base and was thanking everybody. I was like Ah, thank God, this just happened. Maddon said the Cubs didn t pitch well but played a good game and that it would have been a sin if they hadn t won. They did win, but in the strangest of ways. We could recap all the times we ve had bad baseball luck this season, also, Maddon said. That was good baseball luck today, and we ll take it. NOTES: Maddon anticipated David Ross would play Saturday and catch Jon Lester. Ross said he felt good a day after leaving Thursday s game with what was called abdominal tightness. - James Russell pitched two innings to make his 323rd Cubs appearance, tying Willie Hernandez for the most by a left-hander in team history. Chicago Sun-Times Maddon rails against excessive batting practice By Brain Sandalow The Cubs skipped batting practice for the second straight day, and Joe Maddon didn t miss the almost-daily part of the routine. I think it s the most overrated thing that we do on a daily basis, is swing the bat way too often, Maddon said. I don t know even know where the genesis of that was.

12 Maddon said he thought the practice of batters swinging as much as they do started in the early 1980s, when hitting coaches and instruction became more prominent. That then, Maddon said, made BP a longer exercise. Extra batting practice, and hitting off tees and hitting in cages and hitting and swinging and swinging and swinging I think it could be counter-productive, Maddon said. I think guys could hit themselves right through feel. You could be feeling really well. My point is if you do it too often you get to the point where you lose that feel and all of a sudden it becomes like swinging a fence pole, or a fence post. Maddon added that all the increased swings could lead to tired arms. He said he likes not hitting before day games that follow night games. I like them getting ground balls. I like going out and getting loose. I like running if you have to, Maddon said. I like getting loose in a cage if it s necessary, but too many times batting practice just develops into home run derby and it really becomes useless and counter-productive. The longest one of Maddon s teams has gone without BP is almost a week. He did say that sometimes if a player needs the extra work he s OK with added swings, but sometimes you actually need to do less and not more. A DAY IN THE LIFE Maddon indeed met Eddie Vedder on Thursday night at an event that included The Who and Joe Walsh. He was also asked what he thinks about having Friday afternoon games, giving him Friday nights off. In our world, for me, every night is Friday night. Everybody s been like talking to me a lot about Hey, these day games you get to go out at night on Friday, Maddon said. I m beat, so I ll go back, I ll take my nap. But I m not like who eats that much anyway? Really. Seriously. Who eats that much food? Everybody talks about these restaurants on top of restaurants, and they re wonderful, but who eats that much? And Maddon is still a night-game guy. I wake up slowly. I do like my routine during the day. I like to do the workout thing, and I read a little bit and all that kind of good stuff, Maddon said. So I m getting used to this, also. For that group that really likes to eat a lot, I guess it is pretty cool, but I m pretty normal when it comes to that. NOT TOO BAD David Ross has pulled an oblique before. He said what happened Thursday didn t feel like a pulled oblique. Ross, who left in the eighth inning with what Maddon called abdominal tightness, said before Friday s game with the Pittsburgh Pirates he felt good. During his final at-bat Thursday, Ross motioned to his side and appeared to be in some discomfort. He was then replaced behind the plate by Miguel Montero, but a day later things seem to be OK. I felt it. It was a little something. I was like, shoot. It felt a little funny but I felt like I took a couple practice swings and I didn t grab, Ross said. I pulled an oblique once before in Double-A and know what that feels like, so this didn t feel like that. It just felt like a little sharp twinge and it tightened up just a little bit and then kind of released. For precautionary reasons, Maddon told Ross to bunt with two strikes instead of swinging away. That Ross bunt went foul for a strike out didn t bother Maddon much, who just wanted the veteran catcher to protect himself. It s no fun. That rotational stuff the whole game is rotational, Maddon said. So when that pops up it can be a pain in the side.

13 Daily Herald Batting practice not all it's cracked up to be By Bruce Miles Batting practice? Who needs batting practice? Certainly not the Cubs and the Pirates during Friday's victory for the Cubs in 12 innings. For the second day in a row, Cubs manager Joe Maddon did not have team take batting practice. "I think it's the most overrated thing that we do, on a daily basis," Maddon said. "We swing the bat way too often. I don't even know what the genesis of that was. "Batting practice became a longer exercise, and extra batting practice and hitting off tees and hitting in cages and hitting and swinging and swinging and swinging. I think it could be counterproductive. I think guys can hit themselves right through feel. You could be feeling really well. My point is if you do it too often, you get to the point where you lose that feel. All of a sudden it becomes like swinging a fence post." The Cubs were scheduled to take batting practice before Saturday's 3:05 p.m. game, but no more. "We took it during the game," Maddon quipped. Maddon added that during his managerial career, he has had his team go as long as a week without taking formal batting practice. Ross feeling OK: Catcher David Ross checked in fine Friday morning after having to leave Thursday's game with abdominal tightness. Welington Castillo started Friday against the Pirates and was replace by Miguel Montero. Ross tweaked something during an at-bat and then bunted foul with two strikes to make the third out of the eighth inning Thursday. "Just getting in this morning, no soreness, not since last night," he said. "I feel good. Maybe I released some scar tissue or something. I'm 38. There's no telling what this body has been through. "It was a little tweak, and Joe (Maddon) wanted me to bunt to make sure I didn't do anything crazy. Joe was pretty adamant that I do not swing. 'Do not swing. Bunt. Drag bunt,' I was like, 'All right.' We had the lead. I just wanted to try to get out of here with a win, worry about my body later." This and that: Anthony Rizzo hit his eighth homer run and his first off a left-handed pitcher (Jeff Locke) this year.... Kris Bryant hit his fourth homer in his last seven games after not hitting one in the first 20 games of his big-league career.... Jorge Soler drew a career-high 4 walks (2 intentional).... James Russell made his 323rd appearance as a Cub, tying Willie Hernandez for the most in franchise history by a left-handed pitcher. Daily Herald This Cubs win was astonishing, strange... but true By Bruce Miles If the art of fiction isn't dead, the Cubs and Pirates went a long way toward killing it on one wild and crazy Friday at Wrigley Field. One of the joys of covering baseball is that you have a chance to see something you've never seen before.

14 Well, in the Cubs' victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, we saw nearly the exact thing twice. Take one: Bottom of the 10th inning, Matt Szczur up for the Cubs with the bases loaded and one out. Szczur hits a high fly to shallow right field. Starlin Castro breaks for home and is thrown out easily by Gregory Polanco. Take two: Bottom of the 12th inning, Matt Szczur up for the Cubs with the bases loaded and one out. Szczur hits a high fly to shallow right field. Starlin Castro breaks for home and... Polanco falls down and the ball drops for a game-winning single. "It's not how we drew it up, that's for sure," said Szczur, a rookie outfielder making a rare start. "I told myself I've got to do it this time." Asked about his déjà vu moment when he saw the second ball go up and then drop, Szczur said: "I was thanking everybody. I was like, 'Oh, thank God.' " Castro was a happy guy, too. Manager Joe Maddon emphasized that Castro and third-base coach Gary Jones worked together to make the right decision the first time, even though Castro was out. "He (Polanco) could have easily airmailed that thing, and then obviously you're happy," Maddon said. "I was very, very good with the decision by Jonesie and Starlin." Castro was all smiles in the victorious clubhouse. "It's fun," he said. "We're really having fun. We're not quitting. We never quit. We go up there and win the game, no matter what inning." Castro said both decisions to go were good. "It's back to back," he said. "It's going to be tough, but I'm ready to score on that. I've got to do it again. I took a chance." The victory papered over some issues for the Cubs, who won their fifth in a row to improve to Starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks had a 7-1 lead in the sixth inning and was an out away from getting a quality start. But he never made it out of the inning, as the Pirates scored 4 runs. The Cubs were one out away from winning it in the ninth inning. Closer Hector Rondon struck out the first two batters he faced, but Josh Harrison doubled and Francisco Cervelli singled home the tying run. "We really should have put that away earlier," Maddon said. "We played really well today. Don't be deceived. We played really well today. We did not pitch well today. We played a good game of baseball. I'm really happy with the way we played." The Cubs got home runs from their new power tandem of Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo. Bryant hit a 3-run homer in the third inning, and Rizzo blasted a solo shot to the back of the under-construction right-field bleachers in the fourth. But all of that ended up a footnote on a day any fiction writer would be hard-pressed to create. "It could take me awhile to describe the day's events," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. "Impossible," Maddon said. "Impossible. Déjà vu all over again. Unbelievable. The way the whole game played, that was remarkable. And we got lucky. We got lucky."

15 Cubs.com Cubs relive 10th in 12th, but this time, they prevail By Sarah Trotto CHICAGO The Cubs were unable to capitalize in the 10th inning. They had another chance in eerily similar circumstances in the 12th. This time, it worked out. With the bases loaded in the 12th, Matt Szczur lofted a fly ball to shallow right field. Pirates outfielder Gregory Polanco tripped as he pursued the ball, which fell for the game-winning single in the Cubs' victory over the Pirates on Friday. Szczur had the same opportunity in the 10th. He went to the plate with the bases loaded with one out after Starlin Castro and Miguel Montero singled and Bucs closer Mark Melancon intentionally walked Jorge Soler. Szczur also hit a fly ball to shallow right field. That time, Polanco caught it and then threw out Castro at home by a wide margin as he tried to tag up and score from third base. Two innings later, Castro walked, Montero singled, and Radhames Liz intentionally walked Soler to bring up Szczur with one out. Talk about déjà vu. "I told myself, 'I've got to do it this time,' and I ended up doing the same exact thing," Szczur said. "I was like, 'You got to be kidding me.' "I was really running down to first base shaking my head." Instead, Polanco fell, and the Cubs won their fifth straight. They improved to 4-1 in extra-inning games. If Polanco had caught the ball, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Castro would have been sent from third to try to score again. He stood behind the decision to send Castro in the 10th. "He easily could have airmailed that thing, and then all of a sudden, you're happy," Maddon said. "I was very, very good with the decision." Castro saw Polanco fall as he headed home. "It's easier. It's easier, because you have no one to throw to make you out," Castro said. "We're having fun. We don't quit. We go up there and never give it away." Cubs.com Cubs trip up Bucs in 12th to extend streak to 5 By Tom Singer and Sarah Trotto CHICAGO It started out as a laugher, but it turned into high National League Central drama. The Cubs held off the Pirates on Friday for their fifth straight win, 11-10, in 12 innings, responding to Pittsburgh's erasure of deficits of 7-1 and 10-5 to draw even at 10 on Francisco Cervelli's RBI single with two outs in the ninth. The final "blow" was delivered by Matt Szczur, who "singled" off Radhames Liz to score Starlin Castro from third base. Right fielder Gregory Polanco was running up for Szczur's very shallow fly when he tripped, letting the ball fall safe. Castro had drawn a one-out walk and sped to third on Miguel Montero's single to right-center, then an intentional walk of Jorge Soler loaded the bases for Szczur. The Pirates had gone to the exact same strategy two innings earlier, when Polanco caught an identical flare by Szczur and turned it into an inning-ending double play by throwing Castro out at home.

16 "Yeah, it almost worked the same way," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, hardly downcast about the outcome. "We had positives all over the place. We dug a big hole and almost dug ourselves out of it. You'd like to finish it off; that didn't happen." For the Cubs, who earlier got a three-run homer from Kris Bryant and a solo shot from Anthony Rizzo, the win streak is their longest since a similar five-game run last June 3-7. "We really should have put that away earlier," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "We played really well today. Don't be deceived, we played really well today. We didn't pitch well, but we played a good game of baseball. I'm really happy with the way we played, whether it was the at-bats, the hitting, the defense, the baserunning, everything. It really would have been a sin not to have won that game based on how well we played." The Bucs chased Kyle Hendricks in the sixth, when Cervelli hit a bases-clearing double and then scored on Corey Hart's pinch-hit single to make it 7-5. Andrew McCutchen brought the Bucs within a run with a three-run homer in the eighth inning off Cubs reliever Pedro Strop. "The bullpen, we've had those moments already this year. We have to get better," Maddon said. Pittsburgh lefty Jeff Locke lasted only 3 2/3 innings for a second straight start in Wrigley Field, allowing six hits and five runs. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Locke gets picked: If ever the Bucs needed a shutdown inning from Locke, it was the fourth. Pedro Alvarez got them on the board with a solo homer in the top half, with the bottom of the Cubs' order coming up. No dice. Locke started Hendricks off with a 3-0 count, and Hendricks doubled and eventually scored. With two outs, Rizzo homered, making it 5-1. "That was a perfect example of the day," Locke said. "You get a run on the board, and lead off the inning with a 3-0 count on the pitcher. That's not where you want to be. But it was very resilient of our guys to get back in the game." More long ball: Bryant hit his fourth home run, a three-run shot to left-center on a full count for a 3-0 Cubs lead in the third. The third baseman has four homers in his past seven games after hitting zero in his first 20 games. Three of his four homers have been struck at Wrigley. Unconventional move stops Bucs: The Pirates had rallied within 7-5 in the sixth, reloaded the bases and had McCutchen up with two outs. Maddon bought in lefty Zac Rosscup. McCutchen, a lifetime.327 hitter vs. southpaws, flied out softly to end the threat. Helping himself out: Hendricks doubled into right field for his first career extra-base hit to start the bottom of the fourth. He advanced on a groundout and scored on Dexter Fowler's sac fly for a 4-1 Cubs lead. QUOTABLE "Adversity does make you tougher. We threw everything at them and came up short. We got to find a way to show up for [Jon] Lester [on Saturday]. It's the big leagues." Hurdle, on quickly getting over a numbing defeat SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Josh Harrison was charged with three errors at third base all last season. He drew his seventh error in 29 games at the position this year for muffing Castro's leadoff grounder in the fifth. WHAT'S NEXT

17 Pirates: Gerrit Cole takes the ball in Saturday's 4:05 p.m. ET middle game of the series in a marquee matchup with Lester. Two and a half weeks ago on April 29, Cole didn't allow an earned run in six three-hit innings for an 8-1 win at Wrigley Field. Cubs: Lester seeks his fourth straight victory in an afternoon game against the Pirates at 3:05 CT. The left-hander allowed three runs (two earned) in six innings in his one career start against Pittsburgh on June 24, 2011, when he was with the Red Sox. Cubs.com Maddon believes less BP better in long run By Sarah Trotto CHICAGO The Cubs refrained from taking batting practice before their game against the Pirates on Friday afternoon, hitting in the cages instead. Cubs manager Joe Maddon made it clear he isn't a fan of excessive BP. "I think it's the most overrated thing we do on a daily basis," Maddon said. "We swing the bat way too often." Maddon said he has had his team go as long as a week without batting practice. He theorized that BP became a bigger issue in the 1980s, when hitting coaches were more prominent. "Batting practice became a longer exercise, and extra batting practice and hitting off tees and hitting in cages and swinging and swinging and swinging, I think it can be counterproductive," he said. "Guys can hit themselves right through feel. You can be feeling really well, and if you do it too much or too often, you get the point where you lose that feel, and all of a sudden, it becomes like swinging a fence post." To help keep his players fresh, Maddon said he plans to skip batting practice when there is a night game with an afternoon game the following day. The Cubs were set to take BP before Saturday's game, but after Friday's win over the Pirates in 12 innings, Maddon decided they will skip BP on Saturday as well. "I like getting ground balls. I like getting loose," Maddon said. "I like running if you have to. I like getting loose in a cage if it's necessary. But too many times batting practice develops into a Home Run Derby, which really becomes useless or counterproductive." Maddon said he also plans to allow his players later in the season to sometimes show up a couple hours before first pitch to avoid hours of pregame preparation. "I believe in preparation, but you don't have to be there six, seven hours before the game begins, and if you do, you're just not utilizing your time properly," the skipper said. Extra base Maddon celebrated his 800th managerial win by attending The Who concert on Thursday night in Rosemont, Ill. He met Pearl Jam singer and Cubs fan Eddie Vedder. Cubs.com Wrigley to be treated to Lester-Cole duel By Sarah Trotto CHICAGO Jon Lester will go for his fifth consecutive quality start, when the Cubs face the Pirates on Saturday afternoon.

18 The left-hander overcame a slow start after signing a six-year, $155 million deal with the Cubs in the offseason. Lester is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in May after going 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA in April. The Pirates will counter with Gerrit Cole (5-1, 2.32 ERA). The right-hander allowed one unearned run in six innings en route to beating the Cubs on April 29. After walking off on Friday, the Cubs look to extend their win streak to six games, while the Pirates will try to halt their slide at three. Things to watch The Pirates have had few looks at Lester, the former lifelong American Leaguer. But Corey Hart has a couple of homers off Lester, including one last season when he was with Seattle, and he may be in the starting lineup, most likely at first base in place of Pedro Alvarez, who hit a solo homer off Kyle Hendricks in the opener. The Cubs were leading the National League by averaging 3.98 pitches per plate appearance entering Friday. The mark is second in the Majors behind the Red Sox, who were averaging Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant was averaging 4.38 pitches per plate appearance, third in the league and fourth in the bigs. Lester will face the Pirates for only the second time in his career, having lost to them on June 24, 2011, when he was with the Red Sox. Cubs.com Day after, Ross none the worse for wear By Sarah Trotto CHICAGO Cubs catcher David Ross was in a jovial mood on Friday morning before he met with trainers about the abdominal tightness that forced him out of Thursday's 6-5 win against the Mets. "Maybe I released some scar tissue or something. I'm 38 there's no telling what this body has been through," Ross said jokingly. Cubs manager Joe Maddon confirmed that Ross was doing well after consulting with the training staff, and he expects his catcher to play on Saturday. Ross exited after his at-bat in the eighth inning on Thursday. He said he felt a small, sharp twinge, and the area tightened up and released. Maddon ordered Ross to bunt to try to avoid further injury. Ross ended up striking out on a foul bunt. "Joe was pretty adamant that I do not swing. 'Do not swing. Bunt. Drag bunt,'" Ross said. "I was like, 'All right.' We had the lead. I just wanted to try to get out of here with a win, worry about my body later." Ross said he felt confident the tightness didn't involve his oblique. He once pulled an oblique while playing in Double-A, and this tightness felt different, he said. Otherwise, the young Cubs are helping the 14-year Major League veteran feel young. "If my body holds up, we'll be fine," Ross said. "These guys are great. It's a fun group to be part of. It's a group that asks a lot of questions. I've got to clean up my dance moves for after the game. I've got to get better at that."