June 3, Daily Herald, Fowler relishes warm return to Wrigley

Transcription

1 June 3, 2017 Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs jumble lineup, snap losing streak by beating Cardinals Chicago Sun-Times, Dexter Fowler gets ring, closing book on Cubs career Chicago Sun-Times, What if this is who the 2017 Cubs really are? Chicago Sun-Times, With fireworks, Anthony Rizzo gets engaged Daily Herald, Cubs' leadoff spot still a work in progress Daily Herald, Fowler relishes warm return to Wrigley Daily Herald, Cubs get much-needed win over Cards, snap skid Cubs.com, Lester eyes continued home success vs. Cards Cubs.com, Cubs rally past Cardinals to end slide Cubs.com, Rizzo's astute hustle sets stage for Cubs Cubs.com, Fowler gets ring, belts leadoff HR at Wrigley Cubs.com, Cubs rebound hinges on pitching and defense Cubs.com, Maddon hopes Schwarber finds form in 7-hole ESPNChicago.com, Dexter Fowler gets World Series ring, smacks leadoff homer CSNChicago.com, Anthony Rizzo Shows Why He's The Cake-Filled Face Of The Cubs CSNChicago.com, Rizzo, Cubs Find A 'Contagious Winning Feeling' Again

2 CSNChicago.com, Joe Maddon Explains How 'Tea Leaves' Led To Him Shaking Up Cubs Lineup Chicago Tribune, For the Cubs, a bad division is irrelevant to winning a title column.html Chicago Tribune, Victory tastes sweet for Anthony Rizzo and Cubs after snapping 6-game skid Chicago Tribune, Time for Kyle Schwarber get back on track vs. right-handers this homestand Chicago Tribune, Anthony Rizzo creates fireworks for his engagement column.html Chicago Tribune, Former Cub Dexter Fowler gets ring, round of applause at Wrigley Field story.html Chicago Tribune, Cubs are back in oh-so-familiar territory, the land of mediocrity Chicago Sun-Times Cubs jumble lineup, snap losing streak by beating Cardinals By Brian Sandalow Maybe it was fitting that Dexter Fowler s return to Wrigley Field came Friday. Looking to jump-start the offense, Cubs manager Joe Maddon once again jumbled a lineup that has missed Fowler s steadying presence at the top. Ian Happ became the Cubs sixth leadoff man of the season, Ben Zobrist hit fourth behind Anthony Rizzo and Kyle Schwarber was bumped to seventh for just the second time in his career. I thought Zobrist really is what Rizzo needs behind him, and then Schwarber, with all the different work he s been doing, I thought it would be good to get him possibly one less at-bat per game, Maddon said before the Cubs beat the Cardinals 3-2 to snap their six-game losing streak. The Cubs have scored just 12 runs in their last seven games and were coming off a month in which they batted.216. Entering Friday, they had the worst batting average in the National League with runners in scoring position at.209. Last season, Fowler led off 119 times and gave the Cubs stability at the top of the order. That predictability has been absent this season, and Maddon conceded it could be for a while. It s always nice to have [a set leadoff man]. I mean, I m not going to deny that, Maddon said. It s always nice to have a closer. It s nice to have that table-setter, but we ll work through all of that. I m not hyper-concerned about it, but it d be nice to settle in.

3 Maddon s lineup changes didn t necessarily lead to the Cubs win, but they ll take it nonetheless. Jason Heyward s sacrifice fly in the eighth inning off Trevor Rosenthal scored Rizzo for the go-ahead run. Rizzo doubled to begin the eighth and alertly advanced on Zobrist s grounder to third baseman Jhonny Peralta. Rizzo took off for third when Peralta threw across the diamond to retire Zobrist. To get this win was nice, just to let everyone loosen up a little bit, I feel like, Rizzo said. We beat a good team. Fowler led off the game with a home run against John Lackey. The Cardinals made it 2-0 in the second on Magneuris Sierra s single. Kris Bryant put the Cubs on the board in the third with his 12th homer, off Lance Lynn. The Cubs tied the score in the sixth when Stephen Piscotty misjudged Heyward s towering drive to right, allowing Rizzo to score. But with the bases loaded and left-hander Tyler Lyons in, Maddon chose to replace Schwarber with Albert Almora. The Cardinals countered with right-hander Matt Bowman, prompting Maddon to pinch-hit with Jon Jay. But Jay, a former Cardinal, grounded into a double play to end the inning. When asked if there was any thought to letting Schwarber hit in the sixth, Maddon said, not really. Right now, the fact that he s been struggling, I m trying to be protective [of him] in a sense, also, Maddon said. Schwarber struck out in both of his at-bats, dropping his batting average to.163. Chicago Sun-Times Dexter Fowler gets ring, closing book on Cubs career By Brian Sandalow Cardinals center fielder Dexter Fowler always will be a part of Cubs history. The leadoff man played an integral role in the Cubs winning their first World Series title in 108 years. Those are memories that you ll never lose, Fowler said. But that s in the past, and -Friday closed that chapter of Fowler s career. Fowler was presented his World Series ring by Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward before -being joined by former teammates and president Theo Epstein for a photo. Fowler also was given a video tribute and got a standing ovation when he stepped up for his first at-bat. Then he homered off right-hander John Lackey. It was awesome, and I finally got my ring, Fowler said. I haven t got a chance to look at it, but they treated me first-class. That was awesome. In two years with the Cubs, Fowler was an important part of the lineup and the clubhouse. Getting a ring is like closing a chapter of my life, Fowler said. Fowler also reminded the Cubs of what they lost when he -homered. The home run [stunk]. But you know what, we won. So it was good, Rizzo quipped. The ring ceremony was cool, to see his smile. The fans here have become accustomed to that smile for a few years. He s always smiling. It was good to see him get that ring. Heyward at the top? A year ago, the idea of -Heyward leading off would have been laughed at. Now it seems like a -viable solution, though manager Joe Maddon didn t put Heyward in the leadoff spot Friday.

4 I think Jason s really settled in nicely, Maddon said. I did not want to mess with that. Heyward went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBI and is hitting.259. Controlled wildness Lackey allowed two runs through the first two innings but then settled in, throwing five scoreless innings without allowing a hit. He said the key to his day was throwing fewer strikes as the game wore on. How did that help? Sometimes you can throw too many strikes. There can be too many things that are hittable, Lackey said. [I] have a pretty long career and reputation as a strike-thrower, so I get a lot of early swings, and sometimes throwing something out of the zone s not always a bad thing. Chicago Sun-Times What if this is who the 2017 Cubs really are? By Rick Morrissey The Cubs are a 2.0 grade-point average on a four-point scale. They re a.250 hitter, a two-star movie review, neither the first kid picked for the game nor the last. They re a.500 team through and through so far this season. What if that s who they really are? If not the middling club we ve seen to date, then a pale, maddening imitation of their former selves, the team that won a World Series seven months ago? Would everybody be OK with that? I didn t think so. But it is possible. If everything went so right last season, it s within the realm of possibility that lots of things could go wrong this season. Wrong, with a team as talented as the Cubs, is the record they were sporting after Friday s 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. Wrong would be, gulp, not making the playoffs. The Cubs opened a 10-game homestand Friday on a beautiful spring afternoon. Their division rival was in town, former Cub and current Card Dexter Fowler received his World Series ring before the game, and something important seemed at hand at Wrigley Field. Would it be the struggling home team finally drawing a line in the sand? Or surrendering further to mediocrity? Something. There are two ways of looking at what has happened to the Cubs so far in The first, that they are only two months into the season, has been belabored to within an inch of its life. There s plenty of time for the team to right itself, we ve been told. Everybody is saying that manager Joe Maddon, the players, the club s broadcasters and Clark the mascot, who can t talk but remains optimistic, I m told. No middle finger from him. If we win this division 10 games under.500, we still win the division, first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. That s the goal. Obviously, [winning it under.500 is] not going to happen, but we want to be in position in September to win the division. It s June. The second way of looking at this is that the Cubs are two months into the season, the calendar has indeed flipped to June, and maybe it s time to say that what looked like an aberration is actually the team s identity. This would not be considered the popular view.

5 Cubs president Theo Epstein tried to calm the masses during the week, saying there s too much talent on the roster for this team not to succeed and that he expects the players who are underperforming to start acting like themselves soon. I imagine the 2014 Boston Red Sox were saying similar things. The year before, they had won the World Series, but injuries, youth and poor pitching brought them down in 14, all the way to a record. It was so bad, they dealt Jon Lester and John Lackey at the trade deadline. Those names sound vaguely familiar. Ah, but the weather here is improving, we re told, as if higher temperatures somehow affect the Cubs more positively than they do other teams. Yes, but the Cubs are home for 10 games now, the true believers tell us. After 53 games last season, they were 21-7 at home. Fifty-three games into this season, they were at home. The party room the Cubs built inside Wrigley to celebrate victories is being rented out to a temperance movement. There is every reason to believe that some of the hitters including Rizzo (.231) and Ben Zobrist (.242) will start heating up. That list might not include Kyle Schwarber, whom Maddon finally, mercifully moved down to the seventh spot in the order Friday. I wonder if Schwarber is starting to feel tightness in a hamstring that will require a rehab stint in Triple A. The starting pitching is not a given. The ridiculously good combined effort the Cubs received last year from Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks, Lester and Lackey seems unlikely to return. That means the team s mighty run differential last season (plus-252) isn t coming back. Heading into Saturday s game, the Cubs had scored 243 runs and given up 242. Lackey did his part in seven innings Friday, giving up two runs, one coming on a solo homer by Fowler to start the game. That lowered Lackey s ERA to 4.90, which, if a number can be a personification, would be the Cubs the last two months. I definitely believe it s going to be a different path to get to the end of the year and win it again, Maddon said. It s hard to imagine our starters pitching [as well as they did in 2016]. I definitely imagine a high level. That was almost a surreal level, the way we pitched and played defense last year. So there s going to be some regression, and I think there has been, obviously. But I also believe we re still really, really good. The National League Central is average, at best, which gives the Cubs some comfort. But Rizzo s assertion that the most important thing is to get into the playoffs, while true, implies the Cubs are the type of team that can turn it on when it matters. One, we don t know if they are that type of team. Two, it matters now. We know we re good, Rizzo said. Now would be a good time to prove it. Chicago Sun-Times With fireworks, Anthony Rizzo gets engaged By Brian Sandalow Anthony Rizzo is officially off the market. On Thursday night, Rizzo proposed to girlfriend Emily Vakos on Lake Michigan and arranged a fireworks display to mark the occasion. It was great, Rizzo said before the Cubs 3-2 victory over the Cardinals on Friday at Wrigley Field. She was totally surprised. That s what I wanted. Somehow kept that under wraps. Rizzo said he and Vakos have yet to set a wedding date. Rizzo also was relieved he didn t lose the ring.

6 It s the latest big event for Rizzo, who has had an eventful 12 months. It was great, Rizzo said. She was totally surprised. That s what I wanted. Somehow kept that under wraps. It s something in life that you want to find someone to spend the rest of your life with, Rizzo said. I m lucky enough to have that. Former teammate and current Cardinal Dexter Fowler said he saw the fireworks from his hotel room. Rizzo announced his engagement on social media late Thursday, and by 5:30 a.m. Friday his tweet with a photo of him and Vakos had been retweeted almost 9,000 times and liked by about 71,000 people. Kris Bryant, who got married in January and had Rizzo at his wedding, tweeted his teammate and wrote Congrats to these two, with an emoji of a diamond ring. Rizzo also posted the photo on Instagram, and it was liked more than 127,000 times. The celebration spread from social media to the Cubs party room, where Rizzo was presented with a cake Friday. He loves that stuff. That s him, that s his personality, Jason Heyward said. He s very much of an open book, and he likes sharing stuff with the team, the organization, franchise, all of that stuff. That s why he s perfect for his role. Team captain, one of the faces of the city. You just want to celebrate everything you can with someone like that because he gives to a lot of people. Daily Herald Cubs' leadoff spot still a work in progress By Bruce Miles The leadoff spot for the Chicago Cubs has been in flux lately, and it may remain that way for a while longer. Kyle Schwarber lost the gig recently, and manager Joe Maddon has used Ben Zobrist, Javier Baez and Jon Jay there. For Friday's 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, Maddon placed rookie Ian Happ at the top spot, with Zobrist fourth and Schwarber seventh. "I'm trying to read into everything going on with the tea leaves," Maddon said. "Zo's doing a great job leading off. But I also believe that he definitely needs to be behind Rizzo for us to be successful offensively. "Versus lefties it could be something different. Just trying to toy with different ideas." Schwarber (.163) was pinch hit for in the sixth inning with the bases loaded after striking out twice. Jay wound up grounding into an inning-ending double play. "The fact that he has struggled as long as he had, two months now, they are working on some things," Maddon said. "I thought push him back down and give him a chance to really work on it. Plus, probably and possibly, the one-less-at-bat-per-game theory. One less trip up there until you start getting it back together." Of course she said yes: First baseman Anthony Rizzo is engaged. He proposed to Emily Vakos Thursday on a boat on Lake Michigan. "It's the best," Rizzo said. "You want to find somebody who you want to spend the rest of your life with, and I'm lucky enough to have that. It feels good. It's exciting."

7 Rizzo had some fireworks accompany the proposal, and those fireworks were noticed by former teammate Dexter Fowler, now with the Cardinals. "I'm out there in my room," Fowler said. "I see the view. I heard the fireworks going off. I was like, 'It's kind of early for fireworks.' I texted Riz. He told me he was proposing. I was like, 'OK, Riz.' I texted him after, and I go, 'No way those fireworks were for you.' And he goes, 'You know it.' I feel like I was there and a part of it." Daily Herald Fowler relishes warm return to Wrigley By Bruce Miles Friday could not have begun better for Dexter Fowler. The former center fielder of the Chicago Cubs walked out into the bright sunshine of Wrigley Field and was greeted warmly as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. Fowler strode to the area behind home plate where former teammates and management members were waiting to present him with his World Series ring. Players Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward gave Fowler his ring, and he was greeted warmly by team chairman Tom Ricketts, baseball president Theo Epstein, business president Crane Kenney, general manager Jed Hoyer and field manager Joe Maddon. "It was awesome, and like I said, I finally got my ring," Fowler said. "I haven't got a chance to look at it, but they treated me first-class." Fans cheered as the videoboard played a tribute to Fowler. "I talk to Riz; I talk to Jay-Hey," Fowler said as he met with the media in the visitors dugout before the game. "I talk to the boys over there. They still text me. We text back and forth, joking around. We've still got a good relationship. We'll come out here. It's between the lines. But then after the game, might have some dinner or a drink or something and chill." When the game began, Fowler wasted no time getting the Cardinals started as he homered on a 3-2 pitch from John Lackey to lead off. Fowler was one of the most popular Cubs in the clubhouse the past two seasons. He also was the catalyst from the leadoff spot. He signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Cardinals in the off-season. Fowler has come on at the plate lately, but a slow start has his batting line at.232/.320/.446 with 8 homers and 20 RBI. "I was hitting balls right at guys," he said. "Had no luck. Sometimes you look at that balls in play, and it's not adding up. They say it's a marathon. Keep doing it, and hopefully it even out." He seemed to relish the ovation he got, especially as it rarely happens for a St. Louis player. "It's good to hear," he said. "Hopefully a lot of cheers, not a lot of boos. You know how that goes. It's a rivalry. I understand that. We accomplished something that hadn't been done in a lifetime." Heyward said he enjoyed presenting the ring to his friend. "It was cool for him to get his ring," he said. "We all got to feel that on the field. For the fans to show him the love and respect, all that stuff, unbelievable to see that for him."

8 Daily Herald Cubs get much-needed win over Cards, snap skid By Bruce Miles A certain lightness returned to the Chicago Cubs clubhouse Friday. And why not? The Cubs emerged from the gloom that had enveloped them during a six-game losing streak, and they did it in the best way for them: They beat their Gateway Arch Rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 at Wrigley Field. And they did it playing good, fundamentally sound baseball. "We needed a win," said first baseman Anthony Rizzo, whose heads-up baserunning in the eighth inning led to him scoring the eventual game-winning run on Jason Heyward's sacrifice fly. "I said a couple days ago it doesn't matter if it's versus the Cardinals, or versus a college team. We needed to win no matter what." It also helped that the Cubs played in front of a crowd of 41,051 on a summerlike afternoon. Those fans acted like they had kept the faith in a team that's now "It's good to come home," Rizzo said. "The atmosphere with the fans is unbelievable today, especially after coming off a six-game skid like that. Fans aren't used to that in the last couple years, so to get this win was nice, just to kind of let everyone loosen up a little bit, I feel like. We beat a good team." The day was a festive one all the way around, as it always is when the Cardinals come to town and bring their fans with them. On top of that, former Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler picked up his World Series ring and homered to lead off the game against John Lackey. The Cardinals made it 2-0 in the second before the Cubs scored single runs in the third (on Kris Bryant's 12th homer), sixth and eighth. Lackey seemed to get stronger as he went along, pitching 7 innings of 4-hit ball and getting no decision. He said the key might have been throwing fewer strikes after the first couple of innings. "They swung a lot," Lackey quipped, referring to the strikes he did get. "Sometimes you can throw too many strikes. There can be too many things that are hittable. Obviously, (I) have a pretty long career and a reputation as a strike thrower. I get a lot of early swings. Sometimes throwing something out of the zone is not always a bad thing." The Cubs have been a home-run-dependent team, so it was fun to watch them score doing the little things late. Rizzo led off the eighth by doubling over the head of left fielder Magneuris Sierra. Ben Zobrist grounded the ball to third baseman Jhonny Peralta, who looked at Rizzo. But once Peralta threw to first, Rizzo broke for third, setting up Heyward's sac fly to center. "Yeah, those are the little things that make good teams," Rizzo said. "I see where Peralta's throwing. I know he's playing off (the bag). It was just one of those plays where he had to go to his backhand a little bit, and he didn't have much time to look me back and set his feet. Once he looked me back, I knew the two middle infielders weren't playing up the middle. They were playing more traditional where they play. "It's just one of those things where you hope for the best." While a big weight was lifted with this win, Lackey has been around long enough to know that the season needs time to unfold.

9 "It's a game," he said. "Like I say to the guys, you've got to just stay in the process right now, just try to win the game today. You can't win 10 games in a day. Just try to play good, try to have a good at-bat and try to throw a good pitch. We'll see where we are here in a month or two." Cubs.com Lester eyes continued home success vs. Cards By John Jackson The Cubs' offense may be struggling, but Cardinals starter Mike Leake knows he'll face a big challenge Saturday when the teams meet in the second game of a three-game series at Wrigley Field. According to Leake, the key to facing a powerful lineup like Chicago's is not to be passive and give the hitters too much respect. "You have to respect them immediately, and you have to attack," Leake said. "They're a team that's going to be aggressive. They're going to come at you, and you have to counter and go after them." That approach certainly has worked for Leake this season. He has a 5-3 record and leads the National League with a 2.24 ERA. He's also allowing the fewest baserunners per nine innings (8.93) and the lowest opponents' on-base percentage (.242) in the league. Jon Lester goes for the Cubs, and he's looking to bounce back from his roughest start of the season last Sunday against the Dodgers. The left-hander allowed a pair of three-run home runs and gave up a season-high six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. Three things to know about this game Lester has been a completely different pitcher this season at home, where he's 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in six starts as opposed to 0-3 with a 7.11 ERA in five road starts. Lester's last start at Wrigley was a complete-game 10-K performance in the Cubs' 4-1 win over the Giants on May 23. With Jedd Gyorko on paternity leave, the Cardinals called up outfielder Magneuris Sierra from Double-A Springfield, and he started on Friday in the opener, collecting an RBI single. This is Sierra's second stint in the Majors this season, and he's hit safely in all eight games he's played. The Cubs went in May, marking the team's first non-winning month since going last July. Cubs batters hit.216 with 118 runs (4.2 per game), a.310 on-base percentage and a.393 slugging percentage last month. Cubs.com Cubs rally past Cardinals to end slide By Carrie Muskat and John Jackson CHICAGO Anthony Rizzo's heads-up baserunning allowed him to score on Jason Heyward's sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, which lifted the Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field, ending their losing skid at six games. "It's good to come home," Rizzo said after the Cubs' 0-6 trip to Los Angeles and San Diego. "The atmosphere with the fans was unbelievable today, especially after a six-game skid. To get this win was nice to let everyone loosen up a little bit. We beat a good team."

10 Facing Trevor Rosenthal with the game tied at 2 in the eighth, Rizzo doubled over the head of rookie left fielder Magneuris Sierra and advanced on Ben Zobrist's groundout. Rizzo had hesitated, then sprinted to third after Jhonny Peralta threw to first. Rizzo scored on Heyward's fly ball to center. "We're not fast, but I think we run the bases well as a group," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "He's not afraid to make mistakes. That's what we're looking for." The Cubs welcomed Dexter Fowler back to Wrigley Field, presenting him with his World Series ring, and then he showed them how much they miss him. Fowler smacked his 23rd career leadoff home run, and second this year, to open the game for the Cardinals. "The ring ceremony was cool it's good to see his smile," said Rizzo, who presented Fowler with his ring. "The fans here are accustomed to that smile. It's good to see him get that ring." Fowler, who was the leadoff man the past two seasons for the Cubs, launched a 3-2 pitch from Chicago starter John Lackey into the right-field bleachers for his eighth homer of the season. According to Statcast, the exit velocity registered at mph, Fowler's hardest-hit homer of the season. "I know John; John knows me," Fowler said. "I know he's going to come after me from the beginning. It was just about finding a good pitch to hit." The Cubs' offense continued to scuffle despite a shakeup in the lineup in which rookie Ian Happ was inserted into the leadoff spot and Kyle Schwarber was dropped to seventh. Kris Bryant belted his 12th home run, a solo shot, with two outs in the third and Heyward tied the game at 2 with an RBI double in the sixth. "We haven't been playing badly, we just have not been hitting," Maddon said of the Cubs, who totaled five hits on Friday. "You can't say we killed it today on offense, we just pitched well enough. You have to pitch better than good pitching to win some days. And we played good defense." The Cardinals missed an opportunity in the eighth when they loaded the bases on three walks by Carl Edwards Jr., but Pedro Strop struck out Yadier Molina to end the inning. "We could have used a big hit, no question," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "We were in a good spot. We just weren't able to get the hit we needed." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Just in time: Sierra arrived just in time for the Cardinals. Aledmys Diaz singled to lead off the St. Louis second, moved up on a wild pitch and scored one out later on Sierra's single to center. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sierra's eight-game hitting streak ties Homer Smoot (1902) for the longest by a Cardinal to start his career since Sierra was called up while Jedd Gyorko is on paternity leave. Start me up: Cardinals starter Lance Lynn limited the Cubs to two hits over 5 1/3 innings, including Bryant's home run, but he departed after walking Rizzo and Zobrist with one out in the sixth. Heyward greeted lefty Tyler Lyons with an RBI double to tie the game at 2, and pinch-hitter Willson Contreras was intentionally walked. Matt Bowman then got pinch-hitter Jon Jay to ground into an inning-ending double play. "It's a lefty and they're going to try to make pitches and try to get you to chase some and you have to try to pick a good one to hit," said Heyward, who leads the Cubs with a.293 average with runners in scoring position. QUOTABLE "Those are memories, memories that you never lose and I can say getting a ring is like completing another chapter in my life." Fowler, on how he looks back on the Cubs' championship run last year

11 "We needed a win. It doesn't matter if it's versus the Cardinals or a college team. I really think the home crowd lifted us a little bit today." Rizzo SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS The Cubs have given up 14 first-inning home runs, tied for the most in the Majors with the Reds and Angels. In 2015, the Cubs gave up 19 first-inning home runs; and last year, they served up 20. WHAT'S NEXT Cardinals: Mike Leake looks to continue his strong start to the season Saturday at Wrigley Field. The right-hander leads the National League in ERA (2.24) and has recorded a quality start in nine of his 10 outings. Leake is 9-6 with a 3.50 ERA in 24 career starts against the Cubs, but he was 0-3 last season. First pitch is 1:20 p.m. CT. Cubs: Jon Lester will try to get back on track on Saturday in the second game of this series against the Cardinals at 1:20 CT. In his last outing, the lefty gave up a pair of three-run homers against the Dodgers and lasted just 3 1/3 innings. He's 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in six home starts this season. Cubs.com Rizzo's astute hustle sets stage for Cubs By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO Sometimes, it's better to be smart than fast. The Cubs' Anthony Rizzo showed off his baseball smarts in Friday's 3-2 win over the Cardinals. "I always tell him he's a great baserunner," Jason Heyward said of Rizzo. "That's huge right there to put me in a situation to have a chance to put a run on the board." The Cubs and Cardinals were tied at 2 in the eighth inning with Trevor Rosenthal on the mound. Rizzo doubled over rookie left fielder Magneuris Sierra and advanced on Ben Zobrist's groundout to third baseman Jhonny Peralta. Rizzo had hesitated, then sprinted to third after Peralta threw to first. He scored on Heyward's sacrifice fly to center. "I saw where Peralta was playing, and I know he's playing off," Rizzo said. "It was just one of those plays where he had to go to his backhand a little bit and he didn't have much time to look back and set his feet. I know once he looked me back, the two middle infielders weren't playing up the middle but playing more traditional, and it was just one of those things where you hope for the best." With the run, the Cubs ended a six-game losing streak. What could the Cardinals have done differently in the eighth? "Maybe pump fake and try to get [Rizzo] to commit," St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. "If you do that and he does it, runners are going to be standing on first and second. "It's just a good piece of baserunning," Matheny said. "The only other thing you can do is, if you have a real aggressive first baseman, come off the bag hard or try to make a throw. But he had too good of a jump and it was down the line, so it's a long throw for Peralta. There's not much he can do." The Cubs aren't fast, but manager Joe Maddon has praised his players' ability to run the bases. "[Rizzo] is not afraid to make mistakes," Maddon said. "That's what we're looking for. Any time you play cautious baseball, it normally doesn't work. Aggressively smart, I guess is the best way [to put it] fortune favors the bold. He watches leads at first base, toys with the pitcher. If he gets a good jump, he's ready to go.

12 "It was a great read on the ground ball to Peralta," Maddon said. "That's stuff you practice in the instructional league. There's other ways to get to third base with a ground ball on the pull side, and that was one of them." Rizzo had more to celebrate than the end of a six-game skid. He announced his engagement Thursday night, and his teammates provided him with a cake to celebrate not only the win, but his pending nuptials. "They put it right in my face," Rizzo said, smiling. "He wore it, he ate it," Heyward said. "It was fun to see. That's him. That's why he's perfect in his role as team captain and face of the city." Cubs.com Fowler gets ring, belts leadoff HR at Wrigley By John Jackson CHICAGO Dexter Fowler made a triumphant return to Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon, receiving his World Series ring in a pregame ceremony with the Cubs and then launching a leadoff homer in the first inning off John Lackey in the Cardinals' eventual 3-2 loss. The contrast represented a fitting summation of the past year for Fowler. By joining forces with the rival Cardinals, Fowler knows he probably committed a cardinal sin in the eyes of some Cubs fans. But when he took the field Friday for the first time at Wrigley Field in a Cards uniform, he had a feeling he would get a pass because of the role he played in the Cubs' World Series title last season. "The fans treated me well," he said. "Everybody was still talking to me, waving to me. It was awesome, a good feeling. "I left this place with no hard feelings. The fans showed me love." The crowd was reminded of those accomplishments before the game when Fowler was presented with his World Series ring during an on-field ceremony. Former teammates Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward made the presentation. After Fowler put the ring on, the other Cubs players, manager Joe Maddon and front-office executives Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer came over to exchange hugs and handshakes. The brief ceremony which began with a video tribute wrapped up with everyone posing for a picture with Fowler. "You can see how we feel about him, even though he's wearing the wrong uniform," Maddon said. Fowler received a loud ovation before and after the ceremony, as well as when he came to the plate to lead off the game. Such ceremonies can be tough for players, but Cardinals manager Mike Matheny had little doubt Fowler would handle things like a professional. "He goes about his business the same way all the time," Matheny said. "He loves life, loves the game, loves his teammates, supports his teammates, but he wants to win. "I think it'll be a great honor for him to get that ring today. It's something that he worked hard to achieve, and this team will be out here supporting him and looking forward to doing it again, maybe, in a different colored uniform." Whatever emotions Fowler was feeling didn't affect him by the time the game started, as evidenced by the homer his hardest hit of the season, at mph, according to Statcast which reminded the crowd and the Cubs the type of spark he provided.

13 "I finally got it; it hasn't sunk in yet," he said. "I haven't gotten a chance to look at it. I'll probably go home and look at it." During his pregame media session, Fowler was asked if Chicago's struggling offense misses his presence at the top of the lineup. "That's a good team over there," he said. "I'm sure they'll figure it out. We've got a good race to the top of the NL Central." As for the awkwardness of facing the Cubs at Wrigley, Fowler said it helps that the teams already have played six times in St. Louis. Even heading to the visitors' clubhouse wasn't strange. "The thing is I've played here before as a visitor before going over to the home side, so it's a familiar area there," he said. "It's not like when I was at Colorado the first time coming back. I had never been on the visiting side [in Colorado]. I've seen the old [home] clubhouse over there, the new clubhouse and I'm back over here." Following two years in Chicago, Fowler signed a five-year, $82 million contract with the Cardinals in the offseason. It was more money and years than the Cubs were willing to commit, but Fowler was asked if he would have stayed with the Cubs if the money was similar. "You never know. That's all hindsight," he said. "I'm pretty happy with the decision I made." Cubs.com Cubs rebound hinges on pitching and defense By Phil Rogers CHICAGO It really is all about pitching and defense, isn't it? Run prevention, If you prefer. Whatever you call it, there's nothing more valuable for a baseball team than the ability to stop its opponent from scoring. Look no further than the two Midwest rivals who will meet for three games this weekend at Wrigley Field - - the Cardinals and the Cubs. Generally viewed as a favorite to repeat as champions, the Cubs have been a major disappointment for the first two months of the season. They are sitting one game under.500 and with a run differential of only +1 after winning 103 games and compiling a run differential of +252 last season. The key to their success was the best starting pitching and defense around, which contributed to them allowing only 3.4 runs per game. "I honestly think it begins with starting pitching,'' Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "That sets all that up for you. I thought it did last year.'' Two seasons ago, it was St. Louis that everyone in the National League Central was chasing, thanks mostly to its pitching and defense. The 2015 Cardinals limited opponents to only 3.2 runs per game, with the starting rotation ranking first in the Major Leagues with a 2.99 ERA. That was the key to a 100-win season. But opponents scored 4.4 runs against the Cardinals last season, with the starting rotation seventh in the NL with a 4.33 ERA. The result was a slide to an record, which left them one game out of a tie-breaker game for a Wild Card spot. It was a grind all season, thanks in part to the loss of Lance Lynn to Tommy John surgery and John Lackey being signed away by the Cubs. The worst part for manager Mike Matheny was that the Cardinals didn't play strong

14 defense. Baseball Prospectus' ranking for Defensive Efficiency dropped them to 24th in the Majors, down from 16th the year before. While Cubs starting pitchers compiled a 2.96 ERA last season, best in the Majors, the fielding behind them was even more off the charts. Anthony Rizzo, Jason Heyward and their compadres not only ranked No. 1 in BP's defensive metric but the gap between them and the second-ranked Blue Jays was bigger than the one between Toronto and the 27th-ranked Mets. To have pitchers and fielders perform at those same levels again and work as well together, for that matter was unrealistic. The Cubs have made some roster changes most notably the departures of Dexter Fowler and Jason Hammel and the return of Kyle Schwarber but the biggest thing working against them is the unpredictable nature of baseball. Maddon knew in Spring Training not to expect his team to pick up where it left off. "I definitely believe it's going to be a different path to get to the end of the year and win it again,'' Maddon said Friday. "It's hard to imagine our starters pitching that well again. I definitely imagined a high level but how we pitched and played defense last year was almost a surreal level. There's got to be some regression.'' Opponents are scoring 4.6 runs per game off the Cubs this year, about 1.2 per game more than they did a year ago. That closely matches the difference the Cardinals experienced from 2015 to '16, and that led them to a decline of 14 wins. It's too early to know if the Cubs will stay at their current level all season. Maddon expects improvement in every phase, except perhaps the job that his bullpen is doing. But if the Cubs stay right there with the Cardinals' model, winning 14 fewer games than a year ago, they would go and fight all September to grab a spot in the postseason. That's quite a fall from the cruise they were on last season. If they want to avoid the drama, they need to have a whole lot more victories like the one on Friday, when Lackey and the bullpen got enough big outs to beat the Cardinals, 3-2. "I'd be much more concerned [about the record] if we were hitting and we were pitching well, but we're not,'' Maddon said. "There's room for improvement, getting back to what we normally look like, and that's what I'm looking forward to.'' Cubs.com Maddon hopes Schwarber finds form in 7-hole By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO Cubs manager Joe Maddon needed to find a way to get Kyle Schwarber back on track and revive his "Rizzo sandwich," so he made a few tweaks to the lineup Friday. Last year, the Cubs' main combination was Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist, which Maddon dubbed his "Rizzo sandwich." Zobrist had taken over the leadoff spot since May 20 because of Schwarber's struggles, but on Friday, Maddon dropped Schwarber to seventh for the third time in his career, inserted rookie Ian Happ at leadoff and put Zobrist back in his protective slot behind Rizzo at No. 4. "'Zo' has done a great job leading off," Maddon said Friday. "But I also believe he definitely has to be behind Rizzo for us to be successful offensively. Who's going to hit leadoff? It could've been Happ or Jason Heyward. I think Jason has settled in nicely. I didn't want to mess with that. 'Schwarbs' is getting better."

15 Schwarber was projected as the Cubs' leadoff man this season, a somewhat unconventional pick, and he's scuffled, batting.190 in the No. 1 spot. Hitting coach John Mallee spent Thursday's off-day at Wrigley Field going over video, which also contributed to the switch. It's part of what Maddon called the "one-less-at-bat-per-game theory." If Schwarber gets one less at-bat, and does well, he'll have the opportunity to boost his overall batting average, which was.165 coming into Friday's game. "More than anything, what's impacted is your confidence," Maddon said of the early struggles. "You haven't forgotten how to hit, you don't have to make a lot of physical adjustments but when you're going poorly, you start doubting yourself. That's human nature we all do that." It's key for Maddon and the coaches to show they have confidence in the young players. "We're trying to help some of our young guys re-establish their confidence," Maddon said. "How do you do that? By being there for them all the time. There's a difference between performance not being good or people not caring. The effort is there, the caring is there; we're just not performing well." The past two seasons, the Cubs have relied on Dexter Fowler as the leadoff man. On Friday, Fowler received his 2016 World Series ring, but he did so in a Cardinals uniform after signing a five-year deal with St. Louis. "It's always nice to have one, I'm not going to deny that," Maddon said. "It's like it's always nice to have a closer it's nice to have that table-setter. We'll work through that. I'm not hyper concerned about it, but we'll settle in." Worth noting Happ will be the Cubs' sixth leadoff man this year, joining Schwarber, Zobrist, Jon Jay, Javier Baez and Matt Szczur. The Cubs did not get off to the same hot start they did last season, and they began the day three games behind the first-place Brewers in the National League Central. How much do they miss Fowler and David Ross? "It's hard to quantify what they did," Maddon said. "The reality is, they're not here. This is when other guys have to ascend whether it's leadership within the group or younger players growing up. That's how this game works. "I think we have the definite leadership capabilities," Maddon said. "If we had to struggle at all, I'd prefer it to be now than at the end of the year. Geography has helped us this year where the NL Central, nobody is running away from us. That's the part you can hold onto a little bit. Fundamentally, we're OK. We just haven't hit." ESPNChicago.com Dexter Fowler gets World Series ring, smacks leadoff homer By Jesse Rogers CHICAGO Talk about biting the hand that once fed you. Just moments after former Chicago Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler received his World Series ring, he homered to lead off Friday's game between the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, his new team. Fowler might be the first Cardinals player ever to receive an ovation from the rival crowd at Wrigley Field. He was presented his 2016 World Series ring by former teammates Anthony Rizzo and Jason Heyward during a pregame ceremony that included a video tribute. He then posed for a photo with several of his former teammates, along with Cubs manager Joe Maddon, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer.

16 "Those are memories you'll never lose," Fowler said in the Cardinals' dugout before the ceremony. "Getting a ring is like closing a chapter in my life." Fowler was playing in his first game at Wrigley Field since Game 5 of the World Series last season; the Cubs won that game and then Games 6 and 7 to capture their first championship in 108 years. Fowler was one of the heroes of Game 7, homering to lead off the contest. He left the Cubs via free agency in the offseason, signing a five-year, $82.5 million deal with the Cardinals. He has already faced the Cubs twice in St. Louis, so Friday wasn't so new to him. "I played against them a few times," Fowler said. "I got the emotions out. Coming here in front of the fans is a little weird, but I'm excited about it." The Cubs have fond memories of their former leadoff hitter, both in the locker room and on the field. He was the catalyst for their championship offense while always playing with a smile on his face, win or lose. "As a leadoff hitter, when he went well, 'You go, we go.' That's what I told him," Maddon said. "And there were times when he struggled throughout the year, and we always did suffer when he struggled or got hurt." Of the pregame ceremony, Maddon said it was "nice to share that moment" with Fowler on Friday. "You could see how we feel about him, even though he's wearing the wrong uniform, we feel that way," he said. "He'll always be part of that group. He's a wonderful young man. We enjoy him. I enjoy him personally. It's good for him, good for his family. This whole thing worked out well for him and for his family, too.'' Before the game, Rizzo said he was looking forward to the ovation for Fowler from Cubs fans. "He was such a big part of what we did the last two years," Rizzo said. "It'll be fun for him, probably nerve-wracking a little bit." It was the second ring handed out by Rizzo in less than 24 hours: He got engaged to his longtime girlfriend during a boat trip on Lake Michigan on Thursday, complete with fireworks. "I texted Riz [Thursday]. I said, good thing he's practicing,'' Fowler joked. Fowler was asked about the Cubs' struggles. Chicago entered Friday two games under.500, the team's worst mark since Maddon took over before the 2015 season. Both Chicago and St. Louis have fought to stay above.500 this season. "It's a good team over there," Fowler said. "I'm sure they'll figure it out. We have a good race to the top of the Central here." Fowler hit a 3-2 pitch from Cubs starter John Lackey out to right field to give the Cardinals an early lead. It was his only hit in a 1-for-3 day as the Cubs won 3-2. CSNChicago.com Anthony Rizzo Shows Why He's The Cake-Filled Face Of The Cubs By Tony Andracki Anthony Rizzo had a lot to celebrate Friday evening. For starters, there was his engagement to girlfriend Emily on Thursday night. Then there's the return of his good friend, Dexter Fowler, to Wrigley Field and the whole ring ceremony behind home plate before the game.

17 But, of course, the Cubs also shed a six-game losing streak and Rizzo was right there in the middle of it all. To help revel in the joy, Rizzo's teammates got him an engagement cake as part of their postgame party, though most of the dessert ended up right in the face...of the face of the franchise. "Wore it right in my face," Rizzo beamed. "It was awesome." He said he didn't even wait for anybody to shove the cake in his face, taking it upon himself to do the honors. "It was right there and I just took it," he said. "I ate a little bit of it." The Cubs were more than happy to celebrate Rizzo on Friday, who led by example both on the field and in the party room. "He wore it, he ate it," said Jason Heyward, who drove in Rizzo twice for the final two runs of the game. "It was fun to see. Fun for him. He loves that stuff. That's him, that's his personality. He's very much an open book and he likes sharing stuff with the team. "That's why he's perfect for this role. He's the team captain, one of the faces of the city. You want to celebrate everything you can with someone like that because he gives to a lot of people." Rizzo scored the tying run in the sixth and the winning run in the eighth and finished the day perfect - 1-for-1 with a double and three walks, raising his season OPS to.829. Rizzo now has 32 walks against only 27 strikeouts in After crushing a leadoff double in the eighth, Rizzo moved to third on some heads-up baserunning. He danced a few steps off second base as Cardinals third baseman Jhonny Peralta gloved Ben Zobrist's grounder and when Peralta fired to first without even a glance at Rizzo, the Cubs first baseman took off for third and made it without a throw. One pitch later, Heyward drove a sacrifice fly to Fowler in center and Rizzo clapped the whole way home. It was a ballsy move by Rizzo to take the extra base, but it made all the difference in the world for a team desperately searching for any way to claw out a victory. "He's not afraid of making mistakes," Joe Maddon said. "Any time you play cautious baseball, it normally doesn't work. "Aggressively smart, I guess. Fortune favors the bold." CSNChicago.com Rizzo, Cubs Find A 'Contagious Winning Feeling' Again By Tony Andracki Anthony Rizzo said he didn't care whether the Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals or a team in the College World Series, he just wanted to get back to winning ways. The Cubs did that Friday afternoon and it just so happened to be against those rival Cardinals. Rizzo backed up his talk by walking the walk, scoring the winning run as the Cubs beat the Cardinals 3-2 in front of 41,051 fans at Wrigley Field Friday evening. Dexter Fowler returned to Chicago, traded jokes with Rizzo, received his World Series ring and promptly led off the game with a homer nearly out of the stadium.