May 13, Daily Herald, Cubs get tense 3-2 win over Cardinals

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1 May 13, 2017 Daily Herald, Cubs get tense 3-2 win over Cardinals Daily Herald, Cubs' Heyward, Russell taking it slow with injuries Cubs.com, Willson! Willson!! Cubs' cast finds way in St. Louis Cubs.com, Tough love pays off: Maddon's mom proud Cubs.com, Maddon, Hoyer confident Cubs will break out Cubs.com, Bryant to miss 2nd straight game with illness Cubs.com, Lester, Martinez meet in Opening Day rematch Cubs.com, Statcast of the Day: Contreras' Busch HRs ESPNChicago.com, Eddie Butler after debut win for the Cubs: 'I plan on holding the spot' CSNChicago.com, Eddie Butler Shows Cubs The Future Is Now And Shuts Down Cardinals CSNChicago.com, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer Dissects What s Gone Wrong And How The Defending Champs Turn It Around CSNChicago.com, Cubs Stay Cautious With Addison Russell And Scratch Kris Bryant From Lineup CSNChicago.com, By The Numbers: How 2017 Cubs Measure Up To Last Year's Hot Start

2 CSNChicago.com, Matt Szczur Makes Presence Felt In Chicago Return, Taking Full Advantage Of Opportunity With Padres Chicago Tribune, Cubs hold on to beat Cardinals Chicago Tribune, Cubs' Kris Bryant ruled out of Saturday's game with illness Chicago Tribune, Cubs manager Joe Maddon welcomes a tight race in NL Central story.html Chicago Tribune, Eddie Butler, Willson Contreras have plenty to celebrate after win over Cardinals story.html Chicago Tribune, New Padre Matt Szczur was caught off guard after being let go by Cubs Chicago Tribune, Starting pitching may be available for Cubs as would-be contenders fade Chicago Sun-Times, Could Eddie Butler s strong Cub debut be glimpse into rotation future? Chicago Sun-Times, A season-long Cubs-Cards division battle sounds fun. Where do we sign? Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs GM, manager see tale of early struggles as a glove story Daily Herald Cubs get tense 3-2 win over Cardinals By Bruce Miles ST. LOUIS Neither Cubs manager Joe Maddon nor general manager Jed Hoyer is measuring the Cubs season by any artificial milepost, whether it be Mother's Day or Memorial Day. Both said Friday they know the Cubs need to start playing better. They took a step in that direction Friday night in a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Eddie Butler, making his first Cubs start after being called up from Class AAA Iowa, pitched 6 shutout innings. The Cubs got 2 solo homers from Willson Contreras and a solo shot from Tommy La Stella. "Honestly, I know everybody's into markers," Maddon said. "What I looked up was our record in 2015 on the same date. It was like we were one game over.500. Then I looked at 2015 at the halfway point, and we were seven games over.500. And we really kicked it in August and September. Not a bad formula.

3 "I don't go by dates on a calendar or holidays. I never quite understood that. They're all fabricated moments." The Cubs entered this big weekend series at.500 (17-17), a far cry from the 26-8 they were last year on the way to a World Series title. Hoyer said there's no "diagnostic test" for why the Cubs have been mediocre. Like everybody else, he has watched the team and has seen that it's looked "off" so far. "I don't think it's complacency at all," he said. "It's not like you can say we're missing this or lacking that. Ultimately, we're a.500 team, and we've actually scrambled for some wins to get to that point. In some ways we probably haven't played as well as that record. But I don't think it's complacency. These guys are really competitive. "Probably the thing I look at the most is that we've had so many deficits. I feel like the whole year we've played from behind." The Cubs have been outscored in the first inning this year, and according to Hoyer, that takes a toll. In Friday's game, the Cubs were ahead 3-0 by the seventh and then survived single runs by St. Louis in the seventh and ninth. Wade Davis earned his eighth save by stranding a runner on second after a throwing error by Contreras on a dropped third strike. "When you're behind a lot, it does a lot of things that are negatives," he said. It forces hitters to press. 'I feel like I have to get a hit here because we've got to cut into the lead.' And it puts players on edge. You're constantly playing that way. It shortens up some starts that you wish you could allow a guy to work his way in, but when you're in the sixth inning and you're down 3-1 or 5-2, you have to pinch hit there." So far, the watchword has been patience. Maddon has continually expressed confidence the Cubs will get out of this funk which has affected the hitting, the starting pitching and, most troubling to the team, the defense. The July 31 nonwaiver deadline is still a long ways away, and Hoyer said the front office is of a mind to give the current group the benefit of the doubt. "I do feel as you start to get into the summer, at some point you have to start making decisions," he said. "We have to start making decisions about the deadline. I think at some point you do have to believe in what you're seeing. So I don't believe in a specific milepost. I do think that this year, because of what happened last year, we have to be a lot more patient in evaluating the team. "We know we have a good group. We know we can be successful. We also have had a difficult schedule so I think we have to keep that in mind and maybe not make those decisions quite as early as we would normally because I do think we'll be very patient with this group." Daily Herald Cubs' Heyward, Russell taking it slow with injuries By Bruce Miles ST. LOUIS A pair of Cubs tested out injuries Friday at Busch Stadium. Outfielder Jason Heyward, who is on the 10-day disabled list, took some "dry swings" to get a handle on a finger sprain on his right hand. Shortstop Addison Russell, who is still on the active list, did some throwing to test a sore right shoulder that has been bothering him for a few days. Heyward is eligible to come off the DL on May 16.

4 "I would say it's more localized now," said Heyward, who injured himself diving for a ball on the last homestand. "It's in the knuckle. Before, it was running through the whole ligament. Slowly but surely. I just keep coming back with, 'See how it is day-to-day, and see how this (swinging) treats me.'" Russell last played in Tuesday's doubleheader at Colorado. "It's feeling a lot better," he said. "Go out with the team today and play some catch. It's my first day in two or three days. We'll see how it feels. During treatment, it feels fine. Go out there and test it a little a little bit. I talked to Joe (manager Maddon). Today was a day I really wanted to play, but I think we both feel that it's better if we just take this slow. Its still early in the season. You don't want the stuff to linger or get worse." Russell added that he didn't think the injury was worth of the DL yet. Maddon said he wanted to be "overly cautious" with it. Late lineup scratch: Kris Bryant was a last-minute lineup scratch Friday night because the Cubs said he will feeling ill with a stomach problem. Bryant was scheduled to play right field and bat second. Jon Jay replaced Bryant. Jay left the game in the second inning and was replaced by Tommy La Stella, who played second base with Ben Zobrist moving from second base to right field. Jay left with spasms in his mid-back, according to the Cubs. Happ is happening: Top prospect Ian Happ is hot again at Iowa. In his first four games off the disabled list through Thursday, Happ was 7-for-15 with 2 doubles, a homer and 7 RBI. For the season entering Friday, Happ had a line of.283/.351/.606 with 9 homers and 24 RBI. The Cubs recently recalled infielder Jeimer Candelario. There appears to be no rush with Happ, the team's top draft pick from He is seeing time in both the infield and the outfield. "He's played great," said general manager Jed Hoyer. "He's played half a season in Double-A and the Fall League. Now he's been a month-and-a-half in Triple-A. There is certainly development there. I love the way he's swinging the bat. I don't want to say he's opening anyone's eyes because I think he did that in spring training. Certainly he's continued that and had really good at-bats, and obviously we'll let him keep developing down there." Cubs.com Willson! Willson!! Cubs' cast finds way in St. Louis By Jenifer Langosch and Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS Eddie Butler's Cubs debut didn't come in just any mid-may game. The 26-year-old right-hander threw his first pitch for the defending champions on the road, against their long-time rival, in front of a sellout crowd of 47,601 split into red and blue. Looking much better than a typical fill-in fifth starter, Butler inched the Cubs closer to the first-place Cardinals and snapped St. Louis' winning streak with a 3-2 victory at Busch Stadium on Friday. Three homers including two from Willson Contreras provided all the necessary support for a pitcher who entered the day with a career 6.50 ERA. "I had a little adrenaline going, first one out there," Butler said. "It feels good to come in here and help the guys win."

5 The Cubs, now 1 1/2 games back of the Cardinals in the National League Central, acquired Butler in a February trade with the Rockies and summoned him from the Minors to plug the rotation spot vacated by an injured Brett Anderson. Coming off a Triple-A start in which he covered six scoreless innings, Butler did the same against a Cardinals offense that had scored 43 runs over its six-game winning streak. "I didn't know he threw that hard," Contreras said of Butler. "Once I saw the scoreboard 96, 95 [mph], I said, 'We're going to use the fastball,' because they were behind on it. We had a good plan." Butler worked around three walks and surrendered two hits, both infield singles to Aledmys Diaz. The Cardinals couldn't advance a runner past second against Butler, who picked up his first big league win in 363 days while matching the longest start of his career. With the performance, Butler became the first pitcher to throw six or more scoreless innings in his Cubs debut since Ryan O'Malley in "We have a group of guys who are swinging the bats well, and he held us down," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "He didn't make a lot of mistakes. You're just going to have those games. It seems like we have them often against young pitchers we haven't seen that much." Contreras offered some early breathing room for Butler with home runs in his first two at-bats vs. Cardinals starter Mike Leake. Leake, the National League's ERA leader, entered the game having allowed one homer over his previous 40 1/3 innings this season. Since joining the Cardinals' rotation, Leake is 0-4 with a 5.08 ERA against the Cubs. After all of Contreras' heroics with the bat, he made an error in the bottom of the ninth that could've cost the Cubs the game. With two outs, Randal Grichuk was at second after a walk and stolen base. Wade Davis struck out Kolten Wong, but Contreras dropped the ball and had to throw to first baseman Anthony Rizzo. The throw was high, and Grichuk scored on the error while Wong reached second. Cubs manager Joe Maddon joked that Contreras made a "503-mph throw to first," while Rizzo said, "It's coming at 110 [mph] it seems like." "To be honest," Contreras said, "I didn't throw that one hard. I was making sure I made a good throw. I think it was hard for [Rizzo] to see it, and that's why we had an error." Davis bailed out Contreras by striking out Matt Adams to end the game. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Double dipping: Contreras supplied most of the Cubs' offense with the first multihomer game of his career. He connected for his first blast in the second inning, driving it 391 feet with an exit velocity of mph, according to Statcast. His fourth-inning homer a 418-foot shot came off Contreras' bat at mph, making it the second-hardest-hit home run by a Cubs player since Three of Contreras' four home runs this season have come at Busch Stadium, where only one Cardinals player (Dexter Fowler, 4) has hit more. "I don't know what's going on at this ballpark," Contreras said. "I'm seeing the ball pretty well over here." Caught straying: Having built the lead with his bat, Contreras helped preserve it with his arm. After Carl Edwards Jr. issued a pair of two-out walks in the seventh inning, Contreras eyed Fowler taking too generous a lead at first base. The catcher snapped a throw down to first base, where Rizzo made the tag to end the inning. The Cardinals have now been picked off a Major League-most seven times this season. "He knows. He's seen this guy behind the plate," Matheny said, alluding to the connection between former teammates Fowler and Contreras." He's picked off more than anybody in the game with what he did last year and what he's done this year. Not a surprise. But you can get caught off guard [by] just sometimes being aggressive." Said Rizzo: "[Fowler] got big over there, and Willson is so good back there. It's a big play for us. We try to save [that play] for when we need it."

6 QUOTABLE "I plan on holding the spot. I'm going to keep doing what I've been doing. They're going to put up runs and play some ball behind us. For me, it's just attacking the zone." Butler, who will stay in the Cubs' rotation for now "I was looking to continue what I was doing in spring. I'm happy with what's going on. I'm still trying to learn and get better. It's going in a positive direction." Leake, on opening the season with seven consecutive quality starts WHAT'S NEXT Cubs: Jon Lester, who is coming off a tough no-decision against the Yankees, will start the second game of this three-game series on Saturday. The lefty threw 120 pitches in his last outing, and it will be interesting to see how he bounces back. Kris Bryant was expected back in the lineup after he was a late scratch because of an upset stomach on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CT. Cardinals: The Cardinals are building in extra rest for Michael Wacha by skipping him this turn through the rotation. As a result, right-hander Carlos Martinez draws the start on Saturday. Winless in his first five starts, Martinez has notched victories in his last two outings. His strikeouts per nine innings are fourth best in the National League. Cubs.com Tough love pays off: Maddon's mom proud By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO When Beanie Maddon watches her son, Joe, and the Cubs, she does so at her apartment in Hazleton, Pa. "I'm by myself in the dark. I watch it," Maddon's 84-year-old mother said. "I don't want to be bothered with anybody. I say what I want to say. I go through the game my way." Does Beanie sound feisty? She is. "If I don't like what [the Cubs] are doing and I want to change the channel, I can do it," Beanie said. "I go back and forth. It makes me nervous." Beanie hasn't had to change the channel too often since her son took over as the Cubs' manager in What about last Sunday's game, when Chicago and the Yankees played 18 innings in a six-hour, five-minute contest? "Two o'clock in the morning, I was still watching," Beanie said. "I couldn't fall asleep." On Mother's Day, when you toast your mom, take a moment to salute Beanie Maddon, who is tough and sentimental, who can cook a great Italian meal and who is proud of her three children, including Joe. Beanie may be the only big league manager's mom who got a police escort from the airport to a World Series game. "My two grandchildren were with me we laughed all the way to the park," Beanie said of riding in an umarked SUV with its lights flashing from O'Hare International Airport to Wrigley Field for Game 3 last October. "We got off the plane, and they took us through the airport. Then the waters were parted. We had fun. It was something. He put the siren on and everything." If Beanie frets while watching the Cubs and Yankees in May, how did she feel last fall during the World Series? "Oh, golly, yeah [I was nervous]," Beanie said. "I knew he was going to do it. He does a good job." In 2002, when Joe was on the Angels' coaching staff and they reached the World Series, Beanie did try to get some divine intervention. Her husband and Joe's father, Joe Sr., passed away in April of that year.

7 "We had the cemetery decorated [with Angels gear] for everything," she said. "It was so pretty. That's why we won. We swear he's there all the time. You don't forget him." During Game 7 against the Indians this past fall, Joe tucked his late father's cap under his jacket. He keeps it with him. Beanie also has her husband's hats around her home, including the one he wore every day to work as a plumber. Joe does have a keepsake to honor his mother. It's a letter he wrote to her when Maddon was a Minor Leaguer, playing in Class A ball. In it, he expressed his gratitude for everything she did. "My dad did his thing, and Beanie was pretty much the one who kept tabs on everything, whether I needed a couple bucks or clothes washed or food made or moral support, whatever," Joe said. "It was always Beanie who did that stuff. "My dad, he was the more physical [one]. He'd take me out and play catch and come to all the games and talk about sports and take you to ballgames. They had different roles. My mom was also more the disciplinarian. My dad only got upset with me when I got upset with my mom. Otherwise, he never got upset with me." "I did something right somewhere along the line," Beanie said of raising her children.maddon family Beanie agreed. "His father was such an easy touch," she said. "It was like having another kid in the house." Somebody has to be tough. Isn't that what moms do? "Certainly," Beanie said. "Somebody has to rule." Joe says he would hear her voice if he did something wrong and still does. "If you're going off the rails a little bit, you hear Beanie's voice," he said. "Now, she's a lot more tame than she had been. She was tough, and I needed it. She was the tough one between the two of them. My dad was big, warm, fuzzy. He was a patient, quiet working man. Beanie was slightly more volatile. Now she's turned into the big teddy bear, too." Beanie kept Joe in school. A few days after arriving at Lafayette College, Joe got homesick. He'd never really spent time away from home, and he felt awkward. The tearful freshman called his mom from a pay phone outside his Room 123 at McKeen Hall. "I said, 'Beanie, I'm coming home, I want to be a plumber like Dad,'" Joe said. "She said, 'No, you're not. You stay right there. It's going to get better.'" Beanie was right. "I said he could come home every weekend. 'We'll come for you,'" she said. "Boy, when he got used to [college], he forgot home. All kids go through that." They cried in April 1994, when Joe called from a pay phone in Vancouver to say he'd been added to the Angels' coaching staff and had finally made the big leagues. "I called her, and I'm weeping on the phone," Joe said. "I get on a plane and fly to John Wayne Airport. Everything is in such a rush. I had a brand-new leather jacket, and I left it at the Hertz counter. I'd still love to have that bomber jacket back. "The phone call was really emotional. They were there every step of the way. She still is. The thing about it from my mom, when you're a kid, you get a lot of platitudes and people are always praising you. You'd probably go off the rails, but she would not permit that. She would not permit me to get full of myself for a second, and [she would] bring me back down quickly."

8 There were more tears of joy when Joe called with the news that he was named the Rays' manager in Last November, he called Beanie from Cleveland to celebrate the Cubs' World Series championship. They talked about Joe Sr. The manager's parents went to every Little League game, every football game, driving the kids in what they called the "taxi." "They were at everything I don't think they missed a game," Joe said. Until last July, Beanie never missed a day of work at the Third Base Luncheonette in Hazleton. Joe says his mother is now "a woman of leisure." "Yeah, right," Beanie said when told that. She does miss the people, but doesn't miss being on her feet all day. "Now I have my time to myself, and I can do what I want to do, when I want to do it and how I want to do it," Beanie said. She sounds like her son. Joe stays in touch with his mom through his sister, Carmine, who still lives in Hazleton. His brother, Mark, is in St. Augustine, Fla., where he followed his father's career path and is a plumber. "I'm proud of them, I am, I really am," Beanie said. "The three kids did really well." She had a lot to do with that. "I did something right somewhere along the line," Beanie said. She expects a phone call from Joe on Mother's Day. "He'll do that," Beanie said. "He better, or else." She laughs. Cubs.com Maddon, Hoyer confident Cubs will break out By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS Cubs manager Joe Maddon doesn't circle dates on the baseball calendar to gauge how well his teams are doing. He doesn't need a calendar to know the defending World Series champs haven't played their best baseball yet. "I don't go by dates on the calendar or holidays," Maddon said Friday. "I never quite understood that. Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Easter Sunday, Fourth of July, Trade Deadline all this different stuff, they're all fabricated moments. I want to see us play our brand of baseball more consistently, and if we do, all that stuff will take care of itself." The Cubs entered a three-game series against their rivals, the Cardinals, at.500. Maddon did some homework. On May 11, 2015, they were one game over.500 at At the halfway point of the 2015 season, the Cubs were There's time. "I never bought into the whole Memorial Day thing," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said Friday. "I don't believe in a specific milepost. I do think this year, because of what happened last year, we have to be more patient evaluating. We know we have a good group, we know we can be successful. We also had a difficult schedule. We have to keep that in mind and not make those decisions quite as early."

9 Hoyer also doesn't see the Cubs resting on their laurels. Sure, they won the franchise's first championship in 108 years. That makes them hungry to do it again. "I feel there's no diagnostic test for why we're a.500 team right now," Hoyer said. "It's not like you can say we're missing this or lacking that. Ultimately, we're a.500 team and we've actually scrambled for some wins to get to that point. We probably haven't played as well as that record. I don't think it's complacency. These guys are really competitive. We've had so many deficits. I feel like the whole year, we've played from behind." It does seem that way. The Cubs have had to deal with deficits of three or more runs in 17 of their games. They also have given up 39 earned runs in the first inning of their 34 games, which means they're often behind at the start of the game. Hitters may be pressing to make up for that and starting pitchers can't go as deep. "The nature of our early games has made this whole season feel like we're scrambling out of the woods every night," Hoyer said. "Last year, I thought the hallmark of what we did really well was a clean, efficient game, where we led from start to finish. We'd go up 4-1, get into the back part of the bullpen, and not even use the good part of our bullpen to win. This year, it feels like the opposite, it feels like we're constantly fighting from behind." One of the biggest surprises and disappointments is that the Cubs defense hasn't been as solid. "Last year, it was borderline spectacular," Hoyer said. "This year, we've made a lot of mistakes and we haven't made the big defensive plays. I don't have an explanation for that." Hoyer doesn't see a complacent team, either. "In some ways, I can't imagine this group, given what they went through last year, given how much they care about each other, I don't think they're taking anything for granted," he said. "We know it's all there. We just have to put it together." Cubs.com Bryant to miss 2nd straight game with illness By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS Cubs slugger Kris Bryant was scratched from Friday night's series opener against the Cardinals seconds before the game was to begin because he was feeling ill, and he was not expected to play on Saturday either. "It was literally last second," manager Joe Maddon said after the short-handed Cubs held on for a 3-2 win over the Cardinals. "[Bryant said,] 'Don't take the lineup card up, don't take the lineup card up.' I'm talking to him on the [dugout] steps, and I said, 'This isn't right,' and I'm trying to joke with him, and he's not joking back, so I knew something was not right." Maddon got one of the athletic trainers and told Bryant he wasn't playing. Jon Jay was inserted in right field in Bryant's place and Maddon took the lineup card to the umpires to explain his scribbles. To make matters worse, Jay was scratched after one at-bat and one inning in the field because of back spasms. Maddon said Bryant will not play Saturday, while Jay was day to day. Worth noting Shortstop Addison Russell played catch on Friday for the first time in three days to test his sore right shoulder. He pinch-hit in the eighth inning of the Cubs' 3-2 win in the series opener against the Cardinals, drawing a two-out walk, but the club wants him to take his time before returning on defense. "We both feel it's better if we just take this slow," Russell said before the game. "It's still early in the season. You don't want this to linger or get worse. If we tend to it now, and make sure we knock it out and be on the cautious side, in the long run, it'll be better for us."

10 Russell, who did not start Wednesday in Denver in the finale against the Rockies, said there wasn't one play that caused the problem with his shoulder. Outfielder Jason Heyward, on the disabled list with a right finger sprain, took dry swings on Friday for the first time since he was sidelined May 6. "It's one of those nagging, annoying slow things," Heyward said. "It's in the knuckle [of his right index finger]. Before, it was running through the whole ligament." Heyward is hopeful he can come off the DL when eligible on Tuesday. Ian Happ, ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the Cubs' No. 2 prospect, has been impressive at Triple-A Iowa. On Thursday, he had three hits, including a double, and one RBI in Iowa's 6-5 loss to Salt Lake. Happ is 7-for-15 since returning from the DL. "I love the way he's swinging the bat," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said Friday of the second baseman. "I don't want to say he's opening eyes, because he did that in Spring Training, but he's continued that and had really good at-bats. We'll let him keep developing down there." One of the things the Cubs want Happ to do is play second, third and the outfield so he can fill in at different spots on the big league team. "There's no question he can be a competent fielder at [second base]," Hoyer said Eloy Jimenez, the Cubs' No. 1 prospect, has been battling a bruised right shoulder, and was still rehabbing at the team's complex in Mesa, Ariz. There was no timetable for when he would join one of the Minor League affiliates, Hoyer said. Cubs television analyst Jim Deshaies will miss the May games against the Brewers to attend daughter Kelly's graduation. Former Cubs pitchers Kerry Wood and Ryan Dempster will sub for Deshaies, who is giving the commencement address. Cubs.com Lester, Martinez meet in Opening Day rematch By Carrie Muskat Four teams in the National League Central were within two games of each other in the standings at the start of their respective weekend series. Cubs manager Joe Maddon isn't surprised. "I didn't anticipate a runaway train," Maddon said. "I foresee this kind of bunching in our division. The other teams that didn't receive enough credit [like Milwaukee and Cincinnati] are playing well." On Saturday, the Cubs and the Cardinals play the second game of their three-game series at Busch Stadium with Chicago a half-game behind first-place St. Louis after snapping the division leaders' six-game winning streak with a 3-2 win on Friday. "They're both great teams," said Cardinals outfielder Dexter Fowler, who was a key cog in the Cubs' World Series run last season. "Obviously, we went through a rut earlier. I think they're in a rut now, so at the end of the day, that's why you play 162 games. It's cool getting a chance to play against the boys again, but at the end of the day, it's baseball." The Cardinals were coming off a 6-0 road trip as they opened the series, while the Cubs had lost five of their last six.

11 "I'm all for a good race," Maddon said. Saturday will feature an Opening Day rematch between St. Louis' Carlos Martinez and Chicago's Jon Lester. Martinez is replacing Michael Wacha, who was pushed back to next week to give him extra rest in his first full season back from arm surgery. Martinez is coming off a win over the Marlins in which he posted his third straight quality start. He shut down the Cubs on the April 2 lid-lifter, striking out 10 and giving up six hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings. The Cardinals won, 4-3. Martinez ranks fourth in the NL with strikeouts per nine innings, and he's won two straight games after not winning any of his first five starts. Lester is coming off a tough no-decision against the Yankees. He threw 120 pitches over seven innings, gave up one earned run and struck out nine batters, but the Yankees rallied and the two teams played 18 innings before New York posted a win. How will he bounce back? The 120 pitches were the most since the lefty threw 122 on Aug. 7, 2014, against the Twins. Things to know about this game Fowler returned to the Cardinals lineup on Friday after not starting for a full week while nursing right shoulder/lat soreness. Cubs shortstop Addison Russell did not start Wednesday or Friday because of a sore right shoulder. He threw on Friday for the first time in three days and pinch-hit in the eighth inning, drawing a walk. Chicago third baseman Kris Bryant was a late scratch on Friday because of an upset stomach. Outfielder Jon Jay also was scratched because of back spasms in his mid back. They are day to day. Cubs.com Statcast of the Day: Contreras' Busch HRs By Carrie Muskat ST. LOUIS Willson Contreras celebrated his 25th birthday a day early with his first multihomer game and a key defensive play in the Cubs' 3-2 win over the Cardinals. There's something about Busch Stadium that makes Contreras hit home runs. Cardinals starter Mike Leake entered the series opener having given up one homer this season, and on Friday night he served up two in the first four innings to Contreras, who connected in back-to-back at-bats. Contreras smacked his third homer of the season with one out in the second to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead, and then he led off the fourth with another blast. Contreras also homered at Busch Stadium on Opening Day April 2, so three of his four homers this season have come in St. Louis. "I don't know what's going on at this ballpark," Contreras said. "I'm seeing the ball pretty well over here. I talked to my coaches, and they gave me a lot of good tips that I put in play today." Both were well struck on Friday. Contreras' first home run, with an exit velocity of mph, set a personal best for his hardest-hit homer, according to Statcast. "It wasn't a bad pitch," Leake said of Contreras' first homer. "It was elevated enough for him, obviously, but he was ready to hit and put a couple good swings on a couple mistakes." Then Contreras broke his personal record with a mph shot that had a projected distance of 418 feet.

12 The mph exit velocity was the second-hardest by a Cubs player on a home run in the Statcast Era ( ), after a mph homer by Jorge Soler last Sept. 15. Contreras became the sixth player this year to hit multiple home runs with exit velocities of 109 mph or harder in a game, joining Aaron Judge, Kendrys Morales, Joey Gallo, Giancarlo Stanton (twice) and Madison Bumgarner. The catcher was more thrilled at a play in the seventh when the Cardinals had runners at first and second and two outs, and he picked off Dexter Fowler at first base to end the inning. "[Fowler] got big over there," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said, "and Willson is so good back there. It's a big play for us. We try to save [that play] for when we need it." "Rizzo was ready for the pick, and he gave me the sign," Contreras said. "I give him a lot of credit. Dexter was really far and he was getting back to first base. I have no doubt to throw to first because I know the timing was well and Rizzo did a good job on that one." But the two also combined on an error in the Cardinals' ninth that could've cost the Cubs the game. With two outs, Randal Grichuk was at second after a walk and stolen base. Wade Davis struck out Kolten Wong, but Contreras dropped the ball and had to throw to first. The throw was high, and Grichuk scored on the error while Wong reached second. Cubs manager Joe Maddon joked that Contreras made a "503-mph throw to first," while Rizzo said, "It's coming at 110 [mph] it seems like." "To be honest," Contreras said, "I didn't throw that one hard. I was making sure I made a good throw. I think it was hard for [Rizzo] to see it, and that's why we had an error." Davis struck out pinch-hitter Matt Adams to end the game, and give the Cubs their second win in the last seven games. Contreras turns 25 on Saturday. He'll remember this birthday. "It feels good when you square the ball like that and you have a play at first," Contreras said. "To get [the team] back on track is all that matters." ESPNChicago.com Eddie Butler after debut win for the Cubs: 'I plan on holding the spot' By Jesse Rogers ST. LOUIS The Chicago Cubs might have found their fifth starter, though he was hiding in plain sight the whole time. Righty Eddie Butler, 26, performed well in spring training, then in five starts for Triple-A Iowa, before taking the mound at Busch Stadium on Friday and shutting down the St. Louis Cardinals over six innings. It was quite the debut in the Cubs' 3-2 victory. Eddie was really good, wasn t he? manager Joe Maddon asked reporters rhetorically after the game. The ball was down a lot and with high velocity. Butler s fastball was so good he admitted to being a little amped up that the Cardinals barely touched it. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the Cardinals were 1-for-11, including four strikeouts, in at-bats that ended with Butler's fastball. He was regularly hitting 95 and 96 mph, which isn t something anyone has seen out of a Cubs starter this season. In fact, Chicago was the last team in all of baseball to have a starter throw a pitch at least 95 mph. I had a little too much adrenaline going on there early on, Butler said. Missing around the zone.

13 He did walk three batters, which was just as uncharacteristic as his five strikeouts. Maddon thinks that as Butler settles in, he ll attack the zone better and reduce some easy free passes. The manager had already decided Butler would get another start before he took the mound Friday. He s likely to get plenty of them now. Sounds good to me, he said. I m going to go out there and keep attacking. I plan on holding the spot. Overall, Butler gave up just two hits and two fly balls both in his last inning of work. He has never lacked confidence, but he might have lacked some direction after flaming out with the Colorado Rockies the past few seasons. When he came to the Cubs, he had talks with all the important parties associated with the coaching staff and front office, but it was a discussion with Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks that convinced him what he needed to do. Arrieta, in particular, gave him advice that the veteran righty had followed himself, after being traded to the Cubs in It s your career, Arrieta told Butler. You need to take the initiative. In other words, don t listen to too many people. Do what feels right. Went and found Jake and talked to him about his experiences, Butler recalled. The big thing is taking ownership of it. I took that to heart. The result has been a rock-solid, consistent pitcher since donning a Cubs uniform. Friday was just a confirmation that Butler can get it done in the big leagues even if it was for just one outing. His last four starts, including in the big leagues, have been mirror images, Maddon said. When he gets his feet on the ground, he ll have less walks. He s very interesting with a very good arm. So on a night when their MVP (Kris Bryant) fell ill just before game time, his replacement (Jon Jay) left with back spasms, and the replacement (Tommy La Stella) to the replacement hit a key home run, it was still the starting pitcher who deserved the headlines. And that s even over the catcher (Willson Contreras) who hit two home runs, picked off a former teammate (Dexter Fowler) and almost threw the game away on a dropped third strike with two outs in the ninth inning. That s a lot of drama, but none of it mattered without Butler. We needed to stop their hot streak and get ourselves on one, Butler said. Suddenly the Cubs have three straight quality starts after an abysmal beginning to the season for their rotation. The win meant Butler got to experience how the Cubs celebrate regular-season victories. There s usually a lot of liquids getting sprayed and loud music being played. The newest Cub got what he had coming to him after a brilliant debut, the best for any starting Cub since I was in the middle of it, he said of the celebration. A lot of fun, a lot of energy. I want to be doing that a lot. CSNChicago.com Eddie Butler Shows Cubs The Future Is Now And Shuts Down Cardinals By Patrick Mooney ST. LOUIS The Cubs methodically built their franchise around talented young hitters and targeted free agents who would bring attitude and experience to the clubhouse. But to become contenders and eventually World Series champions, the front office also needed to get creative with in-season moves and the farm system had to deliver jolts of energy.

14 Whether it was rebuilding the bullpen on the fly with scrap-heap relievers in 2015, or making the blockbuster Aroldis Chapman trade with the New York Yankees last summer, or promoting Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Albert Almora Jr. and trusting those rookies in pennant races, the Cubs could feel the shots of adrenaline. Maybe that s what Eddie Butler will provide at a time when the defending champs haven t been playing with the same precise execution and laser focus. Butler gave the Cubs exactly what they needed on Friday night at Busch Stadium, throwing six scoreless innings during a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals and earning at least another turn in the rotation. Of course, manager Joe Maddon said afterward. Sounds good to me, Butler said with a smile. I m going to go out there and keep attacking. Called up from Triple-A Iowa to replace the injured/ineffective Brett Anderson, Butler allowed only two infield singles to Aledmys Diaz, showing why the Colorado Rockies once made him a first-round pick and Baseball America saw him as a top-25 prospect. To be honest, I didn t even know that he threw that hard, Contreras said. And then once I saw the scoreboard, 96, 95 (mph), OK, we re going to use the fastball, because they looked kind of behind on it. He had a good idea (of what he wanted to do). Performing in front of a sellout crowd at 47,601 it would be recorded as the third-largest regular-season mark in Busch Stadium III history Butler felt so amped up that he allowed back-to-back walks with two outs in the first inning. Pitching coach Chris Bosio visited the mound at that point, Butler got the groundball in his matchup against Yadier Molina and the Cubs settled in to watch only their 14th quality start through 35 games. Between Butler s raw talent, Bosio s no-nonsense approach and a sophisticated game-planning system, the Cubs think they may have found an answer for their 2018 rotation, when Jake Arrieta and John Lackey might be gone. But an team needs to see results from Butler now. He s been doing that at Triple-A (1.17 ERA), so that s the part that I like, Maddon said. It s not like he was just throwing in a pedestrian manner down there and came up here and all of a sudden had a good night. He s very interesting with a very good arm. That doesn t mean there won t be growing pains, the way it s been with Contreras, a revelation as a rookie catcher last season and a player constantly finding himself in big moments. Contreras drove two Mike Leake pitches into the right- and center-field seats that traveled 809 feet combined, giving him his first career multi-homer game. Contreras picked off Dexter Fowler at first base with a throw from his left knee to end the seventh inning, screaming and pounding his chest as he walked off the field. A wild Contreras throw to Anthony Rizzo on what should have been the game-ending strike three allowed the Cardinals to score an unearned run and put Cubs fans on edge. Whether or not it s now or never for Butler, it s hard to picture a better spot to launch his career, even when the Cubs are hovering around.500. I plan on holding the spot, Butler said. I m going to keep doing what I ve been doing, trying to get quality starts, give these guys a chance to win every day. They re going to put up runs and they re going to play some ball behind us.

15 CSNChicago.com Cubs GM Jed Hoyer Dissects What s Gone Wrong And How The Defending Champs Turn It Around By Patrick Mooney ST. LOUIS The Cubs are without a simple explanation for their uneven start, not totally buying the World Series hangover theory, not having a devastating injury as an excuse and not noticing a new sense of entitlement in the clubhouse. Being surprised that the Cubs are hovering around.500 might be the wrong way to look at it. This is a team that has allowed 41 runs in the first inning, put up a 4.56 rotation ERA, committed 27 errors through 34 games and watched underperforming hitters up and down the lineup. It could be so much worse. I don t think it s complacency at all, Hoyer said Friday before the Cubs inched to with a 3-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. There s no diagnostic test for why we re a.500 team right now. It s not like you can say we re missing this or we re lacking that. Ultimately, we re a.500 team and we ve actually scrambled for some wins to get to that point. In some ways, we probably haven t played as well as that record, but I don t think it s complacency. These guys are really competitive. Probably the thing that I look at the most is that we ve had so many deficits. I feel like the whole year we ve played from behind. When you re behind a lot, it does a lot of things that are negatives. It forces hitters to press. You feel like you have to get a hit here, because we ve got to cut into the lead. It puts players on edge. You re constantly playing that way. Also, it shortens up some starts where you wish you could allow a guy to work his way in. But when you re in the sixth inning and you re down 3-1 or 5-2, you have to pinch-hit there. You don t have a choice. So I just think that the nature of our early games has made this whole season feel like we re scrambling out of the woods every night. Another weird aspect is that the Cubs pretty much nailed their offseason moves, except for late-winter signing Brett Anderson, who s on the disabled list with a lower back strain and an 8.18 ERA. The Cubs carefully selected the players they wanted to add to this mix, focusing on accomplished veterans who already owned World Series rings. Wade Davis who has two wins, eight saves and a 0.00 ERA might be the best closer on the planet. Koji Uehara who has held the opponent scoreless in 14 of his 16 outings is an elite setup guy. Jon Jay (.299 average) is an ideal extra outfielder and mentor to Albert Almora Jr. But this isn t about one big move or a quick fix almost 25 percent into the schedule. It s all the little things that have added up to a fourth-place team so far. These Cubs aren t playing defense at a historic level, the way the 2016 team made spectacular throws and catches look routine and propped up the pitching staff almost every night. So much for defense being slump-proof. Last year, I thought the hallmark of what we did really well was we had clean, efficient games where we led from start to finish, Hoyer said. We went up 4-1, got into the bad part of the bullpen and then spread it out and not even use our good bullpen to win. Those games were on a regular basis. This year, this feels like the opposite. It feels like we re constantly fighting from behind. We ve shown a lot of fight. But it feels like a lot of that fight is having to come back in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. And that s a terrible recipe for success. The good news for the Cubs is that the Cardinals (19-15) aren t running away from them and no team has separated itself yet in the National League Central. This isn t the beginning of the Wrigleyville rebuild, trying to project prospects from the Baseball America rankings and waiting for the right free agent at the right time. It doesn t take a lot of imagination to envision the Cubs taking off again.

16 I just don t think we ve played our best baseball yet, Hoyer said. I can t imagine this group given what they went through last year, given how much they care about each other (would) take anything for granted. The comforting thing is we just saw largely the same group win the World Series. We know it s there. We know that a lot of these guys are underperforming where they will be at the end of the year. We re due for an offensive outbreak. We know we can play better defense. We know we can pitch better. So we know it s all there. Now we have to put it together. CSNChicago.com Cubs Stay Cautious With Addison Russell And Scratch Kris Bryant From Lineup By Patrick Mooney ST. LOUIS The Cubs are being protective of Addison Russell, hoping their All-Star shortstop s sore right shoulder doesn t develop into a disabled-list situation. I don t think that it s up to that yet, Russell said Friday before playing catch at Busch Stadium. As far as it feels right now, I think we re on the lighter side of maybe one or two more days. Manager Joe Maddon rested Russell and later used him as a pinch-hitter during a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Russell who hadn t thrown a baseball in three days said it felt like something that had been building more than getting injured on a specific play. I really wanted to play, but I think we both feel that it s better if we just take this slow, Russell said. It s still early in the season. You don t want this stuff to linger or get worse. So if we tend to it right now and make sure we knock it out and be on the precautious side of it then I think in the long run it s going to be better for us. The Cubs have the luxury of plugging in one of the game s most electric defenders at shortstop Javier Baez and being patient with a Gold Glove finalist who so far hasn t matched last year s 21-homer, 95-RBI pace. I m just waiting to hear how he feels, Maddon said. I just wanted to be a little bit overly cautious. If you have a sore arm, sore shoulder, I ve always (felt that way), especially with a young man like that and the position that he plays. Reigning National League MVP Kris Bryant became a late lineup scratch after coming down with a stomach illness. Ex-Cardinal Jon Jay hit second and started in right field before leaving the game after one inning with back spasms. Maddon already ruled out Bryant for Saturday afternoon s game against the Cardinals. Literally last second, Maddon said. I m talking to him on the steps (and) I m just trying to joke with him and he s not joking back, so I knew something was not right. I had to do the scribble thing on the lineup card and take it up there. Jason Heyward who s dealing with a sprained finger on his right hand took swings off a tee, plans to do flip drills on Saturday and hopes to be activated from the disabled list when the Cubs begin next week s homestand at Wrigley Field. CSNChicago.com By The Numbers: How 2017 Cubs Measure Up To Last Year's Hot Start By Tony Andracki