August 19, 2018 Cubs run out of patience with Tyler Chatwood, focus in on bigger issues

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1 August 19, 2018 The Athletic, Cubs run out of patience with Tyler Chatwood, focus in on bigger issues The Athletic, Can the Cubs still count on Brandon Morrow to be a force in the playoffs? Cubs.com, Cubs' solo HR vs. Bucs not enough this time Cubs.com, Morrow encouraged by first bullpen session Chicago Tribune, Cubs treading water despite offensive struggles: 'We've got to get it together' story.html Chicago Tribune, Tyler Chatwood's return to rotation short-lived in Cubs' 3-1 loss to the Pirates Chicago Tribune, Closer Brandon Morrow aiming for September return to Cubs bullpen story.html Chicago Tribune, Shutouts not in short supply for Cubs despite lack of complete games story.html Chicago Sun-Times, That escalated quickly: Tyler Chatwood gets quick hook in Cubs 3-1 loss to Bucs Chicago Sun-Times, Closer Brandon Morrow eyes September return, October burn for Cubs The Athletic Cubs run out of patience with Tyler Chatwood, focus in on bigger issues By Patrick Mooney

2 PITTSBURGH Cubs manager Joe Maddon pointed to the bullpen beyond PNC Park s center-field fence and walked toward the mound to take the ball from Tyler Chatwood. There were scattered boos from the Saturday night crowd of 35,100 when Chatwood walked Pittsburgh Pirates leadoff guy Corey Dickerson in the third inning. Some Cubs fans cheered as Chatwood walked back to the visiting dugout with his head down. All games aren t created equal. As resilient as this Cubs team has been with 37 come-from-behind wins, it s hard to keep doing that night after night after night. Maddon felt like he had to do something to keep it a 3-1 game and pulled the plug on Chatwood s spot start. I didn t see it getting better, Maddon said afterward. I didn t think I could be very patient out there. Final score: Pirates 3, Cubs 1. Even with all the injuries impacting the Cubs, it s difficult to see Chatwood throwing another meaningful pitch this season or how Theo Epstein s front office will get much value out of the next two years of his $38 million contract. Chatwood clearly cares, pitching with so much pent-up emotion and handling his demotion to the bullpen like a professional. But Chatwood started only because Mike Montgomery felt something in his left shoulder and joined Yu Darvish on the disabled list. Chatwood now has a 5.22 ERA and still leads the majors with 93 walks in 101 2/3 innings. Just keep working, Chatwood said. That s the only thing I can do. I m fighting myself and I m trying to beat another team. It feels like I m fighting uphill. But all you can do is keep trying to come back and regain the form I had in the past. The simple mechanical fix Chatwood talked about early this season sounds more like a winter reboot or a change-of-scenery trade. Chatwood walked Josh Bell and Francisco Cervelli to start the second inning before Adam Frazier drilled an 0-2 changeup into center field for a line-drive double, beginning a threerun flurry. Darvish is scheduled to pitch Sunday at Class-A South Bend, but his entire rehab process has been nonlinear and will probably require multiple starts in the minors. The Cubs have to hope Montgomery who is eligible to be activated from the 10-day disabled list on Aug. 24 feels better by next weekend. I found out two days ago that I was starting, Chatwood said, so I m assuming we ll see what happens. But this really isn t about Chatwood as much as all the other issues piling up around the Cubs as they try to fend off the St. Louis Cardinals (four games back) and Milwaukee Brewers (4.5) in the division race. A team with three World Series-tested starters Jon Lester, Cole Hamels and Kyle Hendricks has a hole in the back of the rotation. A bullpen that doesn t know when closer Brandon Morrow (right biceps inflammation/bone bruise) will be back or even how effective he will be in September has picked up the slack. The Cubs have held the Pirates scoreless in 25 out of 26 innings so far, yet also realize they easily could have been staring at the possibility of a four-game sweep on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. It took outstanding starts by Lester and Hamels, gutsy bullpen work and solo homers from Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber in back-to-back 1-0 wins.

3 Our pitching is doing great, said Ben Zobrist, who launched another solo homer into the right-field seats off Joe Musgrove in the third inning. You really got to like that about our club. That s the kind of thing that wins games and ends up winning championships. If we re doing that well, the hitting will come around. There are some guys right now that are in slumps. It ll come around. We know that s going to happen. It s just a matter of time and work. Kris Bryant received 29 out of 30 first-place votes in the 2016 National League MVP voting after being the unanimous Rookie of the Year in Of course, the offense is going to look different without Bryant near the top of the lineup. But the issues run deeper than Bryant s left shoulder and his presence alone won t fix it once he s activated from the disabled list. Addison Russell s season OPS has sunk to.679. Willson Contreras slammed his bat to the ground in frustration after striking out against Musgrove in the seventh inning. Javier Báez can t put on an MVP highlight reel every night. The other names in the lineup are very competent, Maddon said. Addison s been having a really hard time. So has Willson. Javy s come back a little bit. Schwarbs hits the home runs, but we got to get him more consistent driving the baseball. It s just an inconsistency with the whole group offensively. This wasn t the night to overreact about a team. There s a lot to like about the 2018 Cubs and enough trouble spots to make this a very interesting finish. I like the brand of baseball we re playing, Maddon said. It s very smart. The defense has been airtight. They re seeing things on the bases. Love all that stuff. Overall, the pitching s gotten better like we were looking for. [But] we could be sitting on 0-3 in this series just as well as we could be sitting 2-1. We re very fortunate, so we have to get the offensive mojo back. The Athletic Can the Cubs still count on Brandon Morrow to be a force in the playoffs? By Patrick Mooney PITTSBURGH Brandon Morrow became one of the breakout performers during last year s playoffs, pitching in 14 out of 15 postseason games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, all the way into November and a World Series Game 7 loss. The same guy who waited for his phone to ring in January, settled for a minor-league deal and started the 2017 season with Triple-A Oklahoma City used that exposure to land a closer s job with the Cubs and a two-year, $21 million contract. With Morrow, it s always been a matter of staying healthy and finding the right situation, because he had the raw talent to get drafted by the Seattle Mariners with the fifth overall pick in the 2006 draft, ahead of Andrew Miller, Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum and Max Scherzer. That upside made Saturday afternoon s bullpen session at PNC Park so intriguing. The previous two nights, the Cubs had executed playoff-style baseball, piecing together back-to-back 1-0 wins over the Pittsburgh Pirates without their best ninth-inning reliever.

4 Morrow, who has been on the disabled list since July 18 with right biceps inflammation, revealed he s been recovering from a bone bruise, sounding both encouraged by his progress and resigned to the idea that he ll have to manage and tolerate it until the season ends. Stuff s sticking around that I think I m just going to have to learn to live with the rest of the year, Morrow said. If it holds up and stays the same, it should be good. Morrow (1.47 ERA, 22-for-24 in save chances) went to Cal-Berkeley and has survived so many injuries throughout his career so he knows how to talk to the media and explain the medical side of the game. It s a weird feeling, Morrow said. It s just kind of like some underlying achiness that doesn t necessarily get sharp when I throw. It s just kind of there. It s not knowing if it s going to hold up in the long run. I can pitch with it now. It s manageable, so if it doesn t go too far in the wrong direction, it should be OK. I m not losing strength with the achy soreness, so that s why I m optimistic about it. Usually, you have a sore shoulder, you get a sore elbow, you lose strength with it. But everything still feels like it s coming out really well and it s not getting any worse. To fully ramp up again, Morrow estimated he would need two or three more bullpen sessions, a simulated game and a rehab assignment, assuming the minor-league affiliates are still playing at that point. Being realistic, Morrow doesn t expect to be activated until the roster expands in September. Even that would require more maintenance, building up to back-to-back appearances while conserving his pitches for the biggest moments of the year. It s a bone bruise, so it just takes longer than a muscle strain, Morrow said. It s stress reactions in the bone, and I m just not familiar with how that s going to feel long-term. If it s something that the muscles are all healed around it and if it s just that achiness from the bone bruise that s still in there then that shouldn t get worse. I should still be able to throw with full strength with just some achiness in there which I can handle. Can you get back to the point where you re the same pitcher who dominated the Cubs during last year s NLCS? I hope so, Morrow said. Hopefully, we re still with a little comfortable lead and we re able to pick our spots and line it up how we want and get things to full health. That s obviously the long-term goal: to be 100 percent for the playoffs and be able to burn it out again then. Manager Joe Maddon s answer to that question: I want to believe that. We don t know that. Maddon doesn t want to play too many what-if games or set unrealistic expectations for Morrow and injured third baseman Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation). [Morrow] still has a little bit of that discomfort in there, Maddon said. I know he s feeling better. Not unlike KB. They re kind of like the same guy right now. When they do come back, they may have to play with being less than 100 percent. If they can. So just listen to them.

5 Theo Epstein s front office built up depth in the bullpen and at Triple-A Iowa and made deals for pitching before the July 31 trade deadline. Maddon has demonstrated a good feel for mixing and matching relievers, dividing up the work and showing confidence in the group. After being one of the most reliable relievers in the NL for years, Pedro Strop (4-1, 2.57 ERA, 10 saves) has shown that his fearless attitude and sense of swagger translate in the ninth inning. I hope there s still a setup job available when I come back, Morrow said. Stropy s been unbelievable. [Steve] Cishek has a lot of experience at the end of games and we got a lot of veteran guys, so it s not going to throw off what we re doing out there. Guys have already stepped up and filled the void. It s a non-issue at this point. These guys are great. Cubs.com Cubs' solo HR vs. Bucs not enough this time By Mason Wittner PITTSBURGH Tyler Chatwood, who leads the Majors in walks issued this year, continued to struggle with his command in a spot start against the Pirates at PNC Park on Saturday night, walking three while allowing three runs over two-plus innings in the Cubs' 3-1 loss. "It wasn't a whole lot different than the last two nights," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "It really wasn't. We gave up three runs in one inning; otherwise you had yourself another 1-0 game." Chatwood faced the minimum in the first inning but opened the second by issuing back-to-back walks to Josh Bell and Francisco Cervelli. Chatwood worked Adam Frazier into an 0-2 count in the ensuing at-bat before elevating a changeup that was lined into center field for an RBI double, giving the Pirates their first run of the series. Colin Moran doubled Pittsburgh's advantage in the next at-bat, swinging on a cutter from Chatwood and driving in Cervelli on a groundout. Adeiny Hechavarria then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Frazier to make it 3-0. The Cubs sent Chatwood back out to pitch the third but lifted him following a four-pitch walk to Corey Dickerson to lead off the frame. It was Chatwood's MLB-high 93rd walk of the season. "I didn't see it getting better," Maddon said. "The two walks led to two of the three runs. I know we're not scoring runs, and I know [Pirates starter Joe Musgrove] is pitching really well. So it's a bad assumption to think that if you continue to let them maybe get four or five [runs] at that point, that you would have any chance." Chicago signed Chatwood, 28, to a three-year deal last offseason after he spent five seasons with the Rockies. The right-hander began 2018 in the starting rotation, posting a 4-5 record with a 4.89 ERA in 19 starts before making the move to the bullpen. He appeared to take a step forward in his last relief appearance, throwing three scoreless innings against the Nationals on Aug. 11. When asked what he can take away from Saturday's short start, Chatwood replied, "Keep working."

6 "It's the only thing I can do," said Chatwood, who was starting for injured left-hander Mike Montgomery. "I'm fighting myself and trying to beat another team. So it feels like I'm fighting uphill. But all you can do is keep trying to come back, and regain the form I had in the past." The bullpen strung together six scoreless innings from four relievers, but the Cubs weren't able to produce enough offense to climb out of an early hole. Musgrove compiled seven strikeouts over seven innings, with his only blemish coming in the third inning. Following two quick outs, Ben Zobrist ripped an 0-2 fastball into the right-field seats to cut the Cubs' deficit to two runs. Saturday marked the third straight game in which Chicago's offense was limited to a solo home run. "We played good baseball," Maddon said. "We ran the bases well, we caught the ball on defense, our bullpen was outstanding. Our bats just have to come alive a bit. Otherwise, I'm pleased with the game." MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Missed chance: Willson Contreras reached on a bunt single with one out in the fifth inning. Thanks to aggressive baserunning on a Tommy La Stella single, the Cubs set up runners on the corners with a tworun deficit. Addison Russell battled Musgrove for a seven-pitch at-bat that ultimately ended in a strikeout, then Zobrist flied out to end the inning and the run-scoring opportunity. YOU GOTTA SEE THIS With two out and two on in the fifth inning, Gregory Polanco ripped a 2-1 fastball to center field that appeared as though it would score at least one run. However Jason Heyward rushed forward, making a slick sliding grab to end the frame and keep the Cubs' deficit at 3-1. HE SAID IT "We could be sitting on 0-3 in this series just as well as we could be sitting 2-1. We're very fortunate. So we have to get the offensive mojo back." Maddon, on the Cubs' lackluster offense this series UP NEXT Left-hander Jose Quintana will get the start for the finale of a four-game series with the Pirates at PNC Park on Sunday at 12:35 p.m. CT. Quintana has lost his last two starts, allowing 10 earned runs on 12 hits over 11 1/3 innings. Right-hander Jameson Taillon will start for Pittsburgh. Cubs.com Morrow encouraged by first bullpen session By Mason Wittner PITTSBURGH Cubs closer Brandon Morrow took another step toward returning from his right arm injury by throwing about 25 pitches in a bullpen session at PNC Park on Saturday. "I thought it was OK," Morrow said. "I threw the ball really well. [There's] just stuff sticking around that I think I'm going to have to live with the rest of the year. So if it holds up and stays the same, I think I should be good."

7 Morrow, 34, is on the 10-day disabled list for right biceps inflammation, having last pitched for the Cubs on July 15. On Saturday, he described the current state of the injury as a bone bruise near his right elbow. He said he has not lost strength in the arm despite the soreness. Cubs manager Joe Maddon pointed out the similarities in the recovery paths of Morrow and third baseman Kris Bryant (left shoulder inflammation), who recently began swinging off a tee in the batting cages in addition to fielding grounders. "[Morrow] still has a little bit of that discomfort in there," Maddon said. "I know he's feeling better. It's not unlike KB. They're kind of like the same guy right now. When they do come back, they may have to play with being less than 100 percent. And they can." Morrow said his next step will be "two or three" more bullpens and a simulated game, followed by a Minor League rehab assignment, barring any setbacks. Chicago Tribune Cubs treading water despite offensive struggles: 'We've got to get it together' By Mark Gonzales After scoring one run on a home run for the third consecutive game Saturday night, manager Joe Maddon knows how fortunate the Cubs are to have won two of the first three games against the Pirates in this four-game series that concludes Sunday. We could be sitting 0-3 in this series just as well as we can be sitting 2-1, Maddon said following a 3-1 loss in which Joe Musgrove held the Cubs to five hits in seven innings. We re very fortunate. We have to get the offensive mojo back, get back in that swarmy kind of thing. The Cubs problems were temporarily cured Wednesday in an 8-4 win over the Brewers in which they sprayed the ball to all fields to Maddon s liking. But that has been an anomaly during a stretch in which they ve scored three runs or fewer in six of their last nine games. Offensively we ve got to get it together, said Maddon, who was otherwise pleased with the defense, relief pitching and base running Saturday night. But the offense continues to sputter. Ben Zobrist hit a home run to account for their only scoring, just as Ian Happ did Thursday and Kyle Schwarber on Friday in back-to-back 1-0 victories. Other than Zobrist, who is batting.394 since the All-Star break, no other Cubs have been consistent at the plate besides Anthony Rizzo who struck out with Zobrist at second to end the eighth Saturday. Addison Russell is 1-for-19, Willson Contreras is 5-for-30, Javier Baez is 4-for-29 and Schwarber is 7-for- 37. Maddon said Russell is still bothered by a sore knuckle on his left middle finger that the shortstop says he can tolerate, but when he gets the pitch he likes, he fouls it off, Maddon said. Schwarbs hit the home run (Friday), but we ve got to get him more consistent, Maddon said. It s just an inconsistency with the whole group.

8 Chicago Tribune Tyler Chatwood's return to rotation short-lived in Cubs' 3-1 loss to the Pirates By Mark Gonzales As Tyler Chatwood s control issues resurfaced Saturday night, the need for Mike Montgomery s left shoulder to heal quickly became more urgent. Unlike Chatwood s first 19 starts, he had no wiggle room against the Pirates. Manager Joe Maddon pulled Chatwood after he issued his third walk to start the third inning of a 3-1 loss, snapping the Cubs three-game winning streak and trimming their lead in the National League Central to four games ahead of the resurgent Cardinals. I didn t think I could be patient, Maddon said. The Cubs scored only one run for the third consecutive game. I don t think it matters where we re at right now, said Maddon, referring to the Cubs offensive woes that surfaced on their recent homestand. We just haven t been good offensively. However, we ve been keeping our head above water by pitching and playing defense. With a stretch of 23 games without a scheduled day off starting Tuesday, the Cubs will have to lean a little more on their starting pitching before Yu Darvish and/or Montgomery return while waiting for rosters to expand Sept. 1. The earliest Montgomery can return from the 10-day disabled list is Friday, which would be Chatwood s turn unless the Cubs elect to move up left-hander Jose Quintana, who will start Sunday s series finale. As for Chatwood, the improvements Maddon saw during a three-inning relief stint on Aug. 11 such as tension-free velocity didn t carry over. After a nine-pitch first inning aided by a double play, Chatwood s control problems resurfaced with consecutive walks to Josh Bell and Francisco Cervelli that led to three runs in the second. With a bullpen well-rested thanks largely to Cole Hamels seven-inning performance Friday, Maddon was determined to not let the game get out of hand. Chatwood was pulled after walking Corey Dickerson to open the third, increasing his major-leagueleading walk total to 93 in only 1012/3 innings. I was pretty surprised, but obviously it was a two-run game right there and I walked the leadoff guy for the second inning in a row, Chatwood said. It s disappointing, but the bullpen did a good job and kept us in the game. Randy Rosario, Jesse Chavez, Brandon Kintzler and Jorge De La Rosa none of whom was on the opening-day roster combined to blank the Pirates. But the offense continued to sputter, relying on a home run for their only source of production. Ben Zobrist, the Cubs fourth leadoff hitter in their last five games, hit a solo homer to right with two outs in the third. Zobrist is batting.394 (28-for-71) since the All-Star break, but the constant shuffling of leadoff hitters is just part of Maddon s search to find a productive combination.

9 Addison Russell struck out with runners at first and third for the second out of the fifth. He s in a 1-for- 19 slump. Jason Heyward hit a single and reached second with one out in the sixth, but Rizzo popped to third and Javier Baez flied to left and flipped his bat in frustration before trotting to first. Joe Musgrove struck out seven and held the Cubs to five hits over seven innings, but the Cubs missed an opportunity against reliever Kyle Crick. Zobrist led off the eighth with a single and moved to second with two outs. But Crick threw a sweeping curve that Rizzo swung and missed for the third out. Chicago Tribune Closer Brandon Morrow aiming for September return to Cubs bullpen By Mark Gonzales Closer Brandon Morrow believes he could rejoin the Cubs as soon as early September as long as the discomfort in his right arm is manageable. (Soreness) is sticking around that I ll just have to learn to live with the rest of the year, Morrow said. If it holds up and stays the same, we should be good. Morrow threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Saturday. It was his first time throwing from a mound since he was diagnosed with right biceps inflammation on July 20. Morrow described his ailment as a bone bruise, so it takes longer than a muscle strain. It s a stress reaction in the bone, and I m just not familiar with how that s going to feel long term. The muscles are healed around it. If it s just that achiness from the bone bruise still in there, then that shouldn t get worse, and I should be able to throw at full strength with some achiness that I can handle. Morrow estimated he will need at least two more bullpen sessions and a simulated game before embarking on a short minor-league rehab assignment. He is realistic about his usage once he returns, since he hasn t pitched in a game since July 15 and the bullpen particularly Pedro Strop and Steve Cishek has fared well in his absence. So you don t want to put one of those guys on the bench when I doubt I ll be able to go back-to-back (days) and three out of four right away, Morrow said. Cubs manager Joe Maddon emphasized he would treat Morrow extremely carefully, knowing the pitcher might be limited when he returns. You take what you get, Maddon said.

10 Chicago Tribune Shutouts not in short supply for Cubs despite lack of complete games By Mark Gonzales Cubs manager Joe Maddon isn t averse to letting starting pitchers aim for complete games. His starting staff is still looking for its first one of the season, though, despite the team posting a majorleague leading 14 shutouts. That s interesting, Maddon said. It is a different age. The longest outing by a Cubs starter was 8 1/3 innings by Kyle Hendricks on July 9 in a 2-1, 11-inning loss to the Giants. Maddon pulled Cole Hamels after seven innings and 98 pitches Friday in a 1-0 win but was satisfied with his work to that point. Maddon rarely has extended his starters past 100 pitches, except perhaps when the bullpen is taxed or there is an upcoming day off. I like the complete game, Maddon said. I like giving those guys that opportunity, but not at the expense of messing them up for a couple times out. The closeness of the game dictates some of the latter manipulations with the bullpen. The major-league record for most shutouts without a complete game is 20 by the 2007 Padres, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Chicago Sun-Times That escalated quickly: Tyler Chatwood gets quick hook in Cubs 3-1 loss to Bucs By Gordon Wittenmyer PITTSBURGH After two feel-good nights for the Cubs oft-disparaged rotation, it took barely two innings Saturday night for Tyler Chatwood to show again why this group has been the biggest concern all season for a team with October on its mind. Pressed into starting duty two weeks after a demotion, because of Mike Montgomery s sore shoulder, the walk-prone Chatwood lasted just one batter into the third inning a second consecutive leadoff walk and was yanked. I didn t see it getting better, manager Joe Maddon said after a 3-1 loss to the Pirates in which the difference was a three-run second against Chatwood that opened with two walks. The seven other pitchers who worked in the game for both sides combined to walk just one batter and not until the eighth. Chatwood, who leads the majors by a wide margin with 93 walks allowed, might not make another start this season. The Cubs already have counted the days until Montgomery is eligible to return from the 10-day disabled list on Friday.

11 They ve already considered using Monday s off day to give Sunday starter Jose Quintana an extra day next time around, which means a fifth starter would next be needed on Saturday. If [Montgomery s] well, that s a possibility, Maddon said. Otherwise, we have to consider what we want to do next. We have to figure out what that next spot s going to look like. Maddon bemoaned the recent lack of production from a lineup that has produced exactly one solo home run of scoring each of the last three nights in Pittsburgh and that struggled for more than a week before that. But a rotation that has gotten a big boost from the trading deadline acquisition of Cole Hamels (0.72 ERA in four starts) continues to be a cause for concern if only because of injuries to Yu Darvish and Montgomery. Darvish makes a rehab start at South Bend Sunday, but he s at least two weeks from returning. And the hot Cardinals are just four games behind a Cubs team that still owns the best record in the National League. A bullpen that has been the backbone of the pitching staff this year could get taxed hard if Quintana doesn t find his groove and the Cubs don t get that fifth spot figured out by Saturday. Chatwood (4-6), who signed a three-year, $38 million free agent deal in December, looked at times like he had regressed if anything since the last time he started, between the walks, pitches that missed in the strike zone and a bounced throw to first. It sucks, he said. I m fighting myself, and I m trying to beat another team so it feels like I m fighting uphill. But all you can do is keep trying to come back and regain the form I had in the past. As for when he might get the ball again, We ll see what happens, he said. Notes: Kris Bryant (shoulder) took a day off from swinging the bat Saturday but is expected to hit off live pitching Sunday or Tuesday in Detroit for the first time since going on the DL last month. The Cubs first back-to-back 1-0 games since 1973 on Thursday and Friday gave them a National League-leading 14 shutouts this season without a complete game pitched by the staff all year. Chicago Sun-Times Closer Brandon Morrow eyes September return, October burn for Cubs By Gordon Wittenmyer PITTSBURGH One way to look at Cubs closer Brandon Morrow s arm injury and his cautious and slow process in coming back is that the Cubs budgeted for this when they constructed the roster. The Cubs added Morrow, Steve Cishek and made a handful of waiver claims and minor-league deals since last season to build their deepest bullpen during this competitive window, and they ve carried at least eight pitchers in their bullpen all season. Then they added Jesse Chavez and Brandon Kintzler at the trade deadline.

12 So what happens when Morrow returns to the No. 2-ranked bullpen in the National League (3.29 ERA) in a few weeks, as he expects? I just hope there s still a setup job available when I come back, said Morrow who might be about to ramp up his rehab workload toward a return in early September after a 25-pitch bullpen session Saturday. Stropy s been unbelievable, Morrow said. Guys have already stepped up and filled the void. It s a non-issue at this point. These guys are great. The Cubs have answered the question of whether they can survive if their shutdown closer can t pitch: Setup man Pedro Strop leads the NL in saves since the All-Star break (eight), and the Cishek-led setup corps continues to rack up holds. After a short start from walk-prone Tyler Chatwood, the bullpen handled all but the first two innings with another stout effort Saturday night in Pittsburgh. But now Morrow is tasked with answering the biggest question that might remain for manager Joe Maddon s best bullpen in four years in Chicago: Can Morrow return with the kind of impact that made him a postseason force for the NL-champion Dodgers last October and had him in the conversation for an All-Star selection two months into his two-year, $21 million deal with the Cubs? I hope so, said the hard-throwing Morrow, whose breakout season of relief for the Dodgers last year included just on run allowed in seven appearances during the NL playoffs none in four games against the Cubs. Hopefully, we re still with a little bit of a comfortable lead and we re able to pick our spots and line up how we want it and get things to full health, he said of the workload the final weeks of the regular season. Obviously, the long-term goal is to be 100 percent for the playoffs and be able to burn it out again then. For now, Morrow has come to terms with the fact he ll pitch with low-level achiness in the area near his elbow where a stress-reaction bone bruise lingers even after the biceps inflammation has disappeared. It felt really good mechanically, Morrow said of Saturday s first work from a mound since he last pitched in a game, July 15. I thought the ball was coming out well. It s just that little underlying achiness that won t go away. I can pitch with it now, he added. It s manageable so if it doesn t go too far in the wrong direction it should be OK. I m not losing strength with the little achy soreness. That s why I m optimistic about it. I should still be able to throw at full strength with just some achiness in there, which I can handle. Morrow expects to throw two or three more bullpen sessions and then at least one simulated game before sneaking in a minor-league rehab inning or two before the minor-league seasons end in early September. Then rejoin the Cubs bullpen.

13 And then rediscover his 2017 fall magic at some point down the stretch? I want to believe that. But we don t know that, said Maddon, who expects to use Morrow cautiously enough the rest of the way at least until playoff time that back-to-back appearances are probably out. Let s just get him well, and then get him back out there, Maddon said. And maybe keep leaning just as hard on a supporting cast that looks more and more like a group of leading men every day Morrow s been out? While he s been hurt, other people are developing a different mindset, Maddon said, which can be helpful.