July 28, 2016 Chicago Tribune 3 Cubs homers, including Addison Russell slam, result in rout of White Sox By Paul Skrbina What began with 5 1/3 innings of no-hit ball from little-known White Sox starter Anthony Ranaudo ended with a 103 mph fastball from Aroldis Chapman to Avisail Garcia. In between, three baseballs disappeared into the blur of bodies in the left-field bleachers, egged on all the way by the roar of the ready Wrigley Field crowd Wednesday night during the Cubs' 8-1 victory against their foes from the South Side. Cubs fans, who were legion among the crowd of 41,166, knew before those landed what Kris Bryant had done. Javier Baez and Addison Russell too. And they appreciated what starting pitcher Jason Hammel did, going seven innings and allowing five hits, two walks and striking out seven to help end the Sox winning streak at four. They also showered Chapman, their controversial new closer, with chants of "Let's go, Chapman" as he unwound his powerful left arm during warm-ups in the ninth inning. "There's the scouting term, 'He's a maximum-effort guy,'" Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "I don't see him being a maximum-effort guy. "He looks free and easy and the ball comes out of his hand well." And the ball came off the Cubs bats well too when they needed it to. Baez's two-run home run in the seventh afforded the Cubs a 3-1 advantage against Ranaudo, who an inning earlier watched his no-hit bid vanish into the seats on Bryant's 26th home run. By the time Baez appeared from the dugout for his curtain call, the curtain had closed on Ranaudo, the early star of the show. The right-hander exited stage left toward the dugout as fans serenaded him with the lyrics from "Hit the Road, Jack." Russell also took a bow after blasting the second pitch he saw from right-hander Jacob Turner into the bleachers after Sox rookie right-hander Carson Fulmer had walked the bases full before getting pulled. Hammel, well, he was trying to stay out of manager Joe Maddon's sights, in case he had any ideas of removing him from the game. "I was trying to hide in the dugout … so he wouldn't take me out," Hammel said. "It was nice to be able to let go. I felt I got better as the game went on. Miggy (Montero) and I were on the same page." Hammel's only hiccup came when Ranaudo, a man who was no hitter but was throwing a no-hitter, notched his first major-league hit with a home run to right field.

Ranaudo is the first Sox pitcher to hit a home run since Mark Buehrle did so on June 14, 2009, against the Brewers. "I thought it got stuck in the ivy and I kind of pulled up at second base," Ranaudo said. "I looked back at home and realized it was a home run from the way everybody was reacting and stuff, and I had to finish out the jog." And then the Cubs finished the job. -- Chicago Tribune Cubs hope offense shows up early vs. Chris Sale By Mark Gonzales The Chicago Cubs’ offense has shown a knack recently for showing up later rather than sooner. That tendency will be put to the test Thursday night against White Sox ace Chris Sale. “Hopefully we can keep it going somehow,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said after watching home runs by Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Addison Russell transform a 1-0 deficit after 5 ½ innings turn into an 8-1 victory that snapped a two-game losing streak. “In a game like (Thursday), you have to pitch well to beat them. You anticipate he’s going to pitch well. To go into (Thursday’s) game and not really swinging the bats well would have been much more difficult.” The Cubs had scored only three earned runs in their past 32 1/3 innings against opposing starting pitchers until Bryant’s home run with one out in the sixth snapped a no-hit bid by Anthony Ranaudo. The Cubs, in fact, scored all eight runs in their final three innings after getting blanked Tuesday for the first time since May 31. In Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Sox, they scored all four runs in the final three innings. And they needed a five-run seventh to seize a 6-5 win at Milwaukee on Sunday. The Cubs also know they’ll be facing an motivated Sale, a five-time American League All-Star who hasn’t pitched since July 18 due to a five-game suspension. Sale, who pitched eight innings of one-hit ball at Seattle before the bullpen collapsed in the ninth, is 14-3 with a 3.18 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 129 innings. Of more concern to the Cubs is that Sale is 2-0 with an 0.56 ERA in four games (two starts) with 28 strikeouts and three walks in only 16 innings. Willson Contreras, who hasn’t started the past two games and hasn’t caught since Saturday, returns behind the plate to handle John Lackey. -- Chicago Tribune Cubs marvel over Aroldis Chapman's fastball, slider and overall command By Mark Gonzales Jason Hammel jokingly was disappointed with Aroldis Chapman's Cubs debut Wednesday night. "I'm not impressed," he said. "I thought we were getting a guy who could throw 105 mph. We only got 103. Not enough adrenaline." The Wrigley Field fans, however, supplied enough in giving Chapman a standing ovation as he took the mound before throwing a 101 mph fastball on his first pitch as a Cub to Jose Abreu before striking him out on a slider.

That set the tone for a scoreless ninth, as Chapman and the Cubs secured an 8-1 victory over the rival White Sox with a called third strike on Avisail Garcia on a 103 mph pitch. "He's unusual," manager Joe Maddon said in amazement. "You just don't see that. I don't have any comparisons on that one. Maybe if Randy Johnson pitched out of the bullpen, you might have seen it on a consistent basis." After Chapman struck out Garcia to end the game, he calmly stared at catcher Miguel Montero as his teammates came out to celebrate what they believe will be the centerpiece to their World Series drive. Chapman, 28, arrived Tuesday amid controversy after the Cubs traded four players to the Yankees to acquire him and then experienced a mix-up over what he actually said to management in vowing to be a good citizen. He was under a 30-game Major League Baseball suspension to start the season with the Yankees as a result of a domestic abuse allegation that didn't result in charges. "(Chapman was in) somewhat of a difficult situation the last few days," Maddon said. "You don't know if he got rest, he was joining a new club, pitching in front of a packed house." "He was very composed, never in a hurry to throw the baseball. He grabbed some dirt. I liked that. It was good to see. Not only was it good, but his composure was good in that moment." Fans started to get excited when Chapman began to warm up as Hector Rondon entered the game with a 3-1 lead. Chapman sat down as the Cubs embarked on a five-run rally in the eighth before he resumed throwing and eventually entered the game. "It's a sight to see," said Hammel, who earned the victory after pitching seven innings and throwing 104 pitches. "I've never seen anything like it. I've obviously been on the other side, and he has saved a lot of games against me and the teams I've been on. That's impressive. "It's jaw dropping to see that kind of velocity with command. That's almost unfair to have a slider and off-speed pitches after that. He's a nice addition." Maddon sensed there is more to come. "He's a different kind of a pitcher," Maddon said. "You'll see it every 100 years or so. He's that good. "Everyone talks about the fastball. How about the slider? The slider is devastating. But I like his delivery and the way he throws strikes. Good for him." -- Chicago Tribune Aroldis Chapman's pitching comes through loud, clear in his Cubs debut By Paul Sullivan Shortly after electrifying Wrigley Field in his Cubs debut Wednesday, Aroldis Chapman temporarily turned on the mute button. The new Cubs closer entered in the ninth inning to get his feet wet in an 8-1 victory over the White Sox in Game 3 of the City Series, amping up the crowd with a fastball clocked as high as 103 mph. But after speaking with ESPN, Chapman told the media he wasn't talking. Was this going to be the start of a two-month feud between the newest Cubs star and the media, or was it just a reaction to the rough reception Chapman got Tuesday when he faced questions about his past?

"That's not my business," catcher Miguel Montero said as Chapman stalked off to the showers. "But he'll get back to it. Maybe he's got too much on him and wants a little bit of a break, which I understand. We have to let him be sometimes." When Chapman returned, Montero and one of Chapman's associates persuaded him to talk about his debut, and Montero served as interpreter. "The adrenaline was pretty good even though it wasn't a save situation," Chapman said. "It was fun to hear the crowd cheering for me. ... The crowd kind of pumped me up a little more. I was pretty excited because it was my debut, so pretty pumped to go out and pitch." Asked if he felt burned by the media after his news conference Tuesday, Chapman replied: "It's over with. I've just got to move on. It happened. Don't want to go further with it." Chapman might not have much to say to the media, but he let his pitching speak for him. The crowd of 41,166 went wild when Chapman entered, the moment fans had been eagerly awaiting. That's what the Cubs brass expected when they made the controversial move to acquire him from the Yankees. All eyes were on the video board between pitches to check out Chapman's radar-gun readings — 13 of 15 were in triple digits — and love was in the air. Every pitch produced oohs and aahs like a Fourth of July fireworks show. It was a "high-pandemonium situation" according to Addison Russell, whose grand slam in the eighth allowed the Cubs to pull away. The City Series has always been a heated rivalry, but before the game Wrigley Field had turned into a lovefest. Former Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was seen hugging the future former manager, Robin Ventura, and then Cubs manager Joe Maddon. Former Cubs manager Rick Renteria, the Sox bench coach still being paid by his old team, was hugging old front-office friends not named Theo Epstein. The only one seemingly not in the mood for a bro-hug was Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, who stiff-armed the media when asked to discuss the now-famous discussion that sealed the deal with Chapman. Truth be told, the City Series had lost that hateful feeling even before the Cubs' romp. Once this was a special time of the year, when Jose Valentin would imitate Sammy Sosa and A.J. Pierzynski would be booed at Wrigley just for being A.J. Pierzynski. But it's no longer an exercise in animosity. Guillen didn't even mention the proverbial Wrigley rats Wednesday when talking about the ballpark, and he said he joked to Ricketts that his criticisms of the unfriendly confines over the years paved the way for the Wrigley renovation. The Sox marketing department tries their hardest to let the Cubs know they don't particularly care for their Cub-ness. During the All-Star Game, the official Sox Twitter account tweeted about Chris Sale's pitching line while leaving out the little fact he served up a home run to Kris Bryant. The tweet was later deleted, but Bryant made up for the slight Wednesday with a game-tying home run off Anthony Ranaudo, breaking up a no-hit bid in the sixth. One night earlier, Bryant basically admitted the City Series had jumped the shark when asked if the Sox wanted to beat the Cubs more than the Cubs wanted to beat the Sox. "I don't sense that at all," he said. "I just sense that it's another baseball game to me. That's how we're treating it too."

Bryant was then informed the Sox players don't treat it as "another game." "You have to ask them," he said. "I don't sense anything that they're celebrating crazy or not. Just another game." Just another game? That will be the day. -- Chicago Tribune Manager Joe Maddon maintains faith in struggling Jason Heyward By Mark Gonzales Manager Joe Maddon is steadfast in his faith that struggling right fielder Jason Heyward can get on track. Heyward worked with John Mallee for 30 minutes on the field before Wednesday night's game with the White Sox at Wrigley Field and the Cubs manager likewise supports the hitting coach and his drills. "I'm very patient," Maddon said. "I've done this for a bit. I've been a hitting instructor (in the Angels' organization). I know what it takes. You don't always get overnight results when you're trying to make some dramatic adjustments, and that's exactly what's going on. "I know people are going to get less patient with it than I will or he will. But the biggest thing is that Jason doesn't get impatient. If he doesn't give up on what he's doing, he's going to break through. And overall, he has hit some balls without any luck lately." Heyward worked on the same front flip drills with Mallee that he performed before Saturday's game against the Brewers. Mallee, behind a protective screen, flips balls with various movement and speed from about 40 feet. The Cubs hope Heyward, who dropped to seventh in the batting order for the first time this season, can improve his .315 slugging percentage — last among the 159 players with enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title. Heyward, a career .264 hitter, entered Wednesday batting .228. "I've been through it before with some good players," Maddon said. "He'll come out the other side because he's good and working at it, and I like the plan of attack he and John have going right now." Extra innings: Catcher Miguel Montero wouldn't led a reporter goad him into saying the Cubs might be upset with the White Sox celebrating their keeping of the Crosstown Cup on the field after their victory Tuesday. "To you guys, I don't know," Montero said. "But to me, not really. It's not that big of a deal to me to play the White Sox, Mets, Diamondbacks or Padres." … Reliever Joe Nathan, 41, said his surgically repaired right arm has felt well after each of his first two outings, including his first appearance Sunday when he threw 29 pitches. … Chairman Tom Ricketts declined to talk to reporters. "I think we've said enough this week," said Ricketts, who issued a statement Monday after acquiring the signing of controversial closer Aroldis Chapman. -- Chicago Sun-Times Front office made its move; now Cubs say, ‘It’s up to us to win’ By Gordon Wittenmyer Cubs’ right-hander Joe Nathan remembers all the “positive vibes” in the Detroit clubhouse two years ago when the Tigers landed the best pitcher on the market at the trade deadline: David Price. Two months later, the Tigers’ five-game lead in their division had shrunk to one as they eked out a playoff berth, before losing in the first round to Baltimore, despite Price pitching well in his playoff start.

“Obviously, you’ve still got to go get it done on the field,” Nathan said, “but when you see something on paper and see what it can be, it’s pretty exciting.” For all the non-baseball headlines Aroldis Chapman has made this week, that’s where the players in the Cubs’ clubhouse are when it comes to the “game-changing” trade Monday for the 105-mph closer. “He’s a difference-maker,” said starter John Lackey, a key member of eight playoff teams. “It gives confidence to the clubhouse for sure.” “Huge,” said catcher David Ross, praising the front office. “They’re making a statement.” Next up – and the most important part of the biggest acquisition of the summer trading season so far – is how the team responds to that statement. The Cubs have made high-profile deadline trades in the past with exceptional results (Rick Sutcliffe won a Cy Young Award in 1984 in less than half a season) and fizzled results (Nomar Garciaparra in 2004 was a non-factor). Neither of those teams won the World Series, of course. The 2004 team didn’t make the playoffs. “Regardless, it’s up to us,” said veteran catcher Miguel Montero, whose Cubs lost three of four entering – and 20 of 32 — until Wednesday’s 8-1 win over the White Sox. “It’s up to us to win this. We’ve got to play better baseball. [The front office exec] don’t play for us. They’re not going to score runs for us. So it’s up to us.” Montero has lived both sides of the trade-impact spectrum. In 2008, his Diamondbacks made the splashy move to acquire Adam Dunn, who hit well down the stretch for a team that didn’t get to the postseason. In 2011, Montero said under-the-radar acquisitions of infielders Aaron Hill and John McDonald were big parts of a playoff run – because “they fit perfectly.” It’s hard to see Chapman in a baseball sense as anything but a perfect fit – the All-Star, shutdown closer that transforms a so-so bullpen into a potential force, with 97-mph closer Hector Rondon moving to the eighth inning, hard-throwing Pedro Strop to the seventh and so on. “Once you put him at the back and kind of move the other guys down, everybody looks a little bit better in that other role,” Lackey said. “I think we’re in a great situation right now.” As long as Lackey and the rotation can trend closer to its early season performance than midseason performance, and Montero and the lineup can score more than three earned runs total they’ve managed against starting pitchers the last four games (entering Wednesday). “There’s definitely no guarantees,” Montero said. “And in the playoffs it’s whoever gets hot at the right time. Right now we’re not even in the playoffs yet. We’ve still got a long way to go. “I don’t want players to take anything for granted. From my own experience, playing against the Cardinals, they’re a good team in August and September. That’s when it really counts, because they carry it over to the playoffs. Same with the Giants. “So you don’t take anything for granted,” Montero added. “We have a good lead. But let’s keep it up. And keep on going.” No matter how much greater the assumptions or how much higher the expectations after adding Chapman. “Expectations are whatever,” Lackey scoffed. “I’m trying to win it all.”

-- Chicago Sun-Times Cubs rout Sox as Chapman makes triple-digit Cub debut By Gordon Wittenmyer The Cubs’ big eighth inning turned Wednesday night’s victory into an 8-1 rout, but that didn’t seem to diminish the drama surrounding the debut of controversial closer Aroldis Chapman as he entered to pitch the ninth inning against the White Sox at Wrigley Field. A smattering of boos could be heard amid a much louder chorus of cheers. And the boos turned to oohs (and aahs) when his first pitch registered a 101 reading on the scoreboard radar display. Second pitch: 101. Third pitch: 102. By the time pinch-hitter Avisail Garcia struck out looking at a 103 mph fastball to end the game, Cubs history had come full circle, from Three Finger Brown to Three Digit Chapman – with the same World Series expectations attached. “It’s just entertaining to watch the gun, beyond everything else,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. “Of course, you’re looking to get the win, but it’s different, man. He’s a different kind of pitcher. You don’t see that [but] every 100 years or so. “I don’t have any comps on that one. I don’t think anybody does.” Chapman got off to a rocky start with Chicago media Tuesday over a series of non-answers to questions about his domestic-violence suspension this year, and on Wednesday initially refused to talk with media after the game, visibly upset. Eventually, with the help of some bridge building by catcher Miguel Montero, Chapman took a few questions. “The adrenaline was pretty good even though it wasn’t a save situation,” Chapman said, with Montero translating from Spanish. “It was fun to hear the crowd cheering for me.” Chapman, pitching for the first time since Saturday, was in line for the save until the Cubs scored five in the eighth, capped by 22-year-old Addison Russell’s first career grand slam, the Cubs’ third homer of the game (also Kris Bryant and Javy Baez). Russell is the youngest Cub to hit a grand slam since 1962 (Nelson Mathews, 20). “It was almost good that it wasn’t a save situation,” Maddon said, “just to allow him to get his feet on the ground. There were a lot of positives out of that moment right there. “I give the guy some credit for going out there in somewhat of a difficult situation based on the last couple days,” Maddon added. “I don’t even know how much rest he’s gotten.” Chapman, who said the crowd helped lift his adrenaline, was asked a suck-up question at the end of the postgame session about whether he felt taken advantage of by the media Tuesday. “It’s over with,” he said. “I’ve just got to move on with it. It happened. I don’t want to go further that that.” As for the promise of triple-digit ninth innings the rest of the season? “It was very cool,” Maddon said. “I’ve seen it on the wrong side. It’s nice to have it on your side.” For almost six innings it was the White Sox debut of Anthony Ranaudo that provided much of the drama.

All Cubs Maddon knew about Ranaudo before the game was what the manager saw on some video from a minor-league game. “I saw some pitches up,” Maddon said. A few hours later, so did Bryant and Baez. Bryant’s solo homer with one out in the sixth not only tied the game, but also broke up Ranaudo’s no-hit bit. Until then, the right-hander also accounted for the game’s only run, with a homer off Jason Hammel leading off the fifth. It was the first career hit for Ranaudo, 26, who was acquired from the Rangers for Matt Ball in May. Hammel (10-5) pitched seven strong innings to win his third straight start out of the All-Star break, tying his career high in wins for a season. He struck out seven, walked two and pitched out of a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth by getting former Cub Dioner Navarro to fly to center and striking out Monday night’s hero Tyler Saladino. “He was outstanding,” Maddon said. Hammel has a 2.00 ERA in his three starts since taking doctor’s advice at the All-Star break to start eating more potato chips to solve a cramping problem he had experienced in two starts during the first half. “It makes sense. Potatoes are a good source of potassium, and carbs, and salt,” said Hammel, who received a four-box supply of Utz potato chips last week in the clubhouse. “It’s obviously not the breakfast – or any type of meal – of champions. But there are quirky things I guess for everybody.” -- Chicago Sun-Times 5 days after showing off his best cutter, Sale takes on Wrigley By Gordon Wittenmyer When word of Chris Sale’s uniform-slashing tantrum Saturday night filtered through the Cubs’ clubhouse Sunday morning, some were privately rooting for a throwback-jersey event on his scheduled day to pitch this week, just to see what would happen. One joke making the rounds that morning went like this: “You know what the White Sox did with all the other throwback jerseys that didn’t get cut, right?” “No, what?” “They put them on Sale.” Even manager Joe Maddon got in the act when he mentioned in one of his answers to the media that morning how something “cuts across the fabric of what you’re trying to do, no pun intended.” Then he spent several seconds regaining his composure before completing his answer. Sox officials were said to not be amused. All of which leads to Sale’s start Thursday at Wrigley Field, where he returns from a five-game suspension for destroying those throwback unis in the clubhouse Saturday night – and where he can expect the first, and maybe the worst, of what’s expected to be two months of boisterous jersey-related catcalls from grandstand cutups.

“Yeah, people may crack on it for a little while,” Cubs pitcher Joe Nathan said of what he expects Thursday night, “and the fans will probably give it to him a little bit here and there. But I think that would just die down. I would imagine.” For what it’s worth, Sale got sympathy from some in the Cubs’ clubhouse. “To be honest, those uniforms are brutal,” veteran Ben Zobrist said of the White Sox’ ugly, 1976, big-collared jerseys. “Who would want to wear a collar on their game uniform? Especially if it’s a pitcher that’s throwing and every motion they’re going to feel something different. “I wouldn’t have cut up the jerseys over it, but I understand that he wouldn’t want to wear that pitching.” Said Nathan: “I guess they were really uncomfortable. That’s all I can say.” Heyward struggles As Jason Heyward’s season-long struggles at the plate near August, the $184 million outfielder took his daily batting cage work with hitting coach John Mallee into the sun Wednesday for another intense session a few hours before the game. “This guy’s hit into some bad luck,” said Maddon, who said the goal is to get him to hit the ball into the air more. “Yeah, there’s been some ground balls. But he’s had a lot of well struck balls that have been caught, and with that goes your confidence.” Heyward is 4-for-28 over the past week after a 1-for-3 Wednesday, his season average at .229 Star gazing Among the luminaries attending Wednesday’s Cubs-Sox game at Wrigley were just-retired Bear Peanut Tillman (doing stretch duties), Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh (first pitch), former Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and actor Gabrielle Union (and her husband, Dwyane Wade). Guillen, who routinely ripped the disrepair, “rats as big as pigs,” and outdated “amenities” at Wrigley Field ran into Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts before the game. “He said look what you made me do here,” Guillen said, gesturing to the video boards and other updates. Talked out Ricketts, by the way, wasn’t as talkative with media, declining an interview request. “I think we’ve talked enough this week,” said Ricketts, whose talking to Chicago baseball media this week consisted of a prepared statement about looking into Aroldis Chapman’s domestic-violence past before signing off on Monday’s trade. -- Daily Herald Chicago Cubs go from no hits to big blasts in win By Jerry Fitzpatrick Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Anthony Ranaudo was enjoying a special night Wednesday at Wrigley Field until some mighty swings by second-year sluggers vaulted the Chicago Cubs to an 8-1 Crosstown Series victory.

Making his Sox debut, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound right-hander spent the first 5-plus innings rewriting the team manual on how to excel on your first day. Recalled Sunday from Class-AAA Charlotte, the 26-year-old New Jersey native not only held the Cubs hitless for the first 5⅓ innings, he provided his team's only offense when he roped a solo home run to the right-field bleachers off Cubs starting pitcher Jason Hammel in the top of the fifth. It was Ranaudo's first major-league hit. Then the Cubs' offense awoke in a big way. His team trailed 1-0 with one out in the sixth when Kris Bryant, who had 5 hits in his previous 23 at-bats, brought the frustrated Wrigley faithful to their feet by launching a typical Bryant home run, a towering shot to the bleachers in left-center. It was the first hit of the game for the Cubs, and it was Bryant's first home run since July 16. His 26th home run of the season matched the total of his 2015 rookie-of-the-year campaign. Javier Baez put the Cubs ahead to stay an inning later when he laced a 3-2 curveball from Ranaudo into the left-field bleachers, prompting a curtain call from most of the 41,166 in attendance. "I'm just living the dream, to hit a go-ahead homer," Baez said, smiling. "It was one of my dreams today in the game, and there it is." Before Bryant's home run, Ranaudo had retired 14 of 15, interrupted only by a fourth-inning walk to Miguel Montero. "Definitely something I'll remember the rest of my life," Ranaudo said of the experience. "The way the game kind of turned, that kind of took a bad turn for us. Definitely a great experience. The atmosphere was electric and I thought we played really well for most of the game." Ben Zobrist gave the Cubs a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth when the cleanup hitter doubled to center, scoring Bryant. Addison Russell delivered the knockout blow one batter later, a no-doubt-about-it grand slam that staked the Cubs to an 8-1 lead. It was Russell's first career slam. "It's kind of surreal just rounding the bases, the pandemonium of the fans," said Russell, who also took a curtain call. "Stepping on home plate was awesome. To greet my teammates right there was pretty sweet." Aroldis Chapman made his Cubs debut by pitching a scoreless ninth in a non-save situation. He struck out Jose Abreu on a 91-mph slider after throwing back-to-back 101-mph fastballs and finished the game by striking out Avisail Garcia on a fastball clocked at 103. The Sox slipped to 50-51 overall as their four-game winning streak came to an end. Meanwhile, the Cubs (60-40) snapped a two-game skid and became the first team in baseball to 60 wins. -- Daily Herald Chicago Cubs' Heyward getting extra hitting work By Bruce Miles Struggling Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward took his extra hitting work outside Wednesday, about five hours before the start of the game against the White Sox at Wrigley Field.

Heyward entered the game with a line of .228/.315/.315 with 4 homers and 28 RBI. Since the all-star break, he was at .108/.175/.135. Heyward worked with hitting coach John Mallee, taking swings on pitches "soft-tossed" to him. Manager Joe Maddon said Heyward and Mallee had been working on the same things inside in the batting cage as well. Maddon was asked what the work was aimed at achieving. "To get the ball in the air a little bit more, specifically," he said. "And they have. His groundball rate compared to last year is significantly better, actually. I think if you break it down, the batted ball in play (average) has been really unlucky this year. "I've been through this before with some really good players. He'll come out the other side because he's good. He's working at it, and I really like the plan of attack he and John have going right now. "I'm very patient. I've done this for a bit. I was a hitting instructor myself. I know what it takes. You don't always get overnight results when you're trying to make some dramatic adjustments, and that's exactly what's going on. "I know people are going to get less patient with it than I will or we will. The biggest thing is that Jason doesn't get impatient. The actual player himself, you just don't want to give up on what he's doing. If he doesn't, he's going to break through." According to FanGraphs, Heyward's groundball percentage was 48.7 entering Wednesday, down from last year's 57.2. His batting average on balls in play (BABIP) was .273. League average is about .300. Another for Montero: Miguel Montero made his third straight start at catcher Wednesday. David Ross started Sunday's series finale at Milwaukee. Willson Contreras got his most recent start last Saturday. Joe Maddon said the idea is to give rookie Contreras a break. "It's not hard to do," Maddon said. "You've got to look at a kid and understand that he might need a little bit of a break right now. He's not played this much, and he's not going to play as much as he's going to late into September and October. We've got to be mindful of that. I just thought it was the right time to give him a break. "I also believe Miggy looks better at the plate. Miggy's been working some really good at-bats. He looks kind of fresh to me right now, and I like his at-bats." Maddoneadded that Contreras would catch John Lackey in Thursday's finale with against the White Sox. Maybe again? Joe Maddon said he would welcome back reliever Clayton Richard, who was designated for assignment Tuesday to make room for Aroldis Chapman. Richard, an important part of the pen last year, had a rough go this season, going 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA. "This guy is one of the best you're ever going to find in a clubhouse," Maddon said. "He's just a solid human being, a professional. Absolutely would love to have him back." --

Cubs.com Aroldis leaves Cubs in awe with perfect debut By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- The 41,166 fans at Wrigley Field weren't the only ones eager to see the radar-gun readings from Aroldis Chapman in his Cubs debut. The Cubs' players and manager Joe Maddon were peeking, too. Chapman didn't disappoint, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth to preserve the Cubs' 8-1 Interleague win over the White Sox on Wednesday night. It may not have been a save situation, but everyone in the lower seating bowl of the ballpark was on their feet as soon as the left-hander entered. "I'm not impressed," Cubs starting pitcher Jason Hammel deadpanned. "I thought we were getting a guy who threw 105 [mph]. He only hit 103." Hammel then grinned. "It's a sight to see," he said. "It's jaw-dropping. To see that type of velocity and that command, it's almost unfair to have a slider and offspeed pitches after that, too. He's a nice addition." Said Addison Russell: "It was awesome. Standing behind him throwing is a whole different story." Chapman was happy with the outing, if not with what has transpired the last 24 hours in Chicago. "The adrenaline was pretty good even though it wasn't a save situation," he said. "It was fun to hear the crowd cheering for me." The left-hander had a difficult introductory news conference on Tuesday and was so upset that he did not want to talk to the media on Wednesday. Catcher Miguel Montero acted as arbitrator and also interpreter. "It's over with, I have to move on," Chapman said. "I don't want to go further than that." Chapman's presence in the Cubs' bullpen definitely is a game-changer. Maddon used Hector Rondon, the former closer, in the eighth, and he needed seven pitches to retire the side. Montero then greeted Chapman on the mound for the ninth, and the pitcher put his arm around the catcher's shoulders as they talked. Montero caught Chapman in the 2014 All-Star Game, and they have a good relationship. "I know what he's got," Montero said. "We didn't talk about signs. ... I said, 'Hey, how do you like this crowd? It's a little louder than where you were, right?' He was laughing." Other teams aren't smiling at how the Cubs have improved their postseason chances. "Any time you can trim the game to six innings, five innings is good, and we have a strong-enough bullpen to shut down," Hammel said. "That's a confidence-booster for us. For the other side, it has to be black clouds -- 'Oh man, we can't let the bullpen get in there.'" Russell, who hit his first career grand slam, one of three Cubs homers, said the acquisition of Chapman sends a strong message from the front office to the players. "They want to win," Russell said. "He's a different kind of pitcher," Maddon said. "You see that every 100 years or so. Everyone talks about the fastball, but his slider is devastating. He was very calm in the moment and he was able to get through the last couple days." --

Cubs.com Cubs power up with 3 HRs to surge past Sox By Carrie Muskat and Scott Merkin CHICAGO -- Cubs manager Joe Maddon's doorman won't have to take any grief from his White Sox friends, at least for one day. Kris Bryant hit a solo homer, Javier Baez smacked a tiebreaking two-run blast in the seventh and Addison Russell added his first career grand slam in the eighth and Aroldis Chapman had an impressive debut to lift the Cubs to an 8-1 Interleague victory over the White Sox on Wednesday at Wrigley Field. Anthony Ranaudo gave White Sox fans something to cheer about in the fifth when he collected his first career hit and home run off Cubs starter Jason Hammel. Ranaudo threw five no-hit innings, which Bryant ended with his blast with one out in the sixth. "I set the bar pretty high for myself," Ranaudo said. "I don't want to say I knew I was going to go out there and hit a home run or throw five no-hit innings or whatever, but I have high expectations for myself." Chapman entered in the ninth, and his first pitch was a 101-mph strike. He struck out Jose Abreu on a slider, got Todd Frazier to ground out and struck out Avisail Garcia in a perfect inning. Chapman's last pitch registered at 103 mph. "It's entertaining to watch the gun," Maddon said. "You're looking to get the win, but it's different. He's a different kind of pitcher. You see that every 100 years or so. Everyone talks about the fastball, but his slider is devastating." Both Baez and Russell made curtain calls in front of the crowd of 41,166 at Wrigley Field. The White Sox lead the crosstown series, 2-1, with one more meeting on Thursday at Wrigley Field. Maddon said this showdown has been tough on his doorman as far as bragging rights in the city. This was the Cubs' 60th win of the season in their 100th game, and it's the quickest they've reached 60 since 1977, when they did so in their 99th game. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Surprise, Surprise: Ranaudo made his first Major League hit count, as he gave the White Sox a 1-0 lead with a lined shot into the right-center-field stands leading off the fifth. Ranaudo's long ball was the first by an American League pitcher this season and the first for a White Sox pitcher since Mark Buehrle in Milwaukee on June 14, 2009. Ranaudo was 0-for-7 with five strikeouts previously in his career and became the first White Sox pitcher to homer against the Cubs in Interleague Play (four Cubs pitchers have homered against the White Sox). "I thought it was a double at first. I thought it got stuck in the ivy and I kind of pulled up at second base," Ranaudo said. "I looked back at home and realized it was a home run, from the way everybody was reacting and stuff, and I had to finish out the jog." Big hits: The Cubs' offense has stalled since the All-Star break, and Ranaudo cruised through five innings before Bryant smacked his 26th home run of the season into the left-field bleachers. The 26 blasts match his 2015 total. Jason Heyward walked with two outs in the seventh to set up Baez's homer to left on a 3-2 pitch. Russell's slam spoiled a save opportunity for Chapman, but the Cubs will take it. "It was kind of surreal, just rounding the bases and trying to remember the pandemonium of the fans," Russell said. "To greet my teammates at home was pretty sweet." Start me up: Hammel scattered five hits over seven innings and struck out seven for the win, his 10th, which matches a career high. He's reached that number five times: 2009, '10, '14, '15 and this season. In three starts since the All-Star break, he has a 2.00 ERA and has struck out 18 over 18 innings. "I was trying to hide in the dugout from Joe so he wouldn't take me out," Hammel said. "I felt I got better as the game went on. As long as we keep the game close, the offense, the potency, we can put up runs pretty quick."

Fulmer struggles: The learning process will be a gradual one for Carson Fulmer, the White Sox top prospect per MLBPipeline.com. Fulmer pitched one-third of an inning, allowing four runs on two hits and one walk, while hitting Bryant. Fulmer has a 17.18 ERA since joining the White Sox bullpen from the Double-A Birmingham rotation. "There's going to be some bumps in the road, but stuff-wise, person-wise, confidence-wise, it's going to get there," said White Sox manager Robin Ventura. "He has the stuff to do it." QUOTABLE "The ball is jumping out of the zone. I just have to stay through the ball a little bit better and get my pitches where I want them. And obviously more reps will fix that. It's a matter of time before it clicks." -- Fulmer, on his struggles "I know what he's got. We didn't talk about signs. I was a little funny on the mound. It was a good time." -- Cubs catcher Miguel Montero, on how he greeted Chapman in the ninth SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Russell's grand slam was the fourth by the Cubs this season. Bryant hit one on April 21 at Cincinnati, Matt Szczur did so on April 29 against the Braves and Baez connected on June 28 at Cincinnati. Russell (22 years, 186 days) is the youngest Cubs player to hit a grand slam since Nelson Mathews (21 years, 57 days) did so on Sept. 16, 1962. REPLAY REVIEW The White Sox challenged a second-inning call that Frazier was picked off first base. Video replay overturned the call and Frazier stayed at first, although the White Sox did not score in the inning. WHAT'S NEXT White Sox: Chris Sale returns to the mound Thursday after serving a five-game suspension handed down to the ace hurler Saturday. Sale's last outing against the Cubs featured 15 strikeouts and one hit allowed over seven innings on Aug. 16, 2015, at U.S. Cellular Field. Cubs: John Lackey will close the intracity Interleague series, making his team-high 21st start. Lackey is 0-4 with a 6.38 ERA in his last six starts after opening the season 7-3 with a 2.78 ERA in his first 14 outings. First pitch will be 7:05 p.m. CT at Wrigley Field. -- Cubs.com Sale returns from suspension to face Cubs By Scott Merkin Chris Sale returns to the mound Thursday night at Wrigley Field, facing a Cubs team he notched 15 strikeouts against over seven innings while allowing one Dexter Fowler single in a victory last Aug. 16. But even with the excitement built in to this crosstown matchup, the focus will be more on Sale than possibly even the game result. Sale returns from a five-game suspension, handed down Saturday after Sale's dispute over wearing 1976 throwback jerseys resulted in insubordination, violation of team rules and destroying team equipment. Sale explained his thought process during an exclusive interview with MLB.com on Monday, with his focus being winning above all else, including jerseys. These past actions aren't as much front and center now as the reaction from his teammates and manager Robin Ventura when he returns. Based on comments made Wednesday at Wrigley Field, there doesn't seem to be much of an issue.

"Open arms. He's our teammate. He's our guy," White Sox right fielder Adam Eaton said. "All of the things that are swelling around about his character, who he is as a player, he's my brother and I enjoy every second with him on and off the field. Can't be a better person. I'll be excited to see him and I'm sure he'll be in the same form he's been the entire year --- go out and perform and be Chris Sale." "Mine's going to be fine," said Ventura of his reaction. "He's going to come in and pitch. Again, I don't see our clubhouse being an issue." Ventura has not spoken to Sale, but will when he arrives at the ballpark on Thursday. He didn't feel that Sale needed to say anything to his teammates, with the group talking among themselves without anything formal. "Listen, I do a lot of things and say a lot of things, [but] I never say something to hurt someone or anything like that," said White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper, who praised Sale as a good kid with a good heart. "But when I do, I feel bad about it, because I know I probably did something and I shouldn't have hurt somebody. So I'm the first one that wants forgiveness. With the conversations we've had with Chris, it's easy for me to forgive and move on." John Lackey makes the start for the Cubs, who won for the first time Wednesday at Wrigley in this four-game matchup. They broke out in the sixth, seventh and eighth, after scoring in just two innings in the previous two games against the White Sox. The Cubs had not held a lead in the three games until the seventh inning Wednesday. Things to know about this game • White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has hit in 29 of his 40 career games played. • The White Sox are 197-158 all time during Interleague Play. • Willson Contreras will catch Lackey on Thursday, taking over for Miguel Montero behind the plate. -- Cubs.com Rondon supports Chapman taking over as closer By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- Manager Joe Maddon talked to Hector Rondon, and the right-hander was just fine with relinquishing his role as the Cubs' closer so Aroldis Chapman could finish games. The Cubs acquired Chapman on Monday from the Yankees for four players, including top prospect Gleyber Torres, and the hard-throwing lefty will now anchor the bullpen. "I think this opens [Rondon] up to just pitching and not trying to throw 97 [mph] on the edge all the time and being concerned if he makes a mistake with his slider," Maddon said Wednesday. "I think this will free him up a little bit. You may see a better level with Ronny. He was all for it and liked the idea." Rondon was 18-for-22 in save situations and had a 1.95 ERA entering Wednesday. Maddon wasn't sure if he'd get Chapman into Wednesday's game. The lefty joined the Cubs on Tuesday and last pitched on Saturday for the Yankees. He was 20-for-21 in save opportunities with a 2.01 ERA in New York. Worth noting • Jason Heyward was on the field Wednesday, doing drills with hitting coach John Mallee, which has become part of his regular pregame routine. The Cubs are hoping Heyward sticks with it, because it's been a tough first season in Chicago.

Entering Wednesday, Heyward was batting .108 since the All-Star break, and overall, had a .315 slugging percentage, last in the Majors among 159 qualified players. "He's probably struggling a little bit," Maddon said. "It's not easy to go through what he's going through right now. ... We're just trying to get the ball in the air more consistently." Heyward has hit the ball hard, but right at defenders quite a bit. His batting average on balls in play is .273. "He'll come out on the other side because he's good and he's working at it, and I like the plan of attack that he and John have going," Maddon said. "You don't always get overnight results. I know people will get less patient than I will or he will. The biggest thing is that Jason doesn't get impatient. You never want him to be the guy to give up on what he's doing. I have a lot of faith in him. I think he's hit some balls really well without any luck lately." • Clayton Richard was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Chapman. Richard was 0-1 with one save and a 6.43 ERA in 25 appearances for the Cubs. "He's just a solid human being and professional," Maddon said. "We'd love to have him back. He never arrived at that level that we saw him at last year." -- ESPNChicago.com Chapman looks like a game-changer in Cubs debut By Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- The cheers in the ninth inning Wednesday at Wrigley Field came with a delay. That’s because after each of new Chicago Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman’s pitches, the sold-out crowd had to wait a split-second before the number appeared on the scoreboard. Then the buzz built. 101 mph 102 mph 103 mph Chapman didn’t make it over 103 in his Cubs debut, but only one of his 13 fastballs thrown to the Chicago White Sox clocked in under 100 mph. He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning and struck out two in a blowout 8-1 win. In the process, he electrified fans and new teammates alike. “It’s a sight to see,” winning pitcher Jason Hammel said after the game. “I’ve never seen anything like it. That’s impressive. It’s jaw-dropping.” Hammel joked that he wasn’t that impressed, considering the fastest Chapman threw Wednesday was a couple miles per hour off his season high. Of course, Chapman had to generate his own adrenaline because he was pitching with a large lead. But the crowd must have helped. The fans were standing for every pitch as Chapman kept firing away. “It was a pretty exciting moment,” Chapman said through catcher Miguel Montero, who interpreted for him. “The crowd pumped me up a little more.” The Cubs' revamped bullpen looked dominant in its first outing with former closer Hector Rondon taking over the eighth inning. He too set the White Sox down in order, looking every bit as good from the right side as Chapman did from the left -- other than those velocity numbers, of course. Those three-digit numbers separate the lefty from the rest of the human species.

“It’s just entertaining to watch the [radar] gun,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s a different kind of a pitcher. You see that every 100 years or so.” Actually, baseball has never seen anything like Chapman, who is throwing harder than ever. His new teammates are already in awe. “I remember when we first met. I told him, ‘You can throw as hard as you want to me. Just don’t hit me,’” second baseman Javier Baez said with a smile. Shortstop Addison Russell said: “It was awesome. Standing behind him throwing is a different story. It’s pretty huge to know if we get in any trouble in the ninth, he can come in and minimize things.” Chapman allows Maddon to pitch some of his better arms in key spots earlier in the game. On Wednesday, Rondon was warming up in the seventh inning, when the score was tied 1-1. That would never have happened a few days ago. Chapman’s presence lengthens the bullpen to a point we haven’t seen with the Cubs in a long time -- if ever. “It’s a huge lift for everyone,” newcomer Joe Nathan said. “We all know we can cover some ground down there. It helps when you can throw that hard. You can get away with a lot of mistakes.” There were no mistakes from Chapman on Wednesday. He threw almost all fastballs, except for a 91 mph slider that struck out Jose Abreu to lead off the inning. That seems almost unfair. Better them than us, the Cubs say. “Sooner or later down the line, we [would] have to face him, so it’s good that we got him,” Russell said. “I don’t have to turn around [to see the radar gun] because there is another one right there [in front], but I’m definitely keeping up with the mph.” Fans won’t be leaving games at Wrigley early any time soon. If they’re on their feet for every pitch in a blowout, what will it be like in a close game? Where will Chapman’s adrenaline go for that? How will the opposition combat a rabid fan base supporting their newest bullpen toy? Chapman has been called a game-changer, and he might very well change everything about the Cubs and their bullpen for the next two months -- or longer. “That’s a confidence-booster for us and a morale kick for anyone out there,” Hammel said. “And for the other side, it’s got to be black clouds.” -- ESPNChicago.com Better late than never, Cubs' offense busts out again By Bradford Doolittle CHICAGO -- For five innings the Chicago Cubs were on track to be an integral part of some history, and not in a good way. Then, as has happened so often this season, the offense exploded just in time. Unsung Chicago White Sox starter Anthony Ranaudo, a breaking ball pitcher who entered the game with 28 career strikeouts to his credit, along with 32 career walks, baffled the Cubs through five no-hit frames, with no ball was particularly well struck. But young as they are, the Cubs don't panic about such things and outlasted the White Sox in what became an 8-1 rout. "Just stay in your approach, wait for your pitch, and stay confident," shortstop Addison Russell said. "We can't help what [pitches] are being thrown, what inning it is. If we don't try to do too much with what the pitcher is giving up, then we'll be OK."

Starter Jason Hammel kept the Cubs even for most of his outing before surrendering his shutout in a most unlikely fashion: Ranaudo homered off Hammel in the top of the fifth. It was the first long ball hit by an American League pitcher this season, and Ranaudo's first hit as a professional. But Hammel wasn't concerned about his offense's lack of output. "It's almost just like, 'wait, it'll happen,'" Hammel said. "We've got enough pop in the bat to score pretty quickly, and a lot, in a hurry. We just have to do a good job on the mound to keep it close, just give them a chance." Still, no pitcher has ever accounted for the only run of his own no-hitter with a home run through five innings. At that point, going back to Tuesday's game, the Cubs had not scored in 14 frames against their crosstown rival. Then Kris Bryant jolted the sold-out crowd into bedlam, as he hammered a Ranaudo curveball for his 26th homer of the season and tied the game. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Bryant is now the 12th player to have more than 25 homers in each of his first two seasons. "That's more reflective of the beginning part of the year," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, "where we've kept games close then got heavy with the runs. But I'll take it, man." The onslaught was just the beginning. In the seventh, Javier Baez chased Ranaudo with a blast over the left-field bleachers and onto Waveland Avenue. It was his third career go-ahead homer in the seventh inning or later, according to ESPN Stats & Info. That also earned Baez his first-ever curtain call at Wrigley. "It was great," Baez said. "I was just living a dream. I hit a go-ahead homer, it was one of my dreams late in the game. And there it is." Baez is a hot hitter, batting .354 with four home runs and 12 RBIs over his last 25 games. His homer played to another theme of the Cubs' late-arriving offense: consistency of approach. "I was just trying to sit on it, trying to wait for one in the zone, and he finally threw it to me," Baez said. Just like that, the Cubs offense had again gone from zero to 100 in the late innings, and the momentum was just picking up. They added five more runs in the eighth, capped by Russell's first career grand slam. In fact, according to Elias, Russell became the youngest Cubs player to hit a grand slam since Nelson Mathews in 1962. And it also earned Russell the curtain-call treatment. "It was kind of surreal, just rounding the bases," Russell said. "I was trying to remember the pandemonium of the fans. And stepping on home plate was awesome, to greet my teammates right there." Ranaudo's budding historic night had turned into a Cubs blowout and turned Aroldis Chapman's Chicago debut into an non-dramatic spectacle of radar gun watching. "All it takes is one," "Russell said. "Whether it's a walk or a bloop base hit. We'll feed off that, especially if the game is coming down to the wire." The Cubs rank second in the majors (behind the St. Louis Cardinals) in runs scored in the seventh inning or later, and that trait has been even more pronounced of late. Over their last seven games, the Cubs have scored 18 runs in the seventh inning or later, and just 12 runs in the first six innings. "I don't know," Maddon said. "We've been like that all year. I don't know if it's a product of youth. We don't take advantage early in the game often enough, then we put this pressure on ourselves to perform in the latter part of the game." Either way, it adds up to a win and now with the bullpen turning into a potential lock-down group, perhaps a late-inning attack will be enough to get the Cubs where they want to go.

"Any way you look at it, I'll take it, man," Maddon said. "I really believe our young hitters, as they gain more experience, you're going to see them [where] we won't let a pitcher up early, which we've been doing a little bit lately." If that happens, that's when the Cubs become truly scary. -- ESPNChicago.com Aroldis Chapman blazing in Cubs debut: 'Adrenaline was pretty good' By Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- Aroldis Chapman again wasn't thrilled at the opportunity to address the media after an electrifying debut as the Cubs' closer Wednesday night. A day after a less-than-engaging session with reporters in his first day with his new team, Chapman initially refused to speak with the media after throwing 12 of 13 fastballs over 100 mph in the ninth inning of a pull-away, 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. At first telling the Cubs' public-relations staff he wasn't talking to the media and declining to speak to reporters at his locker, Chapman changed his mind after taking a shower. "The adrenaline was pretty good even though it wasn't a save situation," Chapman said in Spanish as translated through catcher Miguel Montero. "It was fun to hear the crowd cheer for me." Chapman had a rocky first day with the team as he wasn't engaging with reporters in answering serious questions about his past, including several about his suspension under Major League Baseball's domestic violence policy. On Wednesday, he expounded in an on-the-field, postgame interview with ESPN's Pedro Gomez, which was conducted in Spanish, but then refused to talk before changing his mind with the help of Cubs public relations. "It's over with," Chapman said of the Tuesday news conference. "I have to move on. It happened." Chapman struck out two of three batters in a 1-2-3 inning, including Avisail Garcia looking for the final out. That fastball registered at 103 mph. "I'm not impressed," winning pitcher Jason Hammel joked. "I thought we were getting the guy that was throwing 105. He only hit 103." Chapman began warming up while the Cubs were leading 3-1, but a five-run eighth inning changed the dynamic of the game. Without a save situation at hand, manager Joe Maddon pitched Chapman anyway, because he hadn't thrown since Saturday for the New York Yankees. A sold-out Wrigley Field crowd acknowledged Chapman's jog in from the bullpen, and fans were on the edge of their seats for every pitch. "It's just entertaining to watch the [radar] gun," Maddon said. "He's a different kind of a pitcher. You see that every 100 years or so." The Cubs traded four players for Chapman, who immediately took over the closer's role. Former closer Hector Rondon pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning Wednesday before handing the game over to Chapman. --

ESPNChicago.com Jason Heyward on his struggles: 'What can I do but keep working and stay the course?' By Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward insists he’s doing everything he can to turn his season around, but he continues to claim bad luck has been as responsible for his sagging numbers as much as bad at-bats have been. "Going into the All-Star break, I was feeling good in Pittsburgh," Heyward said Tuesday afternoon. "Had three lineouts. It started going down from there. Then had some more lineouts right after the break. It’s tough. What can I do but keep working and stay the course?" Staying the course has brought Heyward to a .228 batting average after going 1-for-4 on Tuesday night against the White Sox in a 3-0 loss. The Cubs have been slumping at the plate lately, and Heyward is once again right in the middle of it all. He’s hitting .208 in July, and overall his .630 OPS ranks 73rd in the National League and 154th out of 160 qualified players. He’s aware of the numbers, but he's trying to ignore them. "It is what it is," Heyward said. "It’s too late to worry about numbers. That’s not to say I’m not going to try and finish strong. When you do it right and don’t get results, you keep doing it. I feel like I’ve done it but not gotten the results. "If you’re hitting the ball hard and not getting results, what else can you do?" Manager Joe Maddon has called Heyward the "unluckiest" lefthander in the league, but do the numbers bear that out? Maybe a little bit, as this is where the statistics get tricky and the eye test might be worth more. His much-talked-about and well-documented swing path is also at issue here as we take a look at some of Heyward’s numbers, beginning with his line-drive percentage. Hitting the ball hard is every hitter’s goal: According to Inside Edge, Heyward’s 22.9 percent line-drive percentage this season is the highest of his career. Baseball Reference has it even higher, at 27 percent. According to ESPN Stats and Information, Heyward is hitting .563 when he hits a line drive, a career low, and 156th out of 159 qualified hitters. For comparison, last year he hit .686 on line drives, a previous career low. Heyward’s batting average on balls in play is just .273. That ranks 135th in baseball. The league average is .311. Those numbers portray a hitter extremely unlucky, and he has been at times, but they don’t paint the whole picture, beginning with his unique launch angle on balls -- as in his swing doesn’t provide for much launch. So are line drives caught in the outfield, even near the warning track, bad luck considering they might be balls that leave the park with more elevation? What about the hard hit ground balls right into the shift? A decade ago they were hits, now they’re outs. "I don’t want to get into the technical stuff that we’re working on," Heyward said. "If I’m pressing on anything, it’s having what I’m working on off the field show up in the game. Right now, I feel like off the field it’s automatic. "Some games, like that last game in Milwaukee [on Sunday], I’m hitting the ball hard right at people. You’ve seen that ... I’m trying not to think too much about it. Trying to keep it simple and keep working every day." The bigger issue at this point might be what Maddon does with Heyward if his struggles continue. Could he really find himself on the bench during a postseason run? The answer, more than likely, is no. Heyward still brings his gold glove to the outfield, and every day there is that hope things will start to turn for him. That is if they can turn. If a swing overhaul is finally going to happen for him, it has to come in the offseason, not this late in a season. "Naturally, there is more of a spotlight when you don’t come through," Heyward said. "There is more of a spotlight, because you’re one of the highest-paid players in the game. All that stuff is natural. That’s not saying fair or unfair. It is what it is. I can’t control that. If I hit the ball hard three times a game, if it’s a hit it’s a hit. If it’s not

and it’s right at somebody, what am I going to do? Don’t keep working hard? Don’t keep hitting in the cage? I’ll find ways to help the team win." -- CSNChicago.com Javy Baez Blast Brings Cubs Offense Out Of Hibernation In Blowout Over White Sox By Tony Andracki Charles Tillman must be the Cubs' good luck charm. Just a few minutes after the Bears legend sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley Field, Javy Baez sent one almost out onto Waveland Ave. That two-run shot put a charge into a Cubs offense that had been scuffling as Baez and Co. wound up beating the White Sox 8-1 in front of 41,166 fans at Wrigley Field. "Living the dream," Baez said. "It was one of my dreams to [hit a go-ahead homer] late in the game. There it is." White Sox starter Anthony Ranaudo was tossing a no-hitter against the team with the best record in baseball before Kris Bryant parked one into the left-field bleachers with one out in the sixth inning. Baez's blast in the seventh inning turned out to be the game-winner and helped lift this offense out of its funk by tacking on five eighth-inning runs. Cubs starter Jason Hammel admitted that homer helped provide a sense of relief for the Cubs offense. "It's almost like...wait. Just wait. It'll happen," Hammel said. "We got enough pop in the bats to score pretty quickly and a lot in a hurry. So as long as we can do a good job on the mound, just keep it close, just give them a chance." Ben Zobrist had an RBI double in that eighth inning and then Addison Russell delivered the big blow with a grand slam off former Cub Jacob Turner that nearly brought the house down at Wrigley. "It was kinda surreal," Russell said. "Just rounding the bases, trying to remember the pandemonium of the fans and then stepping on home plate was awesome." That late rally ensured Aroldis Chapman did not get his first save in a Cubs uniform, but manager Joe Maddon still employed his shiny new bullpen anyway. Hector Rondon worked a perfect eighth inning and then Chapman came on to toss the ninth with a seven-run lead. The new Cubs closer wowed the Wrigley crowd with fastballs clocked at 102 and 103 mph as he struck out Jose Abreu, got Todd Frazier to ground out and then struck out Avisail Garcia. Ranaudo was the story for the first two-thirds of the game, driving in the only run with an opposite-field homer off Hammel and then keeping the Cubs offense at bay. Ranaudo's first career MLB hit was the only blemish on Hammel's line, as the Cubs veteran right-hander struck out seven in seven innings. "I felt great," Hammel said. "I was trying to hide in the dugout from Joe so he wouldn't take me out. It was nice to let go. I felt like I got better as the game went on." --

CSNChicago.com Cubs: The Aroldis Chapman Show Begins At Wrigley Field By Patrick Mooney Rage Against the Machine’s “Wake Up” blasted from the Wrigley Field sound system at 9:51 p.m. on Wednesday as Aroldis Chapman trotted toward the mound. Nothing would get lost in translation as the Cubs unleashed their new closer on the White Sox. Chapman didn’t feel the full rush of adrenaline, because a revived offense scored five runs in the eighth inning, ending the save situation and any real suspense for the crowd of 41,166. The game within the game became looking up at the 3,990-square-foot LED video board in left field for the velocity reading after each pitch and listening to the oohs and aahs. Chapman made it look easy against the middle of the White Sox lineup, with 13 of his 15 pitches clocked between 100 and 103 mph in the ninth inning of an 8-1 victory. That triple-digit default setting, fluid left-handed delivery and intimidating presence showed why the Cubs made a game-changing trade with the New York Yankees. The first impressions from Tuesday’s press conference apparently bothered Chapman enough that he initially refused to speak to the reporters waiting around his locker after his debut. There had been questions about his 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, the off-the-field expectations from chairman Tom Ricketts and where the wires got crossed with coach/translator Henry Blanco. After taking a shower – and listening to a few associates inside the clubhouse – Chapman agreed to two minutes of questions with catcher Miguel Montero acting as his translator. “It happened,” Chapman said when asked about his portrayal in the Chicago media. “Don’t want to go further with it.” The controversy will begin to fade after Chapman struck out Jose Abreu swinging at a 91-mph slider that almost scraped the dirt, forced Todd Frazier into a routine groundball and struck out pinch-hitter Avisail Garcia looking at a 103-mph fastball. “It’s just entertaining to watch the gun, beyond everything else,” manager Joe Maddon said. “He’s a different kind of a pitcher. You don’t see that every 100 years or so. He’s just that good. Everybody talks about the fastball. How good is the slider? The slider is devastating. “He was very calm in the moment. He was able to get through the last couple days to go out there. It was almost good it wasn’t a save situation just to get his feet on the ground.” Picture the drama and the excitement when Chapman isn’t throwing with a seven-run lead and has to get the final three outs in a playoff game at Wrigley Field. “I’m not impressed – I thought we were getting a guy that threw 105,” winning pitcher Jason Hammel joked. “I’ve never seen anything like it. “It’s jaw-dropping. To see that type of velocity and command, it’s almost unfair to have a slider and offspeed pitches after that, too.” This is what the Cubs envisioned when they decided to weather the media storms and absorb the PR hits, how Maddon could reimagine the entire bullpen and the whole team would sense the game-over feeling when the ball is in Chapman’s left hand. “That’s a confidence-booster for us and it’s a morale kick for anybody out there,” Hammel said. “For the other side, it’s got to be black clouds: ‘Oh man, we can’t let the bullpen get in there.’” --

CSNChicago.com Cubs Felt The Inevitable Sense Of Trading A Big-Time Prospect Like Gleyber Torres By Patrick Mooney The New York Yankees directed blanket coverage of the Cubs in the weeks leading up to the Aroldis Chapman deal, looking closely at prospects throughout their farm system. Three names figured to be prominent if the Yankees decided to sell and the Cubs wanted to make a blockbuster trade: Gleyber Torres, Eloy Jimenez and Ian Happ. The Yankees made Torres their headliner in that four-player return from the Cubs, getting the organization’s top prospect and a supremely talented defensive shortstop out of Venezuela. The Cubs invested $1.7 million in Torres during the summer of 2013, the signing formalized the same day as the Jake Arrieta trade with the Baltimore Orioles. This has been years in the making for Theo Epstein’s front office, building the first-place team that drew 41,116 to Wrigley Field for Wednesday night’s 8-1 crosstown victory over the White Sox, watching Chapman throw 13 pitches in the ninth inning that hit triple digits on the huge video board, understanding that the Cubs had to sacrifice parts of their future for the now. “That’s the right word – inevitable – just because of the timing of when we thought we were going to be good,” said Jason McLeod, the senior vice president of scouting and player development. “We all knew as we were doing this that there was going to come that time when you trade the player that you not only feel is an impact-type prospect, but the organization just loves the person. “Gleyber certainly fits that. That was one of the tougher calls I’ve ever had where we’re trading a guy, just because of how much the kid meant to us personally, and just hearing him, too. “He was – as you would expect (with) a 19-year-old – shaken up and saddened by it, just because in three short years he had dreamt of nothing but being a Cub and playing here at Wrigley. I just told him: ‘You’ll still be wearing pinstripes. They’ll just be a different (color).’” The Cubs didn’t want to trade core guys off their major-league roster and have a middle-infield foundation with Addison Russell, Javier Baez and Ben Zobrist. So they gave up a high-floor player from Class-A Myrtle Beach while holding onto Jimenez and Happ and seeking out more possible deals before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. “All of them would have been hard to swallow,” McLeod said. “But we know that’s part of why we try to stockpile as much talent as we can.” The Cubs can market Happ as another polished college switch-hitter with first-round pedigree, second baseman/outfielder versatility and an early ETA (already at Double-A Tennessee during his first full season of professional baseball). Jimenez – who got a $2.8 million bonus out of the Dominican Republic during the same signing class as Torres – enjoyed a breakout performance during the All-Star Futures Game in San Diego and almost has a .900 OPS at Class-A South Bend. At the age of 19, with a 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame and a smooth right-handed swing, Jimenez reminds the Cubs a little bit of Kris Bryant during his freshman season at the University of San Diego, meaning the sky is the limit. -- CSNChicago.com Trying To Make Sense Of Aroldis Chapman’s Lost-In-Translation Rollout With Cubs By Patrick Mooney

Aroldis Chapman lost the press conference, which won’t matter if the Cubs win the World Series. That’s the calculated decision chairman Tom Ricketts, team president Theo Epstein and their inner circle made in trading for the 105-mph closer from the New York Yankees. But Chapman’s lost-in-translation introduction to the Chicago media (and, by extension, the fans) should force the Cubs – and anyone covering the team – to reassess that system-wide failure. “It’s over with,” Chapman said through a different translator – catcher Miguel Montero – after finishing off the White Sox during Wednesday night’s 8-1 victory at Wrigley Field. “I just got to move on.” This isn’t diminishing the seriousness of the allegations Chapman faced after a domestic dispute in South Florida last October, leading to a 30-game suspension to start this season. Or completely falling for the sleepy/nervous defense presented after Chapman – under repeated questioning – said he had no recollection of the off-the-field expectations Ricketts outlined during that phone call the Cubs absolutely needed before closing the deal with the Yankees. Major League Baseball required all teams to hire a Spanish-language translator this season, and the Cubs deployed quality-assurance coach Henry Blanco, a widely respected former big-league catcher who doesn’t have any real experience handling such a sensitive media session. This wasn’t asking Jorge Soler about a hamstring injury or a game-winning home run. Chapman’s agent, Barry Praver, watched the entire scene unfold in the visiting dugout on Tuesday afternoon before a crosstown game at U.S. Cellular Field. ESPN’s Pedro Gomez – who asked the only question in Spanish during the group scrum – then got a one-on-one interview with Chapman that yielded more insight into the player and the conversation with ownership. “I really don’t know what happened there,” Montero said. “Whether it was miscommunication (or he was) misunderstood, I don’t know. “That’s already over. We got to move in a different direction. Whatever happened yesterday, we just want to be on the positive side and move forward.” Ricketts – who released a statement when the trade became official on Monday afternoon and appeared on the team’s flagship radio station (WSCR-AM 670) on Tuesday morning – declined to comment when approached by reporters on Wednesday during batting practice: “I think we’ve said enough this week.” At a time when newspapers are diminished and the media business is splintering, there simply aren’t enough Spanish speakers within the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Chapman – an All-Star performer who is 28 years old and has been in the big leagues since 2010 – doesn’t speak much English and grew up within a society that most of us will never understand. Even for native speakers and proficient translators, there are linguistics variations in Spanish and wide cultural gaps among those born in Cuba (Chapman and Soler), Venezuela (Blanco and Montero) and the Dominican Republic. There are also fundamental personality differences, with Chapman being described as an observer, quiet and withdrawn during his time with the Cincinnati Reds. While the talkative Montero, 33, didn’t know any English when he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks as a teenager, he picked up enough of the language to become a translator for teammates by the end of his rookie-ball season in Missoula, Montana. “I just kept on practicing, asking questions,” Montero said. “I remember people laughing about my accent or whatever. And I never really cared. That’s what a lot of Latin guys get intimidated by, because they don’t want people to make fun of them. That’s why they get intimidated. That’s why they don’t learn. “That wasn’t my problem. I didn’t care if you laughed. I didn’t care about any of that, because this is not my language, you know? It’s something that I (was) learning and I became fairly good. Good enough.”

That’s why Montero can understand MLB’s directive to hire translators – and still see the limitations. “It’s OK,” Montero said. “But on the other hand, I feel like it’s important for us to learn the language. Not only as a player, but when your career’s over, you’re bilingual. You can actually use it for different areas (of your life) later on. “That was my biggest goal. If I didn’t make it to the big leagues, at least I’m going to be bilingual, and I can do something because it’s productive for any other job.” Chapman has one job between here and October – to win the franchise’s first World Series in more than a century – and that success or failure is how he will ultimately be remembered in Chicago. -- CSNChicago.com Cubs Keeping The Faith With Jason Heyward Despite Season-Long Struggles By Tony Andracki The calendar is about to flip into August and the narrative around high-priced outfielder Jason Heyward is still the same. The Cubs entered play Wednesday night with the best record in baseball despite their $184 million prize of the winter suffering through the worst offensive season of his career. Among qualified MLB players entering Wednesday night, Heyward had the lowest slugging percentage in the game (.315). His OPS (.630) was the seventh-lowest among qualified hitters. Those numbers have gotten significantly worse as Heyward has been mired in a major slump over the last two-plus weeks in which he's gone just 4-for-42 (.095 AVG) with only one extra base hit, zero RBI and a .275 OPS. Before Wednesday's game at Wrigley Field, Heyward was out on the field working with Cubs hitting coach John Mallee. "It's pretty much what they've been working on for a while," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Again, like I've said, this guy's hit into some bad luck. Yeah there's been some ground balls, but he's had a lot of well-struck balls that have been caught. "And with that goes your confidence. But they have a definite plan they're sticking with." Maddon said the Cubs wanted Heyward to get to see the results of his work out on the field of play instead of just watching baseballs jump off his bat into a netting in the cage. One of the main things the Cubs are working on with Heyward is making a conscious effort to get the ball in the air. They're also focused on his mindset through these struggles, trying to keep his spirits up. "He's probably struggling a little bit," Maddon admitted. "It's not easy to go through what he's going through right now. But like I said, I'm certain he's going to come out the other side. "I've seen a lot of good stuff work-wise recently. And I'm telling you, man, the new-fangled defenses have got him on ground balls up the middle a lot. He's been victimized by defense a bit." Maddon has talked a lot this season about Heyward hitting into some tough luck — whether on line drives or just ground balls directly into the opposition's defensive shifts.

But it's not just luck. Heyward's batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is .273, which is 26 points below his career mark (.298), but there are 24 other qualified big-league hitter with lower BABIPs, including White Sox slugger Todd Frazier and his .200 mark entering play Wednesday. Compared to last season — when Heyward hit .293 with a .797 OPS with the St. Louis Cardinals — Heyward's line drive percentage is up slightly and his groundball percentage is down significantly. But his soft-hit percentage is way up and his hard-hit percentage is down quite a bit. All of the fancy stats can make the casual fan's head spin, but the gist is simple: Heyward has not been making enough solid contact. And he has not been making enough solid contact for four months now. Still, Maddon refuses to let any worry show publicly, even as he penciled Heyward seventh in the Cubs' lineup Wednesday, the lowest the 26-year-old has hit all season. "I've been through this before with some really good players," Maddon said. "He'll come out the other side because he's good and he's working at it. I really like the plan of attack him and John have going right now. "I'm very patient. I've done this for a bit. I was a hitting instructor myself. I know what it takes. You don't always get overnight results when you're trying to make some dramatic adjustments and that's exactly what's going on. "I know people are going to get less patient with it than I will or he will. But the biggest thing is that Jason doesn't get impatient. With the actual player himself, you never want him to be the guy to give up on what he's doing. If he doesn't, he's gonna break through. "I have a lot of faith in him." --