Championship banner to finally fly at Wrigley Field
Cubs will celebrate home opener tonight vs. Dodgers.
Kyle Schwarber could envision the atmosphere at Wrigley Field tonight. It will be a home opener unlike any other at the famed ballpark.
The Chicago Cubs will raise a banner as defending champions for the first time since they moved in more than a century ago, then send 2016 NL Cy Young Award runner-up Jon Lester to the mound against the Dodgers.
“Oh, it’ll be crazy,” Schwarber said. “It’s going to be one of the best (openers) in a while.”
It will be another moment generations of fans wondered if they would ever witness. That changed last fall when the Cubs rallied from 3-1 down in the World Series to beat the Indians in a thrilling Game 7. With that, they ended the longest drought in North American sports: The Cubs had not won it all since 1908 — six years before Wrigley opened and eight before they moved in.
The banner raising tonight and ring ceremony two days later are like the final punctuation marks on last season’s historic run.
“We worked hard for that championship, we worked hard during the World Series, we worked hard all of spring training,” shortstop Addison Russell said. “So I believe that we earned it — it’s going to be a great day.”
Fans will see one noticeable change on the field: The bullpens have been moved from the field to under the bleachers and replaced by premium seating along the foul lines.
Yankees: Catcher Gary Sanchez was put on the 10-day disabled list after straining his right biceps on a swing against the Orioles on Saturday.
Rockies: Left-hander Chris Rusin (right oblique strain) was reinstated from the disabled list and pitched two innings Sunday. The team optioned right-hander German Marquez to Triple-A.
Marlins: Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (left oblique strain) was put on the 10-day disabled list and infielder J.T. Riddle was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans.
Padres: Right-hander Trevor Cahill (lower back strain) was placed on the 10-day disabled list and righthander Zach Lee was recalled from Triple-A El Paso.
Blue Jays: Left-hander J.P. Howell (left shoulder) was put on the 10-day disabled list and right-hander Dominic Leone was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.
Nationals: Reliever Matt Albers was promoted from Triple-A Syracuse and righthander Jeremy Guthrie was designated for assignment. Guthrie allowed 10 runs while getting only two outs in the first inning Saturday.
Rays: Both benches emptied in the second inning Sunday when Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki took issue with a slide by outfielder Steven Sousa Jr. into second base on Logan Morrison’s double-play grounder. No punches were thrown. “If he thinks I’m trying to be malicious, he clearly doesn’t know who I am,” Souza said. “It’s unfortunate it turned into something like that because it was just baseball.”
Twins: Minnesota has won its first two series for the first time since 2013. Last season, the Twins didn’t win their fifth game until April 21.
Rangers: Closer Sam Dyson pitched a scoreless ninth Sunday with a sevenrun lead after giving up eight runs in one inning over his first two appearances, both losses.