Maddon praises depth of roster
With Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist back in the lineup, the Cubs were back at full strength and earned a 3- 0 victory Saturday against the Brewers.
Zobrist hadn’t appeared in a game since April 14 because of back stiffness, and Bryant had been out since being hit by a pitch in the helmet last Sunday. But the Cubs went 6- 3 in the nine games that one or both players were out and 4- 1 without Bryant ( including the game in which he was hit).
Manager Joe Maddon credited the depth of the Cubs’ roster for that success.
‘‘ We are doing fine; we just really haven’t gotten it all going yet,’’ he said. ‘‘ It’s really nice to watch. The guys that jumped out there, even [ David] Bote coming up. . . . You always look at the quality of the bench, and our bench is outstanding. So that tells you how good the team is.’’
Albert Almora Jr. started every game while Zobrist was out and hit .333 during that stretch.
The victory gave the Cubs a season- high three- game winning streak and pushed them four games above .500 at 14- 10.
‘‘ We’re playing good baseball because we are catching it, we are pitching it and we’re just scoring enough runs,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘ And that, to me, is the normal formula for 90- plus wins.’’
Russell rests
Slumping Addison Russell got the day off, and Javy Baez took his place at shortstop.
Russell has struggled at the plate through the first month of the season, batting .215 with a .303 on- base percentage and only five extra- base hits.
Maddon said he’s not worried about Russell’s performance at the plate and noted the Cubs have been winning despite his lack of production.
‘‘ Addison is going to start hitting,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘ I know he is. He’s had some good at- bats, line drives to right- center or down the right- field line that have not played out for him. It’s April. He looks good to me.’’
Asked whether Russell’s biggest issues at the plate are the result of his approach or mechanical problems, Maddon said both. But he said it’s only a matter of time before Russell starts producing.
‘‘ I think he’s moving really well, and he’s gotten even better on the bases,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘ He’s throwing as good as I’ve seen him ever. There are a lot of positives with Addison right now.’’
Hitting streaks
Almora and Baez extended their career- high hitting streaks to 11 games with back- to- back hits in the third inning. Almora had a two- out single and scored on a double by Baez for the first run of the game.
Baez skied a fly ball to shallow center that the Brewers’ Lorenzo Cain lost in the sun. Left fielder Christian Yelich couldn’t make it to the ball in time, and shortstop Orlando Arcia got a glove on it before it fell to the ground.
Baez was credited with a double and an RBI when Almora scored from first.
Almora and Baez are the first Cubs teammates with simultaneous hitting streaks of at least 11 games since Aramis Ramirez and Starlin Castro in 2011.