Chicago Cubs decide to part ways with manager Maddon

Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon will not be back with the team next season after it failed to make the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Maddon and Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein announced the move before the team’s season finale at St. Louis. Maddon’s contract expired after Sunday’s game.

While Maddon is out after five seasons, he is tied to Chicago forever after managing the Cubs to the 2016 World Series title for the franchise’s first championship in 108 years.

Maddon compiled a 471-339 record with the Cubs. PIRATES’ HURDLE OUT >> The Pirates fired manager Clint Hurdle following a stunning second-half collapse that dropped Pittsburgh to the bottom of the NL Central and included a series of off-the-field issues. Pittsburgh had a 25-48 mark since the All-Star break. Hurdle went 735-720 in nine seasons with Pittsburgh.

CARDINALS TAKE CENTRAL >> St. Louis clinched the NL Central on the final day of the regular season, using Jack Flaherty’s arm and Matt Carpenter’s bat to win its first division title since 2015 with a 9-0 victory over the Cubs. Flaherty tossed seven solid innings and Carpenter led a three-homer attack with a three-run drive to help St. Louis advance to the NLDS, starting Thursday at Atlanta. COLE EARNS 20TH WIN >> Gerrit Cole earned his career-high 20th win, added to his major leagueleading strikeout total and finished the best ERA in the AL in Houston’s win at Los Angeles. The Astros wound up with the top record in the majors at 10755 and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason. HOMER RECORD >> Major league batters finished with 6,776 home runs, shattering the record of 6,105 set two years ago. Minnesota hit three homers to establish the team record with 307, one more than the Yankees.