HOT CUBS PREP FOR HOTTER TEMPS
Most encouraging part of Cubs’ 5-1 run is starting pitching
The Cubs are finally hot again, and they feel they can keep it up. But this is ridiculous.
The forecast at Wrigley Field when the Cubs play the Padres the next two days is expected to be around 100 degrees with enough clouds and storm activity Saturday to suggest oppressive humidity.
“Last year against Minnesota it was kind of toasty,” manager Joe Maddon said. “What you do is the trainers are just pumping fluids, pumping fluids, pumping fluids. And you’ve got to be a little more patient with guys on the field how they’re moving.”
During the weekend series against the Twins last year (June 29 to July 1), game-time temperatures ranged from 91 to 96 degrees. During the second game of the series, center fielder Albert Almora and three Twins players had to leave for heat-related issues.
“You’ve got to hydrate,” right fielder Jason Heyward said. “We’ve got to be prepared for it. But whoever we play is going to have to do the same thing.”
Assuming they survive the heat this weekend, the Cubs could be in a good spot to put the heat on the rest of the National League Central down the stretch.
After stumbling into the All-Star break with a half-game lead at only four games above .500, the Cubs have surged out of the break with a 5-1 record.
Most encouraging about that is the starting rotation, which spun quality starts in all six games.
That included Kyle Hendricks’ six innings in his third start back from a sore shoulder and Yu Darvish’s first two scoreless starts in two seasons as a Cub to bookend the stretch.
If Cole Hamels returns from an oblique injury in two weeks as expected — and returns to anything close to his June form — the Cubs’ rotation will be back to full strength for the first time since mid-June.
The Cubs also have the encouraging start Tuesday by Alec Mills, who was called up from Class AAA to fill in for Hamels. That could loom large after touted prospect Adbert Alzolay left his minor-league start Wednesday with biceps “soreness.”
“We have a lot of good, talented guys,” Darvish said. “We can do it for sure. It’s good to see.”
It’s the continuation of a trend of second-half play for the Cubs. Their quick start from the break makes them 194-104 (.651) after the AllStar break in four-plus seasons under Maddon, by far the best mark in the majors.
“How many games was it? Six games?” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. “It’s a great start to the second half for us, and we’ve got to keep it up. It’s up to us players to keep it up and keep rolling.”
The Cubs will know a lot more about their ability to keep things rolling during a nine-game road trip that starts Monday in San Francisco and finishes in St. Louis. The Cubs have one of the worst road records in the majors (18-27). The haven’t won a series away from Wrigley in two months.
Until then, the heat is on against the Padres — literally.
“You pay attention, you watch them,” Maddon said of the serious precautions with the extreme heat. “I’ve been around some guys that it went the other way on them. It’s a tough moment.”
The Cubs fared well enough in that “toasty” Twins series last year to earn a sweep.