September 3, 2015

Chicago Tribune, Wild emotional ride for Kris Bryant and Cubs in 7-4 loss to Reds http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-kris-bryant-report-cubs-reds-spt-0903-20150902-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Excuses, excuses, the Cubs and Kris Bryant just have no use for them http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-accept-responsibility-haugh-spt-0903-20150902-column.html

Chicago Tribune, Wednesday's recap: Reds 7, Cubs 4 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-gameday-cubs-reds-spt-0903-20150902-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Reds' Joey Votto makes Cubs pay for not giving him a free pass http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-hector-rondon-bits-cubs-reds-spt-0903-20150902-story.html

Chicago Tribune, Jorge Soler hopes to resume swinging a bat Friday http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jorge-soler-recovering-20150902-story.html

Chicago Sun-Times, Taking the bad with the good with Kris Bryant http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/929235/taking-bad-good-kris-bryant

Chicago Sun-Times, How fast can Cubs' Jorge Soler return from DL? How long can he stay off of it? http://chicago.suntimes.com/baseball/7/71/928933/fast-can-cubs-jorge-soler-return-dl-long-can-stay

Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs lose series to last-place Reds, possibly Kyle Schwarber to injury http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/929662/cubs-lose-series-last-place-reds-possibly-kyle-schwarber-injury

Daily Herald, Maddon says Soler ready to start hitting again http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150902/sports/150909717/

Daily Herald, Off day comes at good time for slumping Cubs http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150902/sports/150909794/

Cubs.com, Bryant's tough error offsets clutch home run http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/146975860/kris-bryants-tough-error-offsets-clutch-homer

Cubs.com, Three homers not enough to lift Cubs in finale http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/146904348

Cubs.com, Schwarber sidelined with right rib soreness http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/146918750

Cubs.com, 'Upbeat' Soler committed to returning in 2015 http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/146918646/jorge-soler-committed-to-returning-this-season

Cubs.com, Lester leads Cubs in opener vs. Godley, D-backs http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20150902146904782?game_pk=415651

ESPNChicago.com, Kyle Schwarber's injury could mean more time for Austin Jackson http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/33893/kyle-schwarbers-injury-could-mean-more-time-for-jackson

ESPNChicago.com, Kris Bryant's emotional swing, Maddon's decision loom large in latest loss http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/33881/kris-bryants-emotional-swing-maddons-decision-looms-large-in-latest-loss

ESPNChicago.com, Rapid Reaction: Reds 7, Cubs 4 http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/33869/rapid-reaction-reds-7-cubs-4-3

ESPNChicago.com, Jorge Soler expects to return to Cubs' lineup this season http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/33865/jorge-soler-hopeful-to-return-to-cubs-lineup

CSNChicago.com, Extreme high and low for Kris Bryant as Cubs can't close out Reds http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/extreme-high-and-low-kris-bryant-cubs-cant-close-out-reds

CSNChicago.com, Cubs: Joe Maddon won’t put ‘injury-prone’ label on Jorge Soler http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/cubs-joe-maddon-won%E2%80%99t-put-%E2%80%98injury-prone%E2%80%99-label-jorge-soler

CSNChicago.com, Cubs awaiting results on Kyle Schwarber’s MRI http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/cubs-awaiting-results-kyle-schwarber%E2%80%99s-mri

-- Tribune Wild emotional ride for Kris Bryant and Cubs in 7-4 loss to Reds By Mark Gonzales Kris Bryant experienced the peaks and valleys of baseball Wednesday in the eighth and ninth innings. But that compressed gamut could pale in comparison to the wide range of possibilities facing the Cubs in the upcoming weeks, especially pending the results of extensive tests on fellow rookie Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber experienced right rib soreness in the batting cages under the left-field bleachers before a wild 7-4 loss to the Reds at hot and breezy Wrigley Field. After the game, the Cubs said they wouldn't know the extent of Schwarber's injury until Friday. The potential loss of Schwarber, who hit a game-winning home run Tuesday night and scored 26 runs and drove in 24 in August, could put stress on an offense in need of producing more runs. Joe Maddon said he had "no idea" of the severity of Schwarber's injury, but if he's lost for an extensive period it would increase the burden on the veterans and force the manager to become even more resourceful with a roster that expanded Tuesday.

"The biggest concern is that (Schwarber) is the third catcher," Maddon said of Schwarber, who has excelled since primarily playing the outfield beginning Aug. 7. "My first thought is you'd like to have that flexibility." Schwarber, who is batting .270 with 13 home runs and 38 RBIs in only 48 games, was scratched from the lineup 30 minutes before the game. Chris Coghlan moved from right field to left field, with newcomer Austin Jackson doing fine in his first major-league start in right. Jackson ripped a double in the seventh, and his single in the ninth helped bring the potential tying run to the plate. "We'll wait and see how it plays out," Maddon said. Bryant, meanwhile, accepted responsibility for not stopping Jay Bruce's hard grounder with two out in the ninth inning of a 4-4 tie. All-Star Joey Votto made the Cubs pay the price when he smacked a 97-mph fastball for a three-run homer off closer Hector Rondon. Bryant's error, his 16th, occurred after his two-run homer off J.J. Hoover in the eighth tied the game. "It's tough," Bryant said. "Obviously, you're on cloud nine when you hit a game-tying home run, and then you blow it the next inning. Sometimes baseball works that way. It's a crazy game. It gives you everything and it takes everything away. "(But) there are a lot of positives from the game, personally and for the team. So there's nothing to hang my head about. I wish I blocked the ball or put a body part on it. I was unable to do that.'' After Thursday, the Cubs have only two remaining days off. But Bryant, who has 22 home runs and 84 RBIs, is eager to make amends for his error. "We signed up for this," Bryant said. "I love playing this game. I was thinking to myself today I don't know how good the off day will be. I just want to keep playing. It has been so much fun, and we're playing well. I don't want to stop playing, but I think we all need (the rest).'' -- Tribune Excuses, excuses, the Cubs and Kris Bryant just have no use for them David Haugh Every time somebody served up an excuse Wednesday for Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, he resisted like a disciplined batter laying off a borderline pitch. The ball came off the bat of Reds outfielder Jay Bruce like a laser, a reporter rationalized for Bryant. And manager Joe Maddon offered the alibi that it can be harder for third basemen to handle liners off the bats of left-handed hitters. The only guy who sounded unforgiving about the ninth-inning error preceding Joey Votto's go-ahead, three-run homer was the person who made it. "No excuses,'' Bryant said. Without Bryant's two-run homer in the eighth, Votto never would have had a 4-4 tie to break. But the leading contender for National League rookie of the year dwelled more on being responsible for the long ball off his opponent's bat. "All of them told me it was a tough play, but I figured at least I could put a chest on it or something,'' Bryant said in the interview room after the 7-4 loss to the Reds.

Down in the clubhouse, closer Hector Rondon tried easing the burden Bryant carried out of the ballpark by stressing his role in the Cubs' defeat. Rondon thought he could sneak a third straight fastball past Votto, a decision he regretted by the time it landed in the left-field bleachers. "I feel like I let my teammates down,'' Rondon said after a rare clunker. Winning teams accept blame; losers assign it. Nobody likes dealing with a ninth-inning loss at home, but this is the way mature teams do it: up front, honest and accountable. The Cubs are growing up quite well, thank you. They welcomed baseball's most meaningful month by losing two out of three to a Reds team 22 games below .500. Losing six of their last eight makes it easy to suggest the Cubs have begun to wilt under the weight of expectations. But nobody who has been around Maddon's loose team buys it, most importantly the Cubs themselves. They worry about the extent of Kyle Schwarber's rib injury more than silly jinxes. They don't look or sound like a team worried about wild-card standings. They don't believe in magic as much as Maddon, and consider this late-season skid more inevitable than ominous. How bad can it be when the Cubs left the park knowing, at worst, they clung to a 51/2 game lead over the Giants for the second wild-card spot? "Sometimes baseball works that way,'' reasoned Bryant, a sage at 23. On a youthful team for which rookies have driven in a league-high 28 game-winning runs, according to Elias, pressure isn't necessarily a pennant race in front of a fan base obsessed with curses. More likely, pressure for these college-aged players is getting laundry done before the next trip. The youngsters don't know what they don't know and the Cubs hope that blissful ignorance can only help them. Addison Russell was nine when Steve Bartman interfered with a foul ball in 2003. The others still consider a goat the guy blamed for losing a game and not Billy Sianis' pet. Nobody who works at Clark and Addison totally can ignore the idiosyncrasies that make Cubdom unique, but these rookies hardly seem like a group fazed by the franchise's tradition of futility. The trick for the Cubs the next four weeks will be striking a balance between respecting history and ignoring it. Four years ago Thursday, the Red Sox woke up with a nine-game lead over the Rays in the American League wild-card race. Nobody knows better than Cubs President Theo Epstein and Maddon what happened next. Epstein, then the Red Sox president, watched helplessly as his team lost 18 of its final 24 games, a stretch that made 2011 to the Red Sox what 1969 is to the Cubs. On the final day of that season, fittingly, the Red Sox blew a ninth-inning lead while the Rays, managed by Maddon, rallied to beat the Yankees and clinch the wild-card spot. Boston's loss was Chicago's gain; the Red Sox immediate upheaval included Epstein, who serendipitously fell into the Cubs' lap. Everything Epstein has done since then has been justified by this magical season that stamped the Cubs a year ahead of schedule. Everything he says has purpose, such as when the executive with two World Series rings showed up Tuesday to discuss a topic he knows well from being on both sides of the equation. "There is a momentum at play in September that's powerful,'' Epstein said. Nobody will be surprised if these young, resilient Cubs regain some after Thursday's much-needed day off. "It certainly will be nice to relax a little bit, but we signed up for this,'' Bryant said. "I love playing this game. I was thinking to myself today I don't know how good the off day is going to be. I just want to keep playing.'' Struggling early in September, the only thing this Cubs team fears is rest. --

Tribune Wednesday's recap: Reds 7, Cubs 4 By Mark Gonzales Rookie Kris Bryant hit a two-run, game-tying home run in the eighth inning but committed a fielding error with two out in the ninth that led to Joey Votto's three-run homer in the Reds' 7-4 victory Wednesday at Wrigley Field. The Cubs have lost six of their last eight games. Power punch The Cubs, playing without rookie sensation Kyle Schwarber because of right rib soreness, had enough power as Tommy La Stella and Anthony Rizzo also homered in the third and fourth innings off Reds starter Rasiel Iglesias. Hammel humbled Jason Hammel, pitching on his 33rd birthday, was upset he struggled again in the first inning when he gave up a leadoff home run to Jason Bourgeois and failed to pitch six innings for his 10th consecutive start. He was charged with four runs on seven hits. In the field Bryant's error occurred two batters after La Stella made a diving stop at second base to retire pinch-hitter Tucker Barnhart to start the ninth off closer Hector Rondon. Key number 7 — Cubs players who have started in right field. The quote "I didn't do my job." Hammel Up next Vs. Diamondbacks Friday, 1:20 p.m., CSN. -- Tribune Reds' Joey Votto makes Cubs pay for not giving him a free pass By Mark Gonzales The Cubs passed on a chance to walk Joey Votto intentionally with two outs and third base open as they had Monday night, and the Reds' All-Star first baseman made them pay the price. Votto whacked a 2-0 fastball off closer Hector Rondon into the center field bleachers in the ninth inning Wednesday to hand the Cubs a 7-4 loss. Manager Joe Maddon carefully explained that he felt better about the Cubs' chances with Rondon on the mound, as opposed to Monday when he instructed Kyle Hendricks to give Votto a pass to get to Brandon Phillips. That didn't work either as Phillips singled in two runs in the fifth inning to snap a 1-1 tie. "We didn't throw it where we wanted to, and it's a three-run homer," Maddon said of Rondon's third consecutive fastball that was clocked at 97 mph.

The home run was the first Rondon has allowed since May 22 at Arizona, ending his streak of not allowing one in 40 innings. "I didn't want to pitch around that guy (Votto)," Rondon said. On the ropes: Despite getting pulled earlier than expected in two starts last month, Jason Hammel insists he's not looking over his shoulder. Instead, Hammel took the blame for his rough starts, which continued Wednesday when Jason Bourgeois hit his second pitch for a home run. "The real thing I want to get out of is the first inning," said Hammel, who has a 4.85 ERA in the first inning. "I have to set a better tone at the beginning of the game." Hammel's ERA has swelled from 2.82 to 3.55 over his last eight starts. Extra innings: Right fielder Jorge Soler, sidelined since Aug. 24 because of a left oblique strain, will resume swinging a bat Friday. Soler believes he can return before the end of the season. Soler said he initially suffered his injury on a throw on Aug. 22, and then the discomfort became more acute the next day. … Kris Bryant leads the Cubs with 84 RBIs. No Cubs rookie has led the team in RBIs in a season since Ray Grimes (79 in 1921), according to historian Ed Hartig. -- Tribune Jorge Soler hopes to resume swinging a bat Friday By Mark Gonzales Chicago Cubs rookie right fielder Jorge Soler believes his left oblique strain won't cost him the remainder of the regular season. To prove his point, Soler hopes to resume swinging a bat Friday. "I believe I can be back before the season ends," Soler said. Soler was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 24. But he revealed that he initially hurt his side on a throw on Aug. 22, and the pain increased the following day. "I’m really disappointed with myself," Soler said. "This is the second time I’ve been on the disabled list, and it’s really late." Soler's development has been tempered by numerous leg injuries. His 90 games are the most he's played in his professional career, yet he missed nearly five weeks because of an ankle injury. "I feel much better," Soler said. -- Sun-Times Taking the bad with the good with Kris Bryant RICK MORRISSEY No sooner had Cubs’ TV play-by-play announcer Len Kasper said, “Kris Bryant has hit some dramatic home runs,” than Bryant hit a dramatic home run Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The two-run dinger in the eighth inning tied the game 4-4.

Now, I’d really believe in Kasper’s ability to see the future if he had gone on to foreshadow Bryant’s error with two out in the ninth. The rookie’s inability to handle Jay Bruce’s hard grounder gave the Reds new life. Up to the plate came Joey Votto, into the left-field bleachers flew the baseball and down went the Cubs 7-4. With Bryant, you take the bad with the good, figuring you’ll come out ahead in the long run. But this one stung for the Cubs, who have lost six of their last nine games. For playoff contenders, growing pains hurt a lot more in September. -- Sun-Times How fast can Cubs' Jorge Soler return from DL? How long can he stay off of it? BY GORDON WITTENMYER Rookie right fielder Jorge Soler’s history of lower-body injuries in the minors was a focus of his spring training preparation and handle-with-care instruction tag heading into April. Two trips to the disabled list later, Soler is working and hoping to return from an oblique strain before the end of the most relevant Cubs season since teammates Addison Russell and Javy Baez were in middle school. Beyond that, establishing his place in the Cubs’ powerful young core might be more about proving he can stay on the field than proving he belongs in the majors (.271, 12 homers, 114 career games). “I’m not ready to label him as accident-prone or injury-prone or whatever,” manager Joe Maddon said. “I’ll let it just play out. Let’s see how it goes. And as he gains more major league [experience], playing a 162-game schedule, he might be able to stay healthier as he gets older.” After missing more than a month because of a sprained ankle, Soler is out this time because of an oblique he injured making a pair of throws in back-to-back games Aug. 22-23. He has played 90 games – four more than last year’s career high. He’s eligible to come off the DL Tuesday in St. Louis but won’t start swinging a bat again until Friday at the earliest. Neither he nor Maddon were able to suggest a timeline, but Soler seemed optimist this was not a season-ending injury. “I want to be back before the season ends,” he said in Spanish with the help of coach Franklin Font translating. “I believe I can be back before the season ends.” Soler’s latest injury was one of the factors in the Cubs’ pursuit of outfielder Austin Jackson, acquired Monday, the final day to be eligible for the postseason roster. “Losing Jorge at this moment was not very good,” Maddon said, “but I think we’ve done a nice job of trying to fix it up a little bit. And I’m really excited about Austin and what he can do here.” Soler was becoming a factor in the Cubs’ lineup at the time of the latest injury, hitting .284 in August with two of his seven homers, including one in the game he says he first felt the oblique discomfort on a throw to second. The Cubs hope he can return in time to be a factor in the fall. After that, they’ll look for a first professional injury-free season from the 6-foot-5 slugger. “It happens,” Maddon said of the ankle and oblique this time around. “But a lot of times my experience has been guys that maybe, as they’re younger, fall into this trap, as they gain more experience it kind of goes away.” --

Sun-Times Cubs lose series to last-place Reds, possibly Kyle Schwarber to injury GORDON WITTENMYER So what if the Cubs lost a third consecutive series? Even with Wednesday’s 7-4 late-inning loss to the last-place Reds, the Cubs still had a fat lead for a wild-card berth with 30 games to play. But what if the Cubs lost Kyle Schwarber when the rookie slugger injured a rib-cage muscle swinging in the batting cage before Wednesday’s game? Considering his influence on a resurgent lineup since his recall at the All-Star break and the recent state of the Cubs’ pitching staff (beyond Jake Arrieta), no lead would look especially fat. “There’s a lot of guys on this team, especially with September and calling up some people,” rookie teammate Kris Bryant said. “But Kyle’s certainly been a very crucial part of our success.” Less than 24 hours after hitting a game-winning homer in the seventh Tuesday, Schwarber was scratched from the lineup, sent for an MRI, and after the game manager Joe Maddon said he didn’t expect an update on Schwarber until Friday. “My biggest concern would be that he’s the third catcher,” said Maddon, referring to his September depth. Schwarber also is one of the two most imposing left-handed hitters in the Cubs lineup (with Anthony Rizzo) and a key to lengthening the middle of the order. The Cubs are averaging a run more per game since he was called up from the minors July 17. The fact that Austin [Jackson] did as well as he did [Wednesday] kind of aids that a little bit if in fact he’s not able to go for a couple, three days or whatever,” Maddon said. “We’ll just have wait and see how it plays out.” Schwarber’s hitting .270 with 13 homers, 38 RBIs and a .917 OPS in 48 big-league games. Jackson, who doubled and singled after replacing Schwarber, was the most significant of the Cubs’ August acquisitions, picked up in a trade from Seattle at Monday’s deadline for playoff roster eligibility. Beyond that, the Cubs have bodies to mix and match, and they have the starting-pitching tandem of $155 million Jon Lester and Cy Young candidate Arrieta – who make the first two starts of the weekend series against Arizona. On Wednesday against Reds rookie Raisel Iglesias – much better against right-handers in 14 starts – the Cubs’ only scoring for seven innings came on solo home runs by lefties Tommy La Stella and Rizzo. Bryant, who’s carried his torrid August into the first two days of September, tied the game with a two-out, two-run homer against reliever J.J. Hoover in the eighth. But after closer Hector Rondon got two quick outs in the top of the ninth of a tie game, Jason Bourgeois beat out an infield tapper, and Jay Bruce hit a sharp grounder that went through Bryant’s legs for an error. Three fastballs later, Joey Votto drove the game-winner out to left-center. “It’s tough,” said Bryant, who’s on pace for 110 RBIs. “Obviously, you’re on cloud nine when you hit a game-tyig home run, and then you blow it the next inning. But sometimes baseball works that way. It’s a crazy game. It gives you everything, and then it takes everything away.” Maddon supported the rookie to the point of describing how tough the angle off Bruce’s lefty swing makes that play.

“That’s not an excuse for letting it go through me,” Bryant said. “I’ve made that play plenty of times in my career. So I look forward to the next one like that.” Veteran starter Jason Hammel, who’s looking for the high performance (2.86 ERA) that made him look like an All-Star before a July 8 leg injury, was pulled from the start after allowing back-to-back singles leading off the sixth. It’s the third straight game Maddon needed four innings from his bullpen – the seventh time in nine games the rotation failed to get a quality start (Arrieta has the two). It’s coincided with a stretch of six losses in eight games. “I’m obviously very frustrated with the way things are going,” said Hammel, who was asked whether he felt he had to “reprove” himself. “But I’m not looking to try to prove myself at all, ever. I could care less about proving myself. I know what I can do.” -- Daily Herald Maddon says Soler ready to start hitting again Bruce Miles Chicago Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler said he would begin taking swings with the bat Friday as he recovers from a left-oblique strain. Soler has been on the disabled list since Aug. 24, and it was believed he could miss up to one month. "I still believe I can be back before the season ends," Soler said Wednesday through translator Franklin Font, one of the Cubs' coaches. Soler was on the DL for a month from early June to early July with an ankle injury. "He's about ready to start hitting a little bit," said manager Joe Maddon. "I saw him in there doing some rotational exercises. I talked to him on the bench yesterday. He was very upbeat. I don't know exactly timetable on this yet but he's doing better." The Cubs do have some options. They were going to use Chris Coghlan in right field Wednesday, but they moved him to left after Kyle Schwarber went for an MRI to determine the extent of a rib injury. Newly acquired Austin Jackson got the start in right. So that takes some of the sting out of Soler being out. "It's a mitigating factor," Maddon said. "Austin is a good baseball player. And he's having a good year. He's really been hot. Furthermore, he's been there, done that in this time of the year, and that really helps us. I thought it was an outstanding move on the part of our guys to get him here under the circumstances. "Losing Jorge at this moment was not very good, but I think we've done a nice job of trying to fix it up a little bit. So I'm really excited about Austin and what he can do here." Jackson went 2-for-4 with a double in Wednesday's 7-4 loss to the Reds. He also looked good in the field. Can't win vs. Votto: In Monday's series opener, the Cubs intentionally walked Reds star Joey Votto with first base occupied and two outs in the fifth inning. Brandon Phillips followed with a 2-run single against Kyle Hendricks. Wednesday, the Cubs pitched to Votto with men on first and second and two outs in the ninth. Votto crushed a 3-run homer to left-center against Cubs closer Hector Rondon.

"We had the choice of doing what we did the other day," said Joe Maddon. "But it was a different pitcher, and I felt good about Ronnie right there. There are different things you can do. Obviously, we probably should have zigged when we zagged. The third fastball in a row finally got him. Votto is good. "That's just execution. You throw the pitch where you want to, and obviously it's a good pitch. We didn't throw where we wanted to, and then it's a 3-run homer." -- Daily Herald Off day comes at good time for slumping Cubs Bruce Miles If ever a team could use a day off, it's the Cubs. They've just gone through some pretty high highs and some low lows. Wednesday's 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds capped a stretch that saw them lose two of three each to the Giants and Dodgers on the West Coast, a trip that concluded with a no-hitter by their own pitcher Jake Arrieta. They came home and promptly lost two of three to the last-place Reds. Things were all over the place Wednesday. Before the game even started, the Cubs had to scratch rookie slugger Kyle Schwarber because of right-rib soreness. Schwarber went for an MRI, and the extent of his injury wasn't known. Speaking of rookies, third baseman Kris Bryant hit a game-tying 2-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game at 4-4. But in the ninth, a two-out error by Bryant on Jay Bruce's hard-hit grounder set the stage for a 3-run homer by Joey Votto off Cubs closer Hector Rondon. So how about that day off, Kris? "It certainly will be nice to chill out a little bit, take a breather, and get right back it," said Bryant, who has 22 homers and a team-leading 84 RBI. "But we signed up for this. I love playing this game. I was thinking that to myself today. I don't know how good the off-day is going to be tomorrow. I kind of want to keep playing. It's been so much fun. "We've been playing good. It's kind of like you don't really want to stop playing, but I'm sure we all need it." Despite losing six of their last eight games, the Cubs are 75-57, and they still have a good grip on the second wild-card spot in the National League. Schwarber has helped them tighten that grip, with his 13 home runs and 38 RBI in just 48 games. "From what I understand, just in the cage, the batting tunnel this morning, he felt something in his side," said manager Joe Maddon. "Immediately, we just shut it down and got him out of there." The Cubs are hoping that with the off-day, Schwarber can get some rest and come back OK for Friday's series opener against the Diamondbacks at Wrigley. If Schwarber has suffered any kind of serious oblique injury, he could be out several weeks, much like right fielder Jorge Soler. The pitching situation continues to be cause for concern, too. Starting pitcher Jason Hammel, who has had only 1 quality start since the all-star break, lasted only 5 innings Wednesday, as he gave up 7 hits and 4 runs.

"Mistakes have cost me lately," said Hammel, who gave up a leadoff homer to Jason Bourgeois in the first inning. "The real thing I want to get out of is the first inning and set a better tone at the beginning of the game. Obviously, it's a Wrigley home run there, but pitch up in the zone, and he handled it. It's a run. It doesn't matter how they put them up. Obviously very frustrated with the way things have been going. "I'm not looking at trying to prove myself at all, ever. I could care less about proving myself. I know what I can do." Maddon spun the whole day positively, as he has done all season. "I just love the way we fought back once again," he said. "We came back. KB gets the big homer. We kept fighting through it. It was a tough day. Their pitcher pitched really well, (Raisel) Iglesias. It's one of those days. We caught up. We felt good about it. Two quick outs in the ninth, and then it fell apart." -- Cubs.com Bryant's tough error offsets clutch home run Hard-hit ball gets by rookie in ninth after game-tying homer in eighth By Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- Kris Bryant was ready when J.J. Hoover threw a curveball on the first pitch to him in the eighth inning Wednesday, connecting on his 22nd home run. And the Cubs rookie third baseman also was ready when the Reds' Jay Bruce rifled a ball at him with two outs and one on in the ninth, but the end result wasn't as good. Bryant's homer tied the game, but he was charged with an error on Bruce's grounder, setting up Joey Votto's three-run go-ahead homer in the ninth in the Cubs' 7-4 loss to the Reds. "That was tough," Bryant said. "Obviously, you're on cloud nine when you hit a game-tying homer and then you blow it the next inning. Sometimes baseball works that way. It's a crazy game. "There's nothing to hang my head about. I wished I'd blocked the ball or just tried to put a body part on it, but I wasn't able to do that." Cubs manager Joe Maddon wasn't blaming Bryant at all. "Bruce hit that ball really well," Maddon said. "That's a tough error for [Bryant]. The pitch to Votto is not the one you want to throw, but [Hector Rondon] did and he hit it." Bryant said his teammates tried to pick him up after the miscue. "All of them told me it was a tough play," Bryant said. "He hit it hard. There's no excuses for that. I have to keep the ball in front." Bryant did make a stellar play on Jason Bourgeois' grounder in the fifth, and he has handled the corner well. "If you're on the opposite corner of an infield playing third,and a lefty hits a bullet like that at you -- it's not like he's not ready," Maddon said. "He's ready. That ball was just on him so quickly and that's why it got through. I've no issues. He actually played a really good game at third base. He's swinging the bat great. There's nothing to point fingers at. He's been playing really well." Bryant has been exceptional. He leads the Cubs and all Major League rookies with 84 RBIs. No rookie has led the Cubs in RBIs in a single season since Ray Grimes drove in 79 in 1921. Fifteen of Bryant's homers have either tied the game or given the Cubs the lead.

Bryant has made some adjustments with hitting coach John Mallee that allows him to stay in the zone longer, and it's paying off. He's also been clutch. Bryant is now batting .333 with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs with two outs in an inning. "Right now, his at-bats are as good as they've been all year," Maddon said of Bryant, who is a leading candidate for National League Rookie of the Year. "I just like his approach -- whole field, two strikes, laying off, not expanding. ... I just think his whole approach has been outstanding over the last three, four weeks." -- Cubs.com Three homers not enough to lift Cubs in finale By Carrie Muskat and Mark Sheldon CHICAGO -- Joey Votto crushed a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth to power the Reds to a 7-4 victory over the Cubs on Wednesday at Wrigley Field. Chicago had tied the game in the bottom of the eighth on Kris Bryant's two-run home run, but Bryant's error helped keep Cincinnati's ninth alive. Votto connected off Hector Rondon after Jason Bourgeois reached on an infield single and Jay Bruce was safe on a ball that went through Bryant's legs. With the win, the Reds won their first series since July 27-29 against the Cardinals. "It was quality pitch that I could send the right direction, and we got three runs from it," Votto said of Rondon's 2-0 fastball. The Cubs had intentionally walked Votto in the fifth inning Monday, but Cubs manager Joe Maddon liked the matchup against Rondon. "Obviously, we probably should've zigged when we zagged," Maddon said. "The third fastball in a row got him. Votto is good. That's just execution. It was obviously a good pitch. [Rondon] didn't throw it where he wanted." Reds rookie Raisel Iglesias was in line for the win after striking out 10 over seven innings and hitting an RBI triple. Iglesias reached double-digit strikeouts for the third straight game, a Cincinnati rookie record, and he has fanned 33 in his past three starts. Bourgeois got the Reds started with his first leadoff home run, hitting the second pitch from Jason Hammel into the left-field bleachers. The Cubs totaled three hits off Iglesias, including solo homers by Tommy La Stella in the third and Anthony Rizzo in the fourth. Bryant then tied the game at 4 with a two-run blast with two outs in the eighth off J.J. Hoover, his 22nd home run of the season. Bryant now leads the team and all Major League rookies with 84 RBIs. "Obviously, you're on cloud nine when you hit a game-tying homer and then you blow it the next inning [with the error]," Bryant said. "Sometimes baseball works that way. It's a crazy game. … There's nothing to hang my head about. I wished I'd blocked the ball or just tried to put a body part on it, but I wasn't able to do that." More > MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Votto comes up clutch: Votto's home run was his 27th of the season, and his sixth-inning single extended his streak of reaching safely to 22 games while batting .403 (27-of-67) in that stretch. The Reds' first baseman leads the Majors in batting, on-base percentage and slugging since the All-Star break. It was also the second time on the road trip that a Votto ninth-inning homer netted a win. He provided the winning homer in Saturday's 12-9 victory at Milwaukee, too. "He certainly knows how to hit in the ninth inning when we need a homer," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "[Rondon] gets to Joey, 2-0, and he takes advantage of it. He doesn't try to do too much in those situations. He smoked that ball. It was great."

Start me up: The Cubs haven't gotten much depth from their starters recently, and Wednesday was another example. Hammel, who was celebrating his 33rd birthday, was pulled after giving up four runs over five-plus innings. Jake Arrieta's no-hitter on Sunday is the only quality start for the Cubs over the past eight games. Hammel now has a 5.63 ERA in his past eight starts, and he has not gone at least six innings in nine of his past 10 outings. "The real thing I want to get out of is the first inning," Hammel said. "I have to set a better tone to the game. Obviously, [Bourgeois' homer] was a Wrigley home run there. It was a pitch up in the zone and he handled it and it was a run -- it doesn't matter how it's put up." First Ribbie: It was a 2-2 game in the fifth when Eugenio Suarez led off with a double against Hammel. Two batters later, Iglesias lined a ball to the wall in right-center field well over Austin Jackson and Dexter Fowler. Iglesias not only legged out the first triple of his career, but also notched his first big league RBI for the go-ahead run. "Bryan told me if the batter in front of me got on, I was going to bunt," Iglesias said via translator Tomas Vera. "He didn't. [Hammel] threw a good pitch. When I hit it, I felt really happy." Match game: With the additions of La Stella and Javier Baez, manager Joe Maddon said he'll go on the best matchup as far as who starts at second base. Against lefties, it could be Starlin Castro. La Stella made the most of his start and hit his first home run and second of his career in the third after Iglesias had retired eight in a row. La Stella's only other big league homer came on Aug. 8, 2014, with the Braves. QUOTABLE "It was a fair statement by him. His job is to comment on baseball. It doesn't bother me what you guys write or say. It's my responsibility to play, and then you guys comment on it. It doesn't matter what he said. I was an All-Star. The elite players go to the All-Star Game. I wasn't playing up to what I viewed as my level of play. He just made a comment on it. Big deal." -- Votto, when asked about when broadcaster Marty Brennaman said before the All-Star break that he was no longer an elite player "I was thinking about that driving in today. Everything smelled, felt, tasted exactly the same. It's about baseball being played at this time of the year. When you get this many folks at a ballpark on a nightly basis, you feel the vibe. It's there on a nightly basis at Wrigley Field. That's really cool. … You win a no-hitter in Dodger Stadium, come back, get to bed at 6 o'clock, don't play that well, and then come back and win a really tight game last night. It's playoff stuff. I know I feel it, and I think a lot of the guys are starting to feel it too." -- Maddon, when asked to compare being in the postseason race in Tampa Bay compared to Chicago SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Iglesias is the first Major League rookie pitcher to record double-digit strikeouts in three consecutive games since 1995. That season, Hideo Nomo of the Dodgers had four straight games of 10 strikeouts or more. INJURY UPDATE Cubs rookie Kyle Schwarber, who hit his 13th homer of the season on Tuesday night, was scratched from the lineup because of soreness in his right side, which he felt in the batting cage prior to Wednesday's game. He was taken for a precautionary MRI. The Cubs did not expect test results until Friday. More > WHAT'S NEXT Reds: Following a day off on Thursday, the Reds will begin a homestand Friday at 7:10 p.m. ET with a three-game series opener vs. the Brewers. Keyvius Sampson has been hit hard in his last four starts while posting a 9.00 ERA -- including six runs and seven hits over 3 2/3 innings vs. Milwaukee on Saturday -- and he will pitch again for Cincinnati.

Cubs: After an off-day Thursday, the Cubs will play host to the D-backs at Wrigley Field. Jon Lester gets the start in the series opener on Friday. In his last outing against the Dodgers, he gave up five runs over six-plus innings. First pitch is scheduled for 1:20 p.m. CT. -- Cubs.com Schwarber sidelined with right rib soreness Jackson makes first career start in right field; Rondon hits 100 mph Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- Rookie Kyle Schwarber was scratched from Wednesday's lineup with right rib soreness, which he felt while hitting in the batting cage prior to the game. He was to undergo an MRI as a precaution. On Tuesday, Schwarber hit his 12th home run since being called up on July 17, which is second in the National League since the All-Star break. He was batting .255 since the break, with five doubles and 32 RBIs. The Cubs have an off-day Thursday, and they hope Schwarber will be able to play Friday. With Schwarber sidelined, outfielder Austin Jackson, acquired Monday from the Mariners, made his first start for Chicago and his first career start in right field. • Hector Rondon said he does peek at the scoreboard radar guns to see how hard he is throwing. But it wasn't until Tuesday night that the Cubs reliever's fastball registered at 100 mph. Rondon was facing the Reds' Eugenio Suarez with two outs in the ninth and a 5-4 lead. His first pitch was an 88-mph slider, then he fired a 100-mph fastball for a called strike. Suarez struck out swinging on an 88-mph slider. "I was really happy with that," Rondon said Wednesday of hitting the century mark. "It was the first time. I wanted to throw another [fastball], but [catcher Miguel Montero] called for a slider." When Rondon has pitched in Venezuela in winter ball, he's been told his fastball has hit 100 mph, but he never saw the actual number on a scoreboard. "I lost almost every pitch," Rondon said. It was just a matter of time. "[Bullpen catcher Chad] Noble, he always tells me, 'Hey, you're throwing 100 tonight,'" Rondon said. "As soon as I saw it, I looked to the bullpen. He saw me." • On Wednesday, Tommy La Stella started at second base. On Tuesday, it was Javier Baez. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he'll determine who starts based on matchups. "There's different things to consider now, because we went deep fast," Maddon said of the callups. "Even if guys don't start, there's a pretty good chance they'll be involved." • The Cubs did not take batting practice Wednesday, which is fairly normal for a day game after a night game. But Maddon isn't a big proponent of batting practice, calling it "overrated." "You can get the same things done for me in the cage," Maddon said. "To go out there every day and try to hit home runs, I think it's counterproductive." What about fans who like to watch BP? "What you could do sometimes is have your starting pitchers go out and hit," Maddon said.

• Double-A Tennessee catcher Willson Contreras was named to the Southern League postseason All-Star team. Contreras, 23, was batting .326 with eight home runs, 32 doubles, four triples and 72 RBIs. He will play for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. -- Cubs.com 'Upbeat' Soler committed to returning in 2015 Rookie right fielder could start swinging a bat again on Friday Carrie Muskat CHICAGO -- If all goes well, Jorge Soler could resume swinging a bat on Friday in hopes of returning to action before the Cubs' season ends. The rookie outfielder went on the disabled list Aug. 24 with a left oblique strain, which he actually injured two days earlier. Soler said he felt something on his left side on Aug. 22, when he made a throw to second base in the sixth after the Braves' Andrelton Simmons had singled to right. But the pain wasn't enough for Soler to come out of the game. Soler started in right on Aug. 23, and he was pulled from the game after he made a throw home on Nick Swisher's RBI single. "I'm real disappointed," Soler said Wednesday, through coach Franklin Font. "It's the second time I've been on the disabled list. I believe I can be back." Soler also was on the DL from June 3-July 5 with a sprained left ankle, and he has played in 90 games. Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he talked to the rookie on Tuesday. "He was very upbeat," Maddon said. "Losing [Soler] at this moment was not very good. We've done a nice job of trying to fix it up a little bit." Chicago acquired outfielder Austin Jackson from Seattle on Monday, and he started in right field on Wednesday. There's no timetable for Soler's return, but the Cubs only have 30 games remaining in the regular season. Chicago made a concerted effort in Spring Training to strengthen Soler's legs, because he'd had problems in the Minor Leagues. "I'm not ready to label him as accident-prone or injury-prone," Maddon said. -- Cubs.com Lester leads Cubs in opener vs. Godley, D-backs By Steve Gilbert The D-backs and Cubs open a three-game weekend series Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field with a former Chicago farmhand on the mound for Arizona against Jon Lester. Zack Godley, who was acquired by the D-backs in a deal last December that sent Miguel Montero to the Cubs, will be recalled from Double-A Mobile to make the start. Godley started three games for the D-backs in late July and early August before being demoted due to innings concerns. He was recalled a second time to make a pair of relief appearances.

Lester, coming off a rough start against the Dodgers, remains one of the more formidable pitchers in the game. He did not get a decision when he faced the D-backs earlier this year at Chase Field despite only allowing a pair of runs over seven innings. This will be Lester's fourth career start against the D-backs and he is 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA. Six of his last seven starts have come at Wrigley Field. Things to know about this game: • The Cubs expect to get test results on rookie Kyle Schwarber, who was scratched from Wednesday's lineup with right rib soreness. Schwarber underwent an MRI as a precaution. If he's sidelined for an extended period of time, the Cubs may add another catcher from the Minor Leagues. • Godley is a combined 10-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 21 games (17 starts) this year between Class A Visalia and Mobile. •- D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is likely to miss Friday's game. Goldschmidt left the D-backs to be with his wife, Amy, who was due to deliver the couple's first child. -- ESPNChicago.com Kyle Schwarber's injury could mean more time for Austin Jackson Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- If nothing else, Thursday's off-day for the Chicago Cubs will give rookie Kyle Schwarber some extra time to rest his sore ribs. His late scratch from Wednesday's lineup, before the Cubs' 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, surprised everyone as Schwarber seemed fine earlier in the day. "In the batting cage he felt something in his side," manager Joe Maddon said. "We shut it down." Schwarber left Wrigley Field, presumably to get an MRI, but side/rib/oblique injuries are always tricky. The Cubs will undoubtedly err on the side of caution, as even if they didn't have a cushion in the wild-card race there's no rushing a player back from those kinds of injuries. Just ask Tommy La Stella, who finally returned to the lineup recently after being out since the third game of the season. La Stella homered for the first time this year on Wednesday but it wasn't enough as the Cubs dropped their third straight series. But unlike some other playoff pretenders, the Cubs managed to keep themselves above water even while going through a rough patch. They followed up a six-game win streak with a 3-6 stretch; it's not great by any means but it's surviving. And right now, that's all they have to do. The San Francisco Giants haven't made much of a push and the days on the calendar are ticking off. The Cubs are down to 30 games left starting Friday and have one tough road trip to navigate -- 11 games in 11 days starting next week -- but even a .500 record would probably do. Not that probabilities mean all that much but Baseball Prospectus says the Cubs have a 95.9 percent chance of making the postseason. We're not quite at the point of setting up their pitching rotation but they can at least take some time to heal the walking wounded. Jorge Soler (oblique) should start swinging a bat this weekend, but like Schwarber, his timetable is unclear. In the meantime, Maddon was pleased with the play of newcomer Austin Jackson as he got the late start in place of Schwarber on Wednesday. He looked smooth in right field -- not always an easy place to navigate -- and went 2-for-4 at the plate. "Austin walked right out there and had some really good at-bats," Maddon said. "Looked really good in the outfield also. He's going to really help us down the stretch. His at-bats the whole game were outstanding. He played really well, and that's against a right-handed pitcher that's tough on right-handed hitters." That's high praise for a player picked up at the second trade deadline, but you get the feeling Jackson might be one of those sly Theo Epstein trades we look back on with a smile. With injuries to Soler and possibly Schwarber, as well as his ability to track down a baseball, it could make him as valuable as any July or August pickup.

"Outfield depth was an area we wanted to address a little bit," Epstein said Tuesday afternoon. "At this time of year you get in the position trying to figure out if any one player or combination of players gets hurt how do you backfill? Dexter Fowler is one guy we didn't have great insurance for per se on the roster. … It seemed like a no-brainer for us." Epstein mentioned corner outfield for Jackson as well and that's exactly where he played in his first two days as a Cub. His splits against lefty pitching this year are important as the Cubs have struggled recently taking on left-handers. Schwarber has slowed down against them, as has Chris Denorfia. In fact, even with a healthy outfield it wouldn't be a shock if Jackson played ahead of Denorfia, who has been starting all year against lefties. Jackson is hitting .294 with a .327 on-base percentage off left-handers this year. Defense is still the most important aspect Jackson might bring to the Cubs. The latest road trip exposed the Cubs' lack of outfield depth, as spacious AT&T Park and Dodger Stadium created some havoc, especially when Fowler missed games. Jackson will undoubtedly enter in the late innings on a nightly basis if the Cubs are winning, unless he's already in the starting lineup. That's how valuable he could become. "I like this guy," Maddon said. "He can play." He might not be Schwarber or Soler, but he'll do until either or both are back on the field. -- ESPNChicago.com Kris Bryant's emotional swing, Maddon's decision loom large in latest loss Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- If anyone can handle the emotional swing of hitting a game-tying home run, followed shortly by committing an error opening the door for a ninth-inning loss, it’s Chicago Cubs rookie third baseman Kris Bryant. “It’s tough,” Bryant said after the Cincinnati Reds' 7-4 victory on Wednesday. “Obviously you’re on cloud nine when you hit a game-tying home run, then you blow it the next inning. Sometimes baseball works that way. It’s a crazy game. It gives you everything then takes everything away.” Bryant didn’t quite show the same emotion that 31,165 at Wrigley Field expressed in a wild finish which almost saw the Cubs earn a second consecutive late-inning victory. It wasn’t meant to be, even after Bryant’s 22nd home run of the season, his seventh hit in the eighth inning or later this year. (That’s tops in baseball.) But his 16th error is also tops among National League third baseman. That will be of little concern when Rookie of the Year voting takes place. Bryant is having a monster season for a first-year player and is clearly the front-runner for the award. Still, it doesn’t take away from the sting of the two-out error as he allowed a ball hit by Jay Bruce to go through his legs. Joey Votto followed with a 3-run home run off Hector Rondon and when it was over, the Cubs had lost two of three at home to the lowly Reds. “It’s different but that’s not an excuse for letting it go through me,” Bryant said of the ball coming off a left-handed bat. “I’ve made that play plenty of times in my career.” Joe Maddon added: “That ball was on him so quickly. There’s nothing to point fingers there. He’s been playing really well.” Some might actually be pointing fingers at Maddon for some inconsistent decision-making this week. On Monday night, he intentionally walked Votto with men on first and second only to have Brandon Phillips single in two runs. After Bryant’s error in the ninth inning of a 4-4 game, he let closer Hector Rondon pitch to Votto this time. “It was a different pitcher and I felt good about Ronnie right there,” Maddon explained. “We should have zigged when we zagged.”

Maddon is referring to the third consecutive fastball Rondon threw to Votto on a 2-0 count, which he hammered into the left-center-field bleachers. Maddon got burned walking Votto and burned pitching to him. “It’s a different situation entirely,” Maddon said of Wednesday. “Your closer is out there. He’s been fabulous.” The bigger issue might be throwing him a 2-0 hittable fastball. Maddon admitted the count at that moment could have dictated a change in strategy. In other words, already halfway to a walk, maybe Rondon should have just finished it himself. “I had two outs,” Rondon said. “I tried to get out of the inning. I didn’t want to pitch around him. What can I say?” So the Cubs have lost three consecutive series with a day off before the final 30-game stretch begins. Luckily, Votto is leaving town but the Cubs can say hello to Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s just as good. No one said a playoff race would be easy. -- ESPNChicago.com Rapid Reaction: Reds 7, Cubs 4 Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- The Cubs lost to the Cincinnati Reds 7-4 on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s a quick look at the game. How it happened: Joey Votto hit a 2-out, 3-run home run off of Hector Rondon in the top of the ninth inning after an error by Kris Bryant allowed Votto to come to the plate. Bryant had just tied the game 4-4 with an eighth inning home run, his 22nd. Jason Bourgeois led off the game with a home run off Cubs starter Jason Hammel as he hit a high fly ball to left that got caught up in the wind which was blowing out. The Reds added a run in the second before the Cubs cut into the lead when Tommy La Stella homered with two outs in the third. They tied it in the fourth on Anthony Rizzo’s 27th home run of the season but the Reds retook the lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings as Reds starter Raisel Iglesias tripled home a run and then catcher Brayan Pena brought home another one before Bryant tied it in the eighth. The Cubs had the tying run at the plate twice in the ninth but Javier Baez grounded into a fielder's choice and Dexter Fowler struck out to end the game. What it means: What can be said or written about Bryant that hasn’t been already? Even with a few slumps and a high strikeout total he’s putting up huge numbers, especially for a rookie. And he’s been clutch with a bunch of his home runs as he’s now tied for first in the National League with seven home runs hit in the eighth inning or later. He needs 16 RBI’s in the final 30 games to reach 100 for the season and three more home runs would tie him for the most in franchise history for a first year player. But then there was that error, right through his legs. It was his 16th of the season, most by a third baseman in the NL. Even so, the Rookie of the Year award is coming back to Chicago barring an injury or complete September meltdown. Votto decision: Two days after walking him with two men on and getting beat Joe Maddon decided to pitch to him in the ninth in the same situation. The move backfired there as well. Debuts: Trevor Cahill took the mound for the first time as a Cub throwing a scoreless 1.2 innings while Austin Jackson got his first start going 2 for 4. What’s next: The Cubs have a day off on Thursday before hosting the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games beginning with Friday’s matinee as Jon Lester (8-10, 3.59) faces Zack Godley (4-0, 1.90). -- ESPNChicago.com

Jorge Soler expects to return to Cubs' lineup this season Jesse Rogers CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler is hopeful he can return from an oblique injury before the end of the regular season, though he hasn’t swung a bat since leaving a game against the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 23. Soler says he actually hurt himself on a throw the day before but is feeling "much better." "Real disappointing being on the disabled the second time," Soler said through an interpreter. The disabled list is where Soler has found himself often in his professional career so far. Manager Joe Maddon doesn’t want to label him "accident or injury prone" but the ailments are starting to add up -- sometimes on simple baseball plays. Soler had hamstring and leg issues coming up through the minors, injured an ankle running to first base this season and now it’s his oblique after a throw in from the outfield. Maddon was asked if he was concerned about Soler’s long-term health. "I’ll just let it play out and see how it goes," he said. Knowing Soler could be a disabled-list-stint kind of a guy, the Cubs might need to act accordingly in the offseason. A super utility player like Chris Coghlan will be a big need or simply a fourth outfielder who is a quasi-starter and can fill-in if Soler is indeed injury-prone. The good news right now is Soler is hopeful he can play this season. "He’s about ready to start hitting a little bit," Maddon said. Asked if his season was over Soler stated, "I don’t think so. I believe I can be back before the season." But can he stay healthy? -- CSNChicago.com Extreme high and low for Kris Bryant as Cubs can't close out Reds Patrick Mooney With his mesh camouflage hat turned backwards, Kris Bryant sat down inside the Wrigley Field interview room/dungeon as the don’t-worry-be-happy face of the franchise. The Cubs still have a roadmap to the postseason with Bryant as a Rookie of the Year frontrunner, Anthony Rizzo in the MVP race, two frontline starting pitchers for October, a strong back end of the bullpen and the perfect manager for the Wrigleyville circus. But Wednesday’s 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds — losing a series to a last-place team already mathematically eliminated from the division race — showed why Cubs fans will be on edge and angry on Twitter even as Joe Maddon’s group tries to play loose, naive and carefree. “It’s tough,” Bryant said. “Obviously, you’re on cloud nine when you hit a game-tying homer and then you blow it the next inning. Sometimes baseball works that way. It’s a crazy game. It gives you everything and then takes everything away.” [MORE CUBS: Joe Maddon won’t put ‘injury-prone’ label on Jorge Soler] The Cubs have math on their side, with FanGraphs (96.8 percent) and Baseball Prospectus (95.9 percent) making their playoff odds that morning look like a sure thing. But like Bryant said, crazy things happen.

Like Bryant delivering in the clutch with two outs in the eighth inning and 101-mph flamethrower Aroldis Chapman waiting in the bullpen. Bryant launched J.J. Hoover’s first-pitch curveball into the left-field bleachers for the game-tying two-run homer. And then Bryant committed the kind of error that would haunt this team in October. With two outs in the ninth inning, Bryant couldn’t stop a ball that went between his legs for an error. Hector Rondon then threw Joey Votto three straight fastballs between 96 and 97 mph. Votto crushed the last one out to left-center field for a three-run homer. Maddon always defends his players, and the manager pointed out the angle and degree of difficulty for the third baseman with Jay Bruce at the plate. “Listen,” Maddon said, “if you’re on the opposite corner on an infield (and) a lefty hits a bullet like that at you, it’s not like he’s not ready. He’s ready. That ball just was on him so quickly and that’s why it got through. I have no issues. “There’s nothing to point fingers at there. He’s been playing really well.” [MORE CUBS: Cubs awaiting results on Kyle Schwarber’s MRI] No doubt, the Cubs wouldn’t be here without Bryant, who now has 22 homers and leads the team with 84 RBIs and talked about how he felt so good he wished Thursday wasn’t an off-day. “He hit it hard, but there’s no excuses for that. I got to keep the ball in front,” Bryant said. “It was a tough play, but I made that play plenty of times in my career, so I’m looking forward to the next one. “There’s a lot of positives from the game, personally and as a team, so there’s nothing to really hang my head about. I wish I had blocked the ball or just tried to put a body part on it. But I was unable to do that.” The Cubs are going to be tested, beginning with the news that game-changing rookie Kyle Schwarber would be a late scratch to the lineup with right rib soreness and getting an MRI. And the Cubs are pretty much hoping to squeeze five innings at a time from 60 percent of their rotation. Jason Hammel started this game by giving up a leadoff home run to Jason Bourgeois — who had four homers through 651 career plate appearances in The Show — on his way to another non-quality start (giving up four runs in five innings). “You got to set a better tone,” Hammel said. “Obviously very frustrated with the way things are going. But I’m not looking to try and prove myself at all. Ever. I could care less about proving myself. I know what I can do.” [MORE CUBS: Javier Baez returns to Cubs with something to prove] The Cubs still held a six-game lead over the San Francisco Giants for the second wild card heading into the defending champs' showdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers late Wednesday night on the West Coast. The Cubs also have their 1-2 punch lined up for Friday and Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field: Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta. This is what meaningful baseball in September feels like. “I think we just got to approach each game like we’ve been doing and not really get too high or too low,” Bryant said. “I don’t think we should treat this one any different.”

-- CSNChicago.com Cubs: Joe Maddon won’t put ‘injury-prone’ label on Jorge Soler Patrick Mooney The Cubs don’t have a timetable for Jorge Soler yet, but the rookie outfielder doesn’t believe his strained oblique muscle will become a season-ending injury. “I’m going to be back,” Soler said Wednesday at Wrigley Field through interpreter/coach Franklin Font. While the Cubs miss Soler’s presence in the lineup right now, this could also be a much bigger-picture issue for a franchise that gave him a nine-year, $30 million major-league contract in the summer of 2012. That turned out to be a shrewd investment in the Cuban market for Theo Epstein’s front office, because there’s no denying the talent. Staying healthy and getting on the field has been the biggest concern with Soler. “I’m not ready to label him as ‘accident-prone’ or ‘injury-prone’ or whatever,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Let it just play out. Let’s see how it goes. And as he gains more major-league (experience) with playing baseball on a 162-game schedule, he might be able to stay healthier as he gets older.” [MORE: Javier Baez returns to Cubs with something to prove] Soler played only 151 games across parts of the last three seasons in the minors while dealing with a series of leg injuries. He is built more like an NFL linebacker, the type of athlete that typically doesn’t play baseball at a high level anymore in this country. The Cubs monitored Soler’s workload in spring training and then had him go 49-for-49 in games played before he sprained his ankle in early June, awkwardly landing on first base while trying to hustle for an infield single. “It happens,” Maddon said. “But a lot of times, my experience has been guys that maybe as they’re younger fall into this trap. And as they gain more experience, it kind of goes away.” Soler hoped to maybe swing a bat on Friday, but oblique injuries are particularly difficult to project (see Tommy La Stella). The Cubs placed Soler on the disabled list on Aug. 24, but he said he first felt something two days earlier on a throw to second base. The Cubs had been seeing signs that Soler’s power might finally start to emerge. Overall, he’s hitting .265 with seven homers, 42 RBI and a .710 OPS in 90 games this season. [NBC SHOP: Gear up, Cubs fans!] Soler’s extended absence helped drive this week’s Austin Jackson deal with the Seattle Mariners. Jackson – a right-handed hitter who can move all over the outfield – played in seven postseason series with the Detroit Tigers between 2011 and 2013. “There’s definitely the mitigating factor,” Maddon said. “Austin is a good baseball player, man. He’s having a good year and he’s really been hot. Furthermore, he’s been there and done that in this time of the year, and that really helps, also. So I thought it was an outstanding move on the part of our guys to get him here under these circumstances. “Losing George at this moment was not very good. But I think we’ve done a nice job of trying to fix it up a little bit. So I’m really excited about Austin and what he can do here.” --

CSNChicago.com Cubs awaiting results on Kyle Schwarber’s MRI Patrick Mooney The Cubs scratched Kyle Schwarber from Wednesday’s lineup with right rib soreness and can only hope this isn’t a serious injury for their hard-charging rookie. The Cubs sent Schwarber to get an MRI as a precaution after he felt discomfort in the batting cage while warming up before a 7-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field. The Cubs won’t have a better feel for Schwarber’s timetable until they get the MRI results back. The hope is that the break leading into Thursday’s off-day will help get their outfielder/catcher ready for this weekend’s series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. “From what I understand, just in the batting tunnel this morning he felt something in his side,” manager Joe Maddon said during his postgame news conference. “So immediately we just shut it down, let him out of there. He’s undergoing some tests right now. I don’t have anything to report yet.” [MORE CUBS: Joe Maddon won’t put ‘injury-prone’ label on Jorge Soler] Schwarber has been a huge part of this postseason push, generating 13 homers and 38 RBIs in 48 games during what’s still his first full season of professional baseball after getting drafted No. 4 overall out of Indiana University last year. The Cubs (75-57) took off when Schwarber joined the team after the All-Star break. Since that point, he began the day second in the National League in home runs (12), tied for second in runs scored (35) and tied for third in RBIs (32). It might be impossible to replace that kind of production at a time when every game almost feels like the playoffs already. “I have no idea,” Maddon said. “My concern would be that he’s the third catcher. That was my first thought. In September, you like to have that flexibility with the third catcher. “We’ll just wait and see how it plays out.” --