April 6, 2016

 CSNChicago.com, After all the hype, ready to roll with Cubs http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/jon-lester-already-showing-noticeable-progression-year-2-cubs

 CSNChicago.com, Cubs will face some interesting decisions with http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/cubs-will-face-some-interesting-decisions-jorge-soler

 CSNChicago.com, Back with Cubs, playing like he has something to prove http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/back-cubs-dexter-fowler-playing-he-has-something-prove

Tribune, Jon Lester regains old form in leading Cubs to 6-1 victory over Angels http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jon-lester-report-cubs-angels-spt-0406-20160405- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs may be 's first team with its own laugh track http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-silliness-sullivan-spt-0406-20160405-column.html

 Chicago Tribune, 's iPad gets early season workout http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-joe-maddons-ipad-gets-early-season-workout- 20160405-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs' Matt Szczur stays compact but provides big results http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-matt-szczur-plays-big-20160405-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Tuesday's recap: Cubs 6, Angels 1 http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-gameday-cubs-angels-spt-0406-20160405- story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Cubs prospect Duane Underwood Jr. playing catch-up http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-duane-underwood-jr-healing-20160406-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, No worries for Jon Lester in 2016 Cubs debut http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jon-lester-feels-comfortable-20160405-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Tom Ricketts assures Cubs fans will be ready http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-tom-ricketts-assures-cubs-fans-wrigley-field-will-be- ready-20160405-story.html

 Chicago Tribune, Jorge Soler stays in Cubs lineup, in part to boost his confidence http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-jorge-soler-confidence-bits-cubs-spt-0406- 20160405-story.html

 Chicago Sun-Times, New and improved Jon Lester stymies Angels as Cubs start 2-0 http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/new-and-improved-jon-lester-stymies-angels-as-cubs-start-2-0/

 Chicago Sun-Times, More Cub magic tricks: make Trout, Pujols bats disappear http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/more-cub-magic-tricks-pitchers-make-trout-pujols-bats-disappear/

 Chicago Sun-Times, champions or 2016 failures? Cubs ‘don’t buy that’ http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/world-series-champions-or-2016-failures-cubs-dont-buy-that/

 Chicago Sun-Times, Dexter Fowler is a leadoff man on a mission for Cubs http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/dexter-fowler-is-a-leadoff-man-on-a-mission-for-cubs/

 Daily Herald, have leadoff leader in Fowler http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160405/sports/160409340/

 Daily Herald, Arrieta sharp in opening act for Chicago Cubs http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160405/sports/160409482/

 Daily Herald, Cubs' 'family' ready for another at it http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160404/sports/160409480/

 Daily Herald, Imrem: Cubs definitely will battle http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160405/sports/160409481/

 Cubs.com, Lester comes out 'locked in' with opening gem http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/170735862/cubs-jon-lester-delivers-strong-season-debut

 Cubs.com, Cubs as advertised, cruise past Halos http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/170708146/cubs-overpower-angels-sweep-opening-series

 Cubs.com, Szczur channels Nova's hoops title in hot start http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/170738874/cubs-matt-szczur-rides-novas-win-in-hot-start

 Cubs.com, Wrigley institutions in place for Opening Day http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/170598950/wrigley-field-features-in-place-for-opener

 Cubs.com, Young stars Rizzo, Goldy face off in Cubs-D-backs tilt http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/170598950/wrigley-field-features-in-place-for-opener

 Cubs.com, Where the Cubs' Top 30 Prospects are starting the season http://m.cubs.mlb.com/news/article/170633692/where-cubs-top-30-prospects-will-start-season

 ESPNChicago.com, Year 2 could be a lot different for Jon Lester (and ) http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/37354/year-2-could-be-a-lot-different-for-jon-lester-and- david-ross

 ESPNChicago.com, Repeat performance nets Cubs a sweep of the Angels http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/37343/cubs-with-a-repeat-performance-netting-them-a- sweep-of-the-angels

 ESPNChicago.com, Matt Szczur making his case to stick with Cubs http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/cubs/post/_/id/37333/matt-szczur-making-his-case-to-stick-with-cubs

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CSNChicago.com After all the hype, Jon Lester ready to roll with Cubs By Patrick Mooney

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The way Jon Lester understood The Plan, the Cubs would go full throttle trying to win the World Series in 2016.

How the Cubs got to this point is a completely different story, without the kind of incremental improvement that would gradually raise expectations and create a cautious sense of optimism around the team.

For two nights in Orange County, the Cubs absolutely lived up to the hype, blitzing the and following the offseason playbook with dominant starting pitching, a relentless lineup and across-the-board contributions.

“It always eases the overall tension of the clubhouse when you come out and you start playing well,” Lester said after Tuesday night’s 6-1 win. “Nobody wants to get out to a bad start. Especially now with the two wild cards, it could come down to one game whether you’re in or out at the end of the season.”

The Cubs looked more like the American League team, outscoring the Angels 15-1 during this two-game sweep. That’s another reason why Lester can exhale and not be defined by dollar signs in the second season of the six- year, $155 million megadeal that signaled the Cubs were finally ready to compete.

Lester followed up Cy Young Award winner by cruising through seven , allowing one run on four hits with four against zero walks. The lefty didn’t have to compensate for the “dead arm” that slowed him down in last year – or prove something to new teammates and a new city.

“Obviously, I’m in a better place than I was last season,” Lester said. “Last year was just so different. There was a lot of hype involved – just around myself – and a lot of expectations.

“You try to go out there the first start and live up to those expectations all at once, as opposed to just letting the season play out and go through your 32, 33 starts and see where we’re at in the end.

“Physically, mentally, I’m light years ahead of where I was last year at this point.”

To be clear, Lester didn’t have a bad season (11-12, 3.34 ERA, 207 strikeouts in 205 innings) and the Cubs would do this deal all over again. But manager Joe Maddon has already noticed the differences in a player known for being a creature of habit after spending 13 years in the Boston Red Sox organization.

“I don’t think there was a moment last year that I thought his delivery was as smooth as I saw it (in spring training),” Maddon said. “The cutter from early on in camp was probably as good as it was at any time last season.

“I also believe that one year removed from last year, he’s more comfortable not having the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“He’s got other guys to deflect from right now, which I think is going to make him even better.”

That includes everyone from MVP candidate (two-run homer) to leadoff guy Dexter Fowler (two-run homer) to Matt Szczur (homer), the 25th man on the roster who got the start in left field the day after his won the NCAA tournament and now leads the team with four RBI.

“This is what we can do,” Rizzo said. “Now, it’s just about doing it every day. We took care of business.”

The Cubs are now 2-0 for the first time since 1995 – or the year after shortstop was born – and should get a tougher test from another team that dominated the offseason headlines.

The Cubs head back to the desert for a four-game series against Zack Greinke, Shelby Miller and the that begins Thursday night at Chase Field.

“So far, so good,” Lester said.

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CSNChicago.com Cubs will face some interesting decisions with Jorge Soler By Patrick Mooney

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Jorge Soler’s name will almost certainly surface in trade rumors if – or when – the Cubs need to make a deal for pitching this summer.

The Cubs can’t afford to hand Soler 600 at-bats, let him learn on the job and hope he becomes more fluid in the outfield, the way they nurtured other young players during their rebuilding cycle.

Not when manager Joe Maddon has all these other options and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was asked on Opening Day if this year will be judged a failure if the Cubs don’t win the World Series.

Soler as the made sense for the season’s first two games against the Los Angeles Angels – so the Cubs could get him into a rhythm – and maybe even for his long-term future if an American League team can see the potential and offer the right kind of young .

“He’s not going to get lost,” Maddon said Tuesday at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. “I think you know me by now – it’s not about getting hits. He’s going to play – and he’s going to play well – during the course of the season.

“For him personally, the confidence component is really big.”

The surprise Dexter Fowler signing in late February clearly impacted Soler, who got bumped from right field on the depth chart when Gold Glover moved over from center. That puts Soler in a left-field timeshare with on a team that has multiple players who can play multiple positions and wanted to upgrade the overall defense after getting swept by the in last year’s National League Championship Series.

“He’s going to be more comfortable (in right field), no doubt,” Maddon said. “The biggest thing you have to remember when you’re playing on the corners is the ball is always going to move to the line.

“That’s the thing you just got to try to get a guy to understand. So in right field, he’s used to the ball going that way. Now all of a sudden, the ball’s going to go that way. A lefty’s going to slice it, a righty’s going to hook.

“If he can just get that (part down). It’s an easy thought, but how do you actually do it? I think as he wraps his mind around (that) on a consistent basis, he may end up being as comfortable as he was in right field.”

There are pitching-rich teams like the Cleveland Indians and Braves that were interested in Soler when the Cubs gave the raw Cuban player a nine-year, $30 million contract in the summer of 2012 (though both franchises have since seen a restructuring in baseball leadership).

But the Cubs also saw what Soler did in a pressure situation last year, becoming the first player in major-league history to reach base safely in his first nine postseason plate appearances. That dynamic performance helped eliminate the St. Louis Cardinals in the divisional round.

“He’s the kind of guy that is just dripping with projection,” Maddon said. “It’s the kind of body everybody’s looking for in any major sport. He’s got a great arm. He runs well. I think you got this prodigious power. So if you’re a scout, there are a couple things working there.

“You describe the body and the power, but he’s young and he’s Latin, so you have to be a little bit patient here. Beyond the adjustment to the game itself is the cultural differences and the cultural adjustments that need to be made that can hold you back, whether it’s just socially or self-esteem-wise by being unable to communicate your thoughts as you would like.

“All these things factor in. So when it comes to young Latin players – especially a kid from Cuba – I think you have to be even a little bit more patient. He’s going to be a really good player and he’s still very young.”

The Cubs also hope Soler, 24, will benefit from the coincidental return of hitting consultant , who skipped spring training because of family commitments and then joined the team in Southern California.

“Manny’s a very informed and good hitting coach,” Maddon said. “I’m not just talking about physical (stuff). Everybody (says): ‘Oh, you put your hands here.’ Manny talks hitting really well, and he talks to the mental mechanics more.

“That’s what really benefited Georgie last year. And I like (Manny’s) matter-of-factness – not just trying to make the kid like him. He’s trying to give him good information.”

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CSNChicago.com Back with Cubs, Dexter Fowler playing like he has something to prove By Patrick Mooney

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Right up until the moment the Cubs shocked even their own players one day in spring training, it looked like Joe Maddon’s “You go, we go” message for Dexter Fowler would turn into “He gone.”

The Cubs manager still says that to Fowler before every at-bat, and the leadoff guy delivered on Opening Night, showing why that signing might be more of a necessity than a luxury item.

“He brings a lot of energy,” Maddon said after Monday’s 9-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels. “He’s a catalyst, there’s no question about that. So to get him back like we did – in kind of dramatic fashion – imagine the lineup without him.”

Fowler saw 17 pitches at the top of an American League-style lineup that made five Angels throw 188 pitches. Fowler got on base four times, scored three runs and played center at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, allowing Gold Glover Jason Heyward to move over to his more natural position in right field.

“I’m always on a personal mission,” Fowler said with a smile.

Fowler felt like he had unfinished business in Wrigleyville after helping the Cubs advance to the National League Championship Series: “It ended a little quicker than what we wanted. Coming back here, we definitely got something to prove.”

But if the hadn’t slow-played the negotiations – pushing harder to close a reported three-year, $35 million deal – then Fowler probably wouldn’t have been wearing those sweet red-white-and-blue Air Jordan cleats for Opening Day. After that experience, Maddon believes the Cubs have a highly motivated employee.

“I’ve always been the underdog,” Fowler said. “I always play with a chip on my shoulder. But I’m going to go out and have fun and try to embrace the time I have with my teammates.”

As expected, Fowler turned down the one-year, $15.8 million qualifying offer after a solid walk season that saw him get on base almost 35 percent of the time, 17 homers and score 102 runs for a 97-win team.

But the draft-pick compensation had a chilling effect on Fowler’s market and even teams that need to win now and could use a top-of-the-order presence – like the White Sox – became reluctant to give him the big multiyear deal.

Theo Epstein’s front office likes to kick the tires on everything, never ruling anything out, which explains some of the rumors that go nowhere. This time, the patience paid off, with Fowler accepting a one-year, $13 million guarantee and showing up at the team’s Arizona complex on Feb. 25, or two days after the Baltimore reports.

Game 1 showed what this team could be all about, with Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta in cruise control on the mound and Fowler reminding the Cubs what they might have otherwise missed.

“These guys are my boys,” Fowler said. “This is my family. So coming out each and every day and being in the trenches with them is always awesome.”

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Chicago Tribune Jon Lester regains old form in leading Cubs to 6-1 victory over Angels By Mark Gonzales

Throughout the spring, Jon Lester seemed as ease, citing familiarity with his teammates and the Mesa spring training venue for optimism heading into his second season with the Cubs, as well as getting accustomed to the National League style.

But those factors took a back seat Tuesday night to the comfort and ease that Lester displayed on the Angel Stadium mound — where he encountered some of his toughest battles during his nine seasons in the American League as a member of the Red Sox and A's.

As high as the Cubs' expectations soared after Jake Arrieta's seven- masterpiece in Monday's season opener, Lester fed that confidence even more with a workmanlike seven innings of four-hit ball that enabled the Cubs to coast to a 6-1 victory over the Angels.

There were times last season when Lester displayed the mastery that earned him a six-year, $155 million contract, such as his seven no-hit innings against the Braves on July 18 and a 14- performance against the Rockies 11 days later.

Those highlights, however, were offset by inconsistency that included a winless April and concluded with an 11-12 overall record.

Manager Joe Maddon now believes Lester is on the verge of a big season, based on the smoothness of his delivery.

"I don't think there was a moment last year that his delivery was as smooth as I saw it during this past camp," Maddon said before the game. "A lot had to do with his front leg and how it worked."

Lester retired the first seven batters Tuesday night and 16 of the first 18 before encountering his first serious jam. Yunel Escobar hit a flare down the right field line for a double and scored on a Craig Gentry single that cut the Cubs' lead to 4-1 and snapped the Angels' streak of 15 scoreless innings to start the season.

With American League All-Star and slugger Albert Pujols coming up, pitching coach visited the mound. Lester then regained his effectiveness, getting Trout on a groundout and Pujols on a routine fly to center.

Arrieta and Lester held Trout and Pujols hitless in a combined 12 at-bats.

Lester finished with four strikeouts and no walks. Maddon, mindful that Lester threw 219 innings during the 2015 regular season and playoffs, pulled him after 93 pitches with the luxury of a five-run lead.

"Jon was outstanding," Maddon said. "We got the hits we needed."

Meanwhile, the magic touch that Maddon possessed with lineups in 2015 continued with the insertion of Matt Szczur in left field over left-handed hitter Kyle Schwarber.

Maddon quipped before the game at Szczur got the start because Villanova, Szczur's alma mater, won the NCAA men's tournament title. But Szczur sparked the offense with a three-homer attack, starting with his leadoff homer to spark a four-run third.

Anthony Rizzo continued his mastery of left-handed pitching dating back to 2014 when he cranked a low sinker from into the shrubs behind the center-field fence for a two-run homer to cap the four-run rally.

Leadoff batter Dexter Fowler, who hit 13 of his 17 home runs last season from the left side, ripped a two-run homer off right-handed reliever Mike Morin in the seventh.

Fowler has reached base safely in six of his first nine plate appearances this season.

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Chicago Tribune Cubs may be baseball's first team with its own laugh track By Paul Sullivan

There were too many media members to cram into the visiting manager's office at Angel Stadium on Monday night, so the Cubs' Joe Maddon walked out to a tunnel outside the clubhouse to conduct his postgame interview.

After asking where he should stand, Maddon was instructed to do it in front of a cinder-block wall.

"Up against the wall?" he said with a mischievous grin, then turned his back, stretched his arms above his head and briefly placed his palms on the wall as if he was about to get frisked.

All that was missing was a mug shot.

It was one of those made-for-YouTube moments that have made the start of the season seem like a continuation of the daily spring training madness in Arizona.

Whether it was stretching on the field with a mime, performing some early morning karaoke or watching Maddon and two coaches exit his 1976 Dodge van dressed like hippies, there was no doubt the Cubs led the Cactus League in silliness.

The fun continued Tuesday with a 6-1 win over the Angels. Jon Lester pitched seven dominant innings and Matt Szczur, Anthony Rizzo and Dexter Fowler homered.

One thing about these Cubs, they like to laugh and don't care what anyone else thinks of their antics.

"It's all in the eye of the beholder, I guess," pitcher Jason Hammel said before Tuesday's game. "Some guys on the outside don't like it. Too rah-rah. Too (much) cheering. Too college. ... Whatever.

"The thing that's different with this team is the character of the guys. That's what it is — it is fun. Past that, it goes nowhere. It's all about celebrating now and moving on.

"We're not trying to show off or be sore winners. (We) just have fun and win. Wins are tough to do in the big leagues, and we want to celebrate every one of them."

Nationals Bryce Harper, baseball's unofficial spokesman for good times, wore a cap after his team's opening-day win that said "Make Baseball Fun Again." He recently told ESPN The Magazine that baseball is a "tired sport because you can't express yourself."

The Cubs have no problem expressing themselves, or making fun of themselves either.

Teams are sometimes accused of "going Hollywood" because of their and clubhouse theatrics, but the Cubs have taken it to another level. This team is more Vegas than Hollywood, as evidenced by the postgame lights show that greeted players after wins last year.

If the new clubhouse at Wrigley Field is truly going to reflect the culture of this year's team, Chairman Tom Ricketts should put a neon sign in front of the entrance and have a bouncer at the door.

Before Tuesday's game, a local reporter asked Maddon if Manny Ramirez's role was to help keep the clubhouse loose.

"That is one area we don't need any more help, I don't think," Maddon replied. "I think we're quite replete with those that could maintain a loose clubhouse. I'm looking at David Ross. I'm looking at one of the best, Tim Buss, our strength and conditioning coordinator.

"He was pretty much in charge of that during spring training. I try to stay out of his way, man. I would never even want to compete with his abilities. He's outstanding. () is great. A lot of our coaches, Frankie Font, Davey Martinez ... it's all good, man.

"This is a funny clubhouse. I just stay out of their way and I laugh, and they giggle and I move on."

Buss, the court jester who coordinates most of the wacky stunts, said Maddon wants him to "get the most out of the players and have fun" while playing a kid's game.

"Everyone has a hand in it," Buss said. "We all have different ideas, bouncing them off each other. The van thing, that was Joe's deal. We just go along with him and try to make a little more out of it."

It's apparently working. When the season opened, the energy was palpable.

"The dugout was definitely alive, (everyone) just greeting one another before the game," Maddon said. "It was almost as if we hadn't seen each other in 10 years."

Hammel said they simply were caught up in the moment.

"That's what opening day does for you," he said. "Opening day is the best day out of the 365 days of the year. We're all pushing in the same direction, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It is a buddy-buddy sight that you see here."

There's no more laughing at the Cubs. Suddenly, we're laughing with them.

Funny how that works.

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Chicago Tribune Joe Maddon's iPad gets early season workout By Paul Sullivan

When Dexter Fowler re-signed with the Cubs after spring training had already begun, president Theo Epstein was asked how it would affect the playing time of Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler.

Epstein wasn’t worried, knowing Joe Maddon’s love of sipping “a Starbucks” while figuring out his lineup on his iPad. Everything would work out, Epstein predicted.

“Joe is a magician getting everyone enough at-bats to stay happy,” he said.

It’s only two games into a 162-game season, but Maddon’s magic iPad correctly had Jorge Soler as DH in the opening night lineup against the Angels, and Matt Szczur in left field on Tuesday.

Promoted stories from SportsChatter.com

Soler had an RBI single in the fourth in the Cubs’ 9-0 win, while Szczur cranked a long solo in the third inning Tuesday to start the scoring in a 6-1 win in the two-game series-finale.

“As I said earlier, there’s a lot of pressure off my back,” Szczur said. “We’re here to win, and coming off the bench or starting, I’m going to help the team win any way I can.”

With David Ross in his usual spot catching Lester, and Schwarber expected to catch some of Jason Hammel’s starts, Montero could see less playing time. And if Szczur, who has 4 RBI in five at-bats, stays hot, it could cut into Schwarber and Soler’s playing time in left. Soler was back at DH, and has yet to play left after a shaky defensive showing this spring.

This game of musical chairs is only just beginning, and Maddon is already getting results.

“Great vibe with the whole group,” Maddon said. “Interaction is spectacular. I’m telling you man, the guys that aren’t playing… like Schwarber plays a lot, Montero plays a lot but did not play tonight, (yet) they’re totally engaged in the game and were there to support everybody else. As a manager you really appreciate that.”

Winning pitcher Jon Lester wasn’t surprised. He’s seen this movie before.

“Guys did that last year too, so I think it just kind of carried over,” Lester said. “I think the additions of (Jason Heyward) and (Ben) Zobrist on our team have really helped our young guys.”

Lester pointed to Heyward legging out a double on a ball down the line in the seventh inning of the opener after Dexter Fowler flew from first to third, and then tagging up at first and advancing on ’s long flyout to left in the third inning on Tuesday.

“These (young) guys are seeing these little things these guys have been doing their whole careers and really picking up on that,” Lester said. “So that’s making our whole team better. I think everybody understands we’re all really good players, and sometimes there has to be give and take. I know everybody wants to be in the lineup every single day, but you just can’t do that.

“I think Joe does a really good job of managing that and communicating like he always has, and as long as those guys know where they stand, I don’t think you can really complain… I’m sure Schwarber really wanted to be in the lineup tonight, but ‘Sz’s’ comes in and has a big homer for us, gets us on the board early. That’s huge.”

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Chicago Tribune Cubs' Matt Szczur stays compact but provides big results By Mark Gonzales

Before the 2015 season, Matt Szczur worked on fixing a swing that was susceptible to flies and popups and not conducive to his assets.

The improvements started to show last season, although Szczur made seven trips between the Cubs and -A Iowa. But through the first two games of 2015, Szczur is causing a pleasant problem for the Cubs when infielder Javier Baez is due to come off the 15-day disabled list by Monday.

After hitting a three-run triple in the ninth inning Monday, Szczur made the most of a rare start by going 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored to pace the Cubs to a 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Szczur's only home run in 2015 came off ace Clayton Kershaw, but it was a sign he was making more convincing contact.

Manager Joe Maddon intimated that Szczur could earn more playing time by hitting left-handed pitchers with more regularity and utilizing his speed by bunting more often.

Maddon was delighted that Szczur tried to keep the defense honest by attempting a bunt.

"It wasn’t a one-size fits all approach," Maddon said. "He’s got that power, and guys like that have to be careful because he might have enough power to become a bad hitter.

"Sometimes guys just do that. but he’s taken everything well now. He’s playing a whole game. He's used a two- strike approach better by giving up the pull and staying up the middle."

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Chicago Tribune Tuesday's recap: Cubs 6, Angels 1 By Mark Gonzales

Behind seven innings of four-hit ball from Jon Lester and three home runs, the Cubs cruised to a 6-1 victory Tuesday night over the Angels and completed a two-game sweep of their opening series. The Cubs won their first two games of a season for the first time since 1995.

At the plate: Matt Szczur made the most of his start by cranking a home run off left-hander Andrew Heaney to spark a four-run third inning and give Lester ample support. Szczur's swing is more compact, yet he hasn't lost any power. Szczur also singled before Dexter Fowler's two-run homer in the seventh.

On the mound: With a large lead, manager Joe Maddon pulled Lester after 93 pitches. and , pitching for the second consecutive game, combined to pitch a scoreless eighth. The Cubs' pitching staff will be well-rested with Wednesday's day off followed by a four-game series against the Diamondbacks.

In the field: Shortstop Addison Russell ranged quickly to his right and made a quick throw to retire speedy Craig Gentry for the second out of the first.

Key number: 11 — Consecutive road victories for the Cubs dating back to Sept. 15, 2015.

The quote: "The offense is awesome, and the pitching is great." — hitting consultant Manny Ramirez on Cubs

Up next: At Diamondbacks, 8:40 p.m. Thursday, CSN+.

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Chicago Tribune Cubs prospect Duane Underwood Jr. playing catch-up By Mark Gonzales

Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Duane Underwood Jr. wasn't assigned to a minor league affiliate, but that should change in the future.

Underwood currently is building up arm strength in Arizona after not throwing an inning in spring training because of right elbow tenderness and allergies.

Underwood, 21, is the Cubs' fourth best prospect according to . Underwood, a second round pick in the 2012 draft, was 6-3 with a 2.58 ERA in 14 starts for Class-A Myrtle Beach despite misisng two months because of a right elbow strain.

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Chicago Tribune No worries for Jon Lester in 2016 Cubs debut By Mark Gonzales

It's been only one year since Jon Lester joined the Cubs, but the prized left-handed feels more comfortable.

"This year, as far as physically and mechanically, I'm light years ahead of last year," Lester said Tuesday night following seven innings of four-hit ball in a 6-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

With the win, Jake Arrieta and Lester became the first pair of Cubs pitchers to each pitch at least seven innings in the Cubs' first two games of the season since Jon Lieber and Kerry Wood against Montreal in 2001.

Lester's performance resembled those of his postseason starts with the Boston Red Sox. He pitched with ease in a 93-pitch effort, mixing his curve and changeup to complement his 93 mph .

"Last year was so different," Lester said. "There was a lot of hype involved around myself, and a lot of expectations for myself. You try to go out there the first start (against the St. Louis Cardinals), and I think I tried to live up to those expectations all at once as opposed to letting the season play out and go through your 32-33 starts and see where we’re at at the end."

Lester concurred with manager Joe Maddon's observation that his delivery to the plate is smooth.

"I fell into some bad habits (in 2015), for whatever the reason," Lester said. "I don’t know if it was just trying to create something with the arm angle, arm speed or anything like that. I fell into some bad habits, and it affected me throughout the year.

"This year I feel more like myself. I’m able to repeat my delivery more. The ball is down a lot more, and being able to fix the mistake on the next pitch as opposed to three or four pitches later."

As Lester's delivery is smoother, his mind is clearer.

"Now I can worry about the scouting report and what we’re trying to do," Lester said. "I'm trying to execute as opposed to all these other outside distractions such as (my timing) and is my leg kick right?"

Thanks largely to the pitching of Jake Arrieta and Lester, the Cubs held Angels sluggers Mike Trout and Albert Pujols hitless in 15 at-bats in this two-game series.

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Chicago Tribune Tom Ricketts assures Cubs fans Wrigley Field will be ready By Paul Sullivan

Despite appearances, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts said Wrigley Field will be ready for its close-up next Monday for the home opener.

“Obviously there’s a lot of construction going on around the outside, and there will be a lot of parts that will be fenced off,” he said. “But the park will be ready for opening day for the fans. And for the players, the clubhouse, there might be a few things that get done over the next few days, but the players should be pretty happy, too. It’s going to be cool.”

Last year’s opening night fiasco after construction delays featured bathroom issues that caused long lines and forced the Cubs to bring in port-a-potties the first few weeks of the season.

Ricketts reiterated that with the new metal detectors installed at Wrigley’s gates, as mandated by MLB, fans should expect a little longer wait and are advised to get to the park early on Monday’s opener. The Cubs have also extended the netting behind the plate, as MLB suggested after some scary incidents with flying bats and fouls balls around baseball the last few years.

“The knotless netting is a lot more transparent, so I think people will be very happy,” Ricketts said. “We did have to extend (it) down to the dugouts, which will be mixed (reaction). Some people will think it’s a good thing, and some will not think it’s a good thing. But ultimately it’s safer and that’s what the league was shooting for and what we want to be consistent with.”

Ricketts was in the new clubhouse last Thursday and is eager to show it off. It will be the second-biggest in the majors, and players won’t have to bump into the media on a daily basis trying to get to their lockers.

“There are a lot of finishes going up, but it’s going to be pretty special,” Ricketts said. “You guys know what the old clubhouse was like. It’s night and day. It’s incredible.”

Can a super-sized clubhouse make a difference in how a team performs on the field?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I hope so, though I think we did pretty well last year with the old clubhouse. I think what it can do is the players will have batting cages, we’ll have a better weight room, we’ll have different aqua therapy, we’ll have room for the Pilates reformers.

“It’ll be a better place for them to be prepared for the game, which I think ultimately could lead to some more success. But I don’t know how you quantify it.”

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Chicago Tribune Jorge Soler stays in Cubs lineup, in part to boost his confidence By Mark Gonzales

Jorge Soler won't get lost in the Cubs' outfield shuffle this season.

Manager Joe Maddon vows he to play him and it has a lot to do with the 's state of mind.

"For him, the confidence component is really big," Maddon said before Soler started again Tuesday after doing so in the opener as well. "(Monday's start) was based in part on that. We could have made a case for Tommy (La Stella)."

But Maddon's strategy paid off with Soler, who had an RBI single and drew a walk ahead of 's home run. La Stella, a left-handed hitting infielder, has been held in reserve so far.

"Tommy knows what his role is," Maddon said. "Jorge is still being developed. We have to be mindful of all that stuff."

Ramirez's return: Hitting consultant Manny Ramirez rejoined the Cubs after missing all of spring training because of a family commitment.

"This year will be a lot better than last year," said Ramirez, who pleased Maddon with his work with Soler late last season.

Ramirez is careful not to get in the way of hitting coach and assistant as he observes the Cubs hitters.

"If I see something that could help anybody, 'I'll go through (Mallee) and say, 'I'm watching this. What are you thinking?' Then we go from there.

"It's awesome. When you pass the knowledge to young players and after you see how the city reacts when they reached the playoffs, this is the place to be."

Roster battle: There's a slight chance that the performance and versatility of outfielder Matt Szczur could force a tough decision when infielder Javier Baez is expected to come off the 15-day disabled list by Monday.

"It's one of those things that could be (tough), but I'm always forced into saying the same comment, that the game has a cruel way of making its own decisions," Maddon said. "So let's see when that day happens. Let's see where we're at. And make the appropriate decision at this time."

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Chicago Sun-Times New and improved Jon Lester stymies Angels as Cubs start 2-0 By Gordon Wittenmyer

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Who was that guy on the mound in the Cubs uniform Tuesday night, stifling the Angels for seven innings, winning his first start of the season with apparent ease, shrugging off trouble with his to dazzle the Angels’ hitters with a changeup?

Even Jon Lester admits it wasn’t the same guy who opened last season for the Cubs with lingering effects of a spring training “dead arm” and the weight of a $155-million contract on his shoulders.

“Obviously, I’m in a better place than I was last year coming into the season,” Lester said after beating the Angels 6-1 to finish off a two-game, season-opening sweep.

“Last year was just so different, and there was a lot of hype involved just around myself, and a lot of expectations for myself,” he said. “And you try to go out there the first start and I think live up to those expectations all at once as opposed to just letting the season play out and go through your 32, 33 starts and see where you’re at, at the end.”

Still on a strict pitch limit as he entered last season because of the recovery process from his dead-arm period, Lester (1-0) lost 3-0 to the Cardinals in the season opener last year.

He finished April with a 6.23 ERA and didn’t win a game until May.

“Physically, mentally, all that stuff, I’m light years ahead of where I was last year at this point,” said Lester, who on Tuesday night didn’t walk a batter and allowed just two singles until a one-out double followed by a run-scoring single in the sixth produced the only run against him.

This time around, he’s clearly more settled into his surroundings, one of his best friends, newly acquired , at his side most of the time they’re at the park.

Manager Joe Maddon said Lester’s delivery and, consequently, his cutter have been better since the start of spring than the manager saw at any time last year (though Lester said the cutter wasn’t reliable for him Tuesday).

And if he’s going to pitch that way from the start this season – the way he did Tuesday — then the Cubs’ big hopes for this season might be getting even bigger. Even with last year’s struggles, Lester finished 2015 with a 3.34 ERA, 205 innings and 207 strikeouts.

“After Jon’s first pitch today, it was a ball, but I was like, `Man, that moved a little more than it normally does,’ “ said Anthony Rizzo, who provided two runs of support with a third-inning home run. “He looked locked in.”

Lester, whose next start comes in the Cubs’ home opener Monday, is so much better than last year at this time because he’s more relaxed, say Maddon and teammates such as Rizzo. He also looks so much different because he’s not only healthy, catcher David Ross said, but because his spring consisted of a “natural progression” without interruption, setback or adversity (other than a few fielding yips).

Lester added one more reason for the difference: His spring and early-season issues last year caused “bad habits” he struggled with mechanically all year.

“This year I feel more like myself,” said the three-time All-Star. “I’m able to repeat more. The ball is obviously down a lot more. I’m able to fix the mistakes the next pitch as opposed to three or four pitches later.

“The frustration of that is gone, and now I can just worry about what the scouting report is and what we’re trying to do, what we’re trying to execute as opposed to all these other outside distractions … an

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Chicago Sun-Times More Cub magic tricks: Pitchers make Trout, Pujols bats disappear By Gordon Wittenmyer

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Of all the impressive things the Cubs did in their season-opening sweep of the Los Angeles Angels the past two nights, this might top the list:

Mike Trout and Albert Pujols were held hitless by the Cubs’ pitching staff – 0-for-15 with five strikeouts.

“Two of the best hitters on the planet,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said after Tuesday night’s 6-1 victory. “Now the next team they play I’m sure is going to pay the consequences because they’re going to get hot sooner or later.”

The frustrating series for the Angels’ two former MVPs included Tuesday’s starter, Jon Lester, retiring them back- to-back to end the sixth immediately after Craig Gentry stoked the home crowd with an RBI single for the Angels’ only run of the series.

It also included Monday’s starter, Jake Arrieta, striking them out back-to-back in the seventh inning of that 9-0 victory the only time they came to the plate with a runner on base against him.

“It’s hard for a team to score when their horses aren’t producing,” catcher David Ross said. “I think that’s the game plan going in, trying to keep their big boys from doing any damage, and the last two nights our guys have done a really good job of that.”

Said manager Joe Maddon: “Not bad. Those two guys right there are really good, and I have a lot of faith in our guys, too, our pitchers. Jake and then Jon – outstanding. Both Cy Young kind of pitchers. It’s early in the season, and I would bet Trout and Albert will get their work done. We were just fortunate that we pitched that well these two games.”

In fact, with Arrieta slicing and dicing with nasty, hard breaking stuff in the opener, and Lester’s fastball and changeup particularly effective Tuesday, none of the Angels did much – going 7-for-61 (.115) with just two extra- base hits and 13 strikeouts.

“They threw the ball well,” Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun said on a Tuesday night in which Pujols and Trout disappeared even more thoroughly (and quickly) after the game. “Obviously, we didn’t come out on the right side of these two, but there’s some good arms that we faced these last two games.”

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Chicago Sun-Times World Series champions or 2016 failures? Cubs ‘don’t buy that’ By Gordon Wittenmyer

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Just before the season opened this week for the Cubs, center fielder Dexter Fowler gave manager Joe Maddon two specially designed bottles of scotch, on behalf of all the players, for the purpose of commemorating what is expected to be a long, successful season.

On the label of one was engraved Maddon’s “Embrace the Target” motto for the season. On the other: a blank label to be filled out sometime next fall.

“It’s going to get engraved when we win the World Series, hopefully, at the end of the year,” Fowler said. “Hopefully, we put `World champs’ on there.”

Maddon, who called the gesture “very cool,” said he’ll keep the unmarked bottle in his office, “and I’m going to open it at the appropriate time.”

When the Cubs steamrolled the Angels in the season opener Monday night, the celebrations already were flowing across social media platforms and, presumably, in most late-night establishments within an Uber call from and Addison.

“Appropriate time” has long been a challenge for most things Cub when it comes to visions of baseball in October. And World Series or Bust – championship or failed season – seems to be a growing sentiment building from the outside of a team that came within four wins of a pennant last fall, then added $290 million worth of talent over the winter.

“I don’t buy that the season was a failure if you don’t win the World Series,” said Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, who carved up the Angels lineup for seven innings in Monday’s victory. “Obviously, the feeling overall would be that you came up short.

“Big picture, yes, we want to win a World Series. But right here right now we’re just trying to win today.”

Team president Theo Epstein, whose baseball department has spent 4½ -years rebuilding the Cubs to this brink of extreme expectations, said he’s not falling for the Steinbrenner-esque mantra that anything short of a championship is a failure.

“The expectations thing, I know it an kind of create this subtext that hangs over the club with every two-game losing streak or every game that goes wrong, or every injury, and people try to put it in the context of the ultimate goal, the World Series,” he said. “But the reality is that’s now how we feel internally.

“I feel like everyone’s on board that we have this special opportunity and that you want to make the most of it,” he added. “Nothing’s promised in this game or in life. Windows slam shut. People get run over by buses crossing the street. You can’t control everything, so you want to make the most of every day and you want to make the most of every opportunity. If you don’t get there, you want to make sure it wasn’t because you didn’t work hard enough, you weren’t aggressive enough, you weren’t committed enough. I don’t think these players have that problem whatsoever.”

The measure of success or failure is determined after the season plays out, he said. And the competitive vision is longer-term than the next seven months.

For now, “We have to go out and earn it,” Epstein said. “We have nothing. We have nothing but each other, talent, character and an opportunity. And we’re going to go out and try to prove something.”

And keep the scotch handy, for whichever direction it goes.

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Chicago Sun-Times Dexter Fowler is a leadoff man on a mission for Cubs By Gordon Wittenmyer

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A few moments before the first pitch of the Cubs’ season was thrown Monday, manager Joe Maddon smiled and told his leadoff man what he had told him four or five times a day last summer: ‘‘You go, we go.’’

‘‘He still says it,’’ center fielder Dexter Fowler said. ‘‘Every at-bat he says it.’’

If Maddon feels just a little more privileged to be saying it these days, it’s understandable, considering how unlikely it seemed after the final pitch of last season.

And considering the impact Fowler already has had in a two-game sweep of the Angels to open the season, including an and a home run in Tuesday’s 6-1 victory.

That’s a 15-1, two-day mugging of the Angels. Jake Arrieta on Monday and Jon Lester on Tuesday set the pitching tone for the season with seven innings each.

But the tone-setting from the top of the order — which looked long gone when last season ended – might be just as significant going forward for what the Cubs are trying to get done.

No way was Fowler coming back as a free agent, not with the Cubs targeting Jason Heyward and and with the market for Fowler expected to extend at least two years beyond their needs and means.

‘‘Surprise.’’

That was Cubs president Theo Epstein’s first word to the media the day Fowler shocked teammates by showing up a week into camp on a new one-year deal, two days after reports surfaced that he had agreed to a three-year deal with the Orioles.

‘‘These guys are my boys,’’ Fowler said. ‘‘This is my family.’’

And Fowler?

‘‘He’s the catalyst, there’s no question about that,’’ said Maddon, who until Fowler’s return was faced with using corner-outfield comb-overs and mix-and-match leadoff assignments to cover his departure until somebody such as was ready to break in from the minors. ‘‘Imagine the lineup without him [Monday].’’

Fowler, who struggled in the first half of last season before taking off in the second half, opened this season by igniting the Cubs’ offense in a 9-0 rout, and coming back strong again Tuesday.

Before ace Jake Arrieta threw the staff’s first pitch of the year, Fowler had crossed the plate. He led off the game with a double and scored on a single by Anthony Rizzo two batters later.

‘‘Obviously, he got us going,’’ Arrieta said.

Fowler’s home run Tuesday came on a 3-0 pitch in the seventh, a two-run shot that made it 6-1.

“I really loved the 3-0 homer right there,” Maddon said, “because they’ve got a lefty up [in the bullpen], with a lefty [Jason Heyward] on deck. It’s just a different vibe if he doesn’t do that on that particular pitch. That was a big play in the game.”

Fowler is 5-for-8 with a walk and four runs scored as the Cubs take a day off before opening a four-game series in Phoenix against the Diamondbacks.

‘‘Beautiful thing,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘As he goes, we go.’’

Fowler knows it. And if it looks like he’s on a mission this time around, it’s because he is.

‘‘I’m always on a personal mission,’’ said Fowler, whose return was spurred in large part by the Orioles’ refusal to offer him an opt-out clause after telling him they expected him to absorb the cost of the compensatory draft pick they were giving up to sign him.

It also was spurred by the nagging sense of unfinished business he and the rest of the Cubs felt after being eliminated by the Mets in the National League Championship Series.

‘‘Coming back here, we’ve got something to prove,’’ he said.

Maddon said he thinks Fowler is playing with a chip on his shoulder this season, partly because of the way the qualifying offer/draft-pick compensation system left him — and others — twisting in the wind all winter.

Maybe because of the way the game suddenly seemed to undervalue him after seven productive years (.363 on- base percentage) and a major contribution last season to one of the most intriguing, exciting Cubs teams in memory.

Whatever it is, Fowler has a new appreciation for the business side of the game (and deep hostility toward the qualifying-offer system). And recognizes the small window of opportunity he intends to seize with this team of friends.

“I’ve always been the underdog,” he said. “Coming in, I always play with a chip on my shoulder. I’m going to go out and have fun and try to embrace the time I have with my teammates.”

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Daily Herald Chicago Cubs have leadoff leader in Fowler By Bruce Miles

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon has all kinds of lineup machinations and combinations at his disposal.

For Tuesday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels, Maddon switched things up against left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney, getting right-handed batter Matt Szczur into the lineup in left field.

The middle of the order was different, too.

But there remains one constant: leadoff man Dexter Fowler.

When Fowler all but parachuted into spring training a few weeks back after his surprise re-signing with the Cubs, he solved a number of problems for the team. He plays a solid center fielder, and his return allowed Jason Heyward to move to his familiar spot in right.

And no matter what Maddon does in the middle and bottom of the batting order. Fowler is the guy at the top.

On Opening Night, Fowler went 3-for-4 with a walk and 3 runs scored. He made his presence felt immediately, leading off the game with a double and scoring.

"He's showed it last night; that's what he did pretty much the second half of last season," Maddon said Tuesday. "He was the guy who really got us going, and (Kyle) Schwarber hitting second. When Schwarbs came on line, it made a huge difference for us in the second half. It's set up a little bit differently now except for the fact that Dexter still is that guy."

It was a long winter of uncertainty for Fowler, who wound up coming back to the Cubs on a one-year deal (with a mutual option for 2017) on Feb. 25. A popular guy in the clubhouse, Fowler has slid right back into the fold.

"Team wise, yeah," he said. "We've got some unfinished business and are trying to take care of it this year."

Fowler put up a line of .250/.346/.411 last year with a career-best 17 home runs. Being the constant at the top of the order appeals to him.

"Oh, for sure," he said. "I've been hitting leadoff for my whole career -- hitting first or second -- so being out of the leadoff spot would definitely be change for me."

Maddon's catch phrase for Fowler when he goes to the plate is, "You go, we go." In other words, if Fowler is doing good things, the Cubs are enjoying success.

"Hopefully, that's not going away for several more years," Maddon said. "The ingratiating personality that he has and the energy that he has, all that stuff matters to us on a daily basis."

A switch hitter, Fowler batted .326 with 4 homers right-handed and .228 with 13 homers left-handed.

"It's always interesting to have him bat right-handed," Maddon said. "It's beautiful, man. The energy is great. Him showing up in camp and what he meant to the group is obvious. I feel pretty good about it."

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Daily Herald Arrieta sharp in opening act for Chicago Cubs By Bruce Miles

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jake Arrieta may have the toughest act to follow in all of baseball.

After all, how do you improve on a season in which you go 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA and win the Cy Young Award?

Arrieta made a pretty good go of it Monday night in the season opener against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He picked up right where he left off last year, working 7 shutout innings, giving up 2 hits, as the Chicago Cubs cruised to a 9-0 victory. Arrieta walked one, struck out six and threw 89 pitches.

All the while, what looks to be a pretty potent lineup did its part by seeing plenty of pitches and getting the big hits when needed.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon was trying his best before the game to sound realistic about Arrieta.

"Just understand, it's going to be very difficult for him to do what he did last year," Maddon said. "I still expect that he's going to pitch extremely well. But that was unworldly a little bit in the second half of the year. I would not anticipate that many innings (229) out of him again. I think it's really important that we temper that. I want this guy to have a long major-league career.

"So far so good going into the season. He feels great. Understand that he's got a chance to be really good again, but understand that was a little bit above and beyond last year."

Arrieta seemed ready for anything.

"Numbers wise, it's tough to expect that," he said of replicating last year. "I do. I still do. I expect to pitch this way every time I take the mound. Once the ball leaves your hands, you can't dictate the results. I expect to execute at a pretty high percentage. If I execute, if I pound the with my stuff and keep them guessing with my stuff, I'll have a pretty good opportunity to have another good year."

Arrieta also said it was good to get the first game and first win out of the way.

"We prepare for this," he said. "The last game of the season we played in the NLCS, we were ready for this moment. Guys came to camp ready with a game plan, well prepared. Everybody executed appropriately. It all comes to a head in a game like this."

The Cubs' offense wasted no time getting started against Angels starting pitcher .

Dexter Fowler, whom the Cubs re-signed in spring training, led off the game with a double to right field. It looked like Fowler might be stranded after Jason Heyward grounded out and Ben Zobrist struck out, but Anthony Rizzo drove him home with a single to center field.

Maddon didn't set his lineup until Monday morning, and it featured Jorge Soler as the designated hitter.

At least for Monday night, the 3-4-5 in the order was Zobrist, Rizzo and Kris Bryant, with Kyle Schwarber hitting fifth. The lineup figures to be fluid most of the season.

"I think Zo has the ability to get on base as often as KB does hitting in front of (Rizzo)," Maddon said. "I may change my mind as this plays out. The No. 3 hitter comes up with two outs and nobody on more than anybody else. If that's the case, I like it to be Zobrist getting on base for Rizzo."

The Cubs got RBI singles from Soler and Miguel Montero in the fourth. Montero hit the Cubs' first home run of the season, a 2-run drive to right field in the sixth.

"It always feels good when you hit a home run," Montero said.

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Daily Herald Cubs' 'family' ready for another run at it By Bruce Miles

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- There's nothing else quite like it on the calendar: Opening Day.

It seems to have the same effect on everybody on a baseball team, from the team owner all the way down.

Maybe it's the pregame fireworks, the flyover or the huge American flag being unfurled in the outfield. Or maybe it's just the sense of renewal.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon was not playing Monday night when his team opened the 2016 season against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but even he admitted to butterflies in the stomach.

"Of course," said Maddon, entering his second season with the Cubs. "I'm always nervous the day of the first game. I felt a little bit different when I woke up this morning. It speaks to what I was talking about in spring training: There's nothing more different than a spring-training game and a regular-season game. Nothing could be more different. So you woke up today with a little bit of a buzz about you.

"It's good. It gets that adrenaline pumping where it needs to be. I hope I'm never not nervous. That's two negatives, but you know what I'm saying on Opening Day. I hope that I'm always nervous on Opening Day."

Team president Theo Epstein, the architect of last year's 97-win team, also sees something special in this one day.

"Opening Day, to me, is the symbolic start of something you know is going to challenge you," he said. "The season challenges you, most of all the players, but also the front office and the fans.

"I said this in spring training and I'll say it again: It's great to have a group of players that we really trust. We trust their talent.

"More importantly, we trust their character, who they are. We think they're mature enough at a relatively young age to handle the things that are going to come up and go wrong during the season. We trust the organization. There are a lot of great people here. Everyone's in it for the right reasons."

Ricketts always has expressed optimism, even in the lean years. It's even more so now.

"The expectations should be high," he said. "It's a good team, but a lot of other teams got better. We've got a really tough division. We've got to play the games to see how it shakes out."

In the clubhouse before the game, players expressed gratitude that spring training was finally over. Perhaps the most poignant comment came from Kris Bryant, who noted that it was his first major-league Opening Day but the last for veteran backup catcher David Ross.

Ross said he indeed was thinking about his big-league journey and that a lot of things would cross his mind when he stood on the baseline for pregame introductions.

"I don't want to start crying (on) TV," he said. "I'll be out there taking it in. I'm going to try to take it all in. It's on my mind, just to get the season started. When you try to reflect, to take the moments in, it can get overwhelming sometimes. I'm just trying to get back to the routine of being a baseball player."

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Daily Herald Imrem: Cubs definitely will battle By Mike Imrem

The over-under on the first Cubs bench-clearing brawl is, well, anytime now.

Call it a hunch, but they're going to have to become the Combative Cubs on the way to wherever they'll wind up.

Why? Because they seem to have the potential to be a team that other teams don't like.

Especially if Jake Arrieta pitches like he did last year and like he came out winging in Monday night's season opener.

Talk about picking up where Arrieta left off: The 2015 Cy Young Award winner went 7 innings on a yield of 2 hits and zero runs.

The consensus says that Arrieta can't repeat the type of effectiveness he demonstrated last year except, that he did in this game.

Look out, league.

If the Cubs are really as great as analysts predict, opponents will test and tweak them a little and manager Joe Maddon will make sure his team doesn't back down.

So while these Cubs are being challenged by expectations, one expectation should be that they'll have to throw a few punches this season.

And won't that be fun, a heavy dose of hardball to go with what promises to be a rough, tough pennant race?

Maybe it'll be Kyle Schwarber charging Zack Greinke at the mound or Anthony Rizzo wrestling Yasiel Puig on the turf.

Heck, Joe Maddon and Dusty Baker might collide at home plate while barking at each other.

If the Cubs continue to ascend, they won't do so without competition. Teams will battle them on the scoreboard, in the standings and it says here occasionally in an imaginary diamond-shaped steel cage.

It was taken for granted forever that the Cubs wouldn't ever win anything. Now it's taken for granted that they will.

With that turn of events, don't be surprised if offended opponents consider Maddon a little too hip a manager, Kris Bryant a little too perfect a slugger, Jason Heyward a little too wealthy a .268 lifetime hitter.

Envy, jealousy and resentment being what they are, other teams are likely to perceive too many Cubs to be a little too much of something and a little too full of themselves.

The Cubs do like to celebrate their successes. It's the kind of behavior athletes like to be a part of but hate being apart from. The season is long, tempers grow short and people in the other dugout will tire of the Cubs.

Even before the Cubs made the playoffs last season they had a confident swagger as if to announce that they're good and intend to get better. This season, confidence might be perceived as cockiness and swagger as arrogance.

The Cubs still haven't won anything but are being treated like they already won everything.

You know, like rock stars without a hit album.

That can't thrill the Cardinals, who have won a lot, and the Pirates, who slowly improved for years only to lose to the upstart Cubs in the 2015 postseason.

Maddon doesn't care what others think. He does what he does -- tricks and gimmicks mixed with masterful strategy -- and dares you to beat him.

Oh, and the Cubs manager isn't afraid of conflict either. Remember last season when he warned the Cardinals, "We don't start stuff, but we will stop stuff"?

Read that to mean that if necessary the Combative Cubs will respond to mumble with grumble and grumble with rumble.

The over-under on the first brawl is sooner than later.

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Cubs.com Lester comes out 'locked in' with opening gem By Carrie Muskat

ANAHEIM -- A year ago, Jon Lester was dealing with a shortened Spring Training, created because of some soreness in his left arm. He had a new contract, and was pitching for a new team in a new league. He was frustrated with how his first season with the Cubs went.

On Tuesday, all of that was forgotten as Lester opened with seven solid innings, holding the Angels to four hits in the Cubs' 6-1 Interleague victory.

"Physically, mentally, I'm light years ahead of where I was last year at this point," Lester said.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo could tell immediately.

"After Jon's first pitch today, it was a ball, but I was like, 'Man, that moved a lot more than it normally does,'" Rizzo said. "He looked locked in. It was nice for him to get rolling. We want our pitchers to get rolling and feel good and comfortable and us scoring runs for them is just going to help."

Besides being healthy and more comfortable with the Cubs, the biggest difference for Lester is his delivery. Cubs manager Joe Maddon saw it in Spring Training.

"I don't think there was a moment last year when I thought his delivery was as smooth as I saw it in this past camp," Maddon said.

Lester agreed.

"I fell into some bad habits for whatever reason," the left-hander said of last season. "I don't know if it was trying to create something with arm angle or arm speed and I fell into some bad habits. It really affected me through the year.

"This year I feel more like myself," he said. "I'm able to repeat more. The ball is obviously down more. I'm able to fix mistakes the next pitch as opposed to three or four pitches later."

In his first year with the Cubs, Lester was 11-12 with a respectable 3.34 ERA. Imagine what he could do if he's feeling that much better.

"Last year was so different," Lester said. "There was a lot of hype involved around myself and a lot of expectations for myself and you try to go out there for the first start and live up to those expectations all at once as opposed to letting the season play out and go through your 32 starts and see where you're at at the end."

He didn't get his first win with the Cubs last season until his fifth start. Now, he's got the first "W" out of the way. It's the first time he's gotten a win in his first start of the season since 2013.

"The biggest thing is we played good baseball -- that's the main thing," Lester said.

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Cubs.com Cubs as advertised, cruise past Halos By Alden Gonzalez and Carrie Muskat

ANAHEIM -- Jon Lester took the baton from Jake Arrieta and ran with it on Tuesday night, dominating the Angels through seven innings and leading his Cubs to a 6-1 victory.

The Cubs -- a trendy pick to win the World Series -- won both of their games at Angel Stadium by a combined score of 15-1, out-hitting their opponents, 20-7. Dexter Fowler notched nine total bases in the quick two-game set, the same amount the Angels amassed as a team.

One day after Arrieta, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, held the Angels to three baserunners through seven innings, Lester yielded just one run on four hits in seven masterful frames of his own, walking none and striking out four.

With that, Arrieta and Lester became the first pair of Cubs pitchers to toss at least seven innings in the team's first two games of a season since Jon Lieber and Kerry Wood in 2001.

"Last year was so different and there was a lot of hype involved around myself and a lot of expectations for myself," Lester said. "You try to go out there for the first start and live up to those expectations all at once as opposed to letting the season play out and go through your 32 starts and see where you're at at the end. Physically, mentally, I'm light years ahead of where I was last year at this point."

The Cubs did their damage off opposing starter Andrew Heaney in the third inning, getting a solo homer from Matt Szczur, an RBI groundout by Jason Heyward and a two-run homer by Anthony Rizzo, on a ball that traveled a projected distance of 422 feet to straightaway center field, according to ™.

Chicago ballooned its lead in the seventh, when Fowler lifted a two-run homer to right field off Mike Morin, who hadn't given up a run since the start of Spring Training.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Go Wildcats: Maddon said before the game that he started Szczur to take advantage of the good vibe from Villanova's win in the men's NCAA basketball championship. Szczur delivered, leading off the third inning with a home run. He totaled eight RBIs in 47 games last year with the Cubs, and has four already after hitting a three-run double Monday.

"That's what he has to do -- he's got to hit lefties," Maddon said.

Offense stalls: The Angels' offense clicked throughout Spring Training, which saw them post a collective .844 OPS. But the first two games have been reminiscent of a 2015 season in which they finished 20th in runs scored. The Angels managed seven hits and got four runners in scoring position.

"We just need to get it going as a team," Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun said. "Obviously we're not off on the right foot, but there's a lot of baseball still to play. Once we start clicking as a team, putting some hits together, we'll be alright."

Left vs. right: Rizzo had a better batting average against left-handers last season, hitting .294 compared to .272 against right-handers. Six of his 31 total home runs came off lefties. On Tuesday, he connected on his first home run of the season and did so off Angels lefty Heaney.

We have a bleeder: Heaney's nose got a little bloody to start the second, so the young left-hander was allowed to briefly go to the dugout to have a gauze lodged into one of his nostrils. Heaney -- who walked none, struck out seven and looked sharp in five of his six innings -- said the gauze didn't bother him much, besides drying out his mouth. Like Garrett Richards on Monday, Heaney was done in by one bad inning.

"It's frustrating," Heaney said. "I think I just tried to nibble a little bit too much. I just kind of got myself in some bad counts, and whenever I was in good counts, I didn't put good pitches to put guys away. I tried to rectify the situation, but at that point it was a little bit too late; I had already given up four."

QUOTABLE

"The game plan they had on them was pretty good. They're two of the best hitters on the planet. It's fortunate for us. The next team they play will have to deal with the consequences. They're going to get hot sooner rather than later." -- Rizzo, on Trout and Pujols going a combined 0-for-15 with five strikeouts in the two games

"If you look up the definition of a small sample in the dictionary, you're going to find that these two games are a small sample." -- Angels manager Mike Scioscia, on his team getting off to a rough start

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

This is the first time the Cubs have opened the season 2-0 since 1995.

WHAT'S NEXT

Cubs: After an off-day Wednesday, the Cubs return to Arizona for a four-game series against the D-backs. Right- hander John Lackey will make his Cubs debut, starting Thursday night. First pitch will be 8:40 p.m. CT.

Angels: The Angels are also off on Wednesday, then host a four-game series against the Rangers starting Thursday. Hector Santiago takes the ball in the opener, opposite fellow lefty Derek Holland, with game time set for 7:05 p.m. PT on FOX Sports 1.

Watch every out-of-market regular season game live on MLB.TV.

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Cubs.com Szczur channels Nova's hoops title in hot start By Carrie Muskat

ANAHEIM -- Matt Szczur started in left field Tuesday, partly to take advantage of his right-handed bat against Angels' lefty Andrew Heaney but also to help celebrate Villanova's win in the NCAA men's basketball championship Monday night. At least, that was manager Joe Maddon's reasoning.

Szczur, who starred on the Villanova football and baseball teams, hit a three-run double on Monday in the Cubs' 9- 0 win over the Angels, and came through on Tuesday, smacking a leadoff home run in the third. He also singled in the seventh and scored a run in the Cubs' 6-1 victory over the Angels.

"Villanova wins the national championship, so I thought it was a good bet for tonight," Maddon said before the game.

"Matt Szczur is hot as a match," Cubs catcher David Ross said. "What a great bat off the bench he's been so far." Szczur totaled eight RBIs in 47 games last year with the Cubs; he has four in two games already. He also matched his home run total from 2015. Last year, Szczur connected off the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw.

"I think there's a lot of pressure off my back," Szczur said. "I'm just trying to go out there and play and help the team win. We're here to win and coming off the bench or starting, I'll help the team win any way I can."

Told that Maddon liked the Villanova connection, Szczur smiled.

"That's good," Szczur said. "That's good that I produced, too."

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Cubs.com Wrigley institutions in place for Opening Day By Carrie Muskat

ANAHEIM -- Billy Williams, Ron Santo and are back at Wrigley Field. will join them on Friday. And the marquee at Clark and Addison streets also was expected to be in place in plenty of time before the Cubs' home opener Monday night against the Reds.

The statues and the marquee were removed this offseason because of construction at the 102-year-old ballpark. The marquee at Clark and Addison streets underwent restoration and is to be installed on Wednesday, the team said.

"The park will be ready Opening Day for the fans," Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Monday.

Fans will notice crews have returned some of the historic framework at Wrigley Field, replacing concrete slabs and chain-link security fencing with ornamental fencing and terra cotta that previously adorned the façade of the ballpark.

The Williams, Santo and Caray statues were installed Monday. The bronze statues of Williams and Santo are located outside Gate D on the corner of and Addison Street. Caray's statue is outside the entrance to the bleachers at Waveland and Sheffield avenues.

The construction work will continue through the season at the ballpark, and some areas may be fenced off. The players will see the biggest change. They will be treated to a 30,000-square-foot home clubhouse that includes new batting cages, space for water therapy and even a pilates room.

"It'll be a better place for them to get prepared for the game, which I think ultimately could lead to some more success," Ricketts said.

The new netting is in place behind home plate and now extends from dugout to dugout, per 's recommendation.

"The knot-less netting is more transparent, so I think people will be happy," Ricketts said. "Ultimately, it's safer, and that's what the league was shooting for."

Fans attending Cubs home games are encouraged to arrive earlier to accomodate new security measures. The gates on Monday at Wrigley will open at 4:35 p.m. CT ahead of the 7:05 start time, rather than the usual two-hour window before first pitch.

Ricketts sounded like all other Cubs fans in anticipation of the season.

"We finished so strong last year, the expectations are pretty high," Ricketts said. "I think fans are expecting this to be a really great year for us. People are just excited. I speak for all fans -- let's just get the games going. It was a great year, a great offseason, and we have the makings of a really strong team, so let's just play games."

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Cubs.com Young stars Rizzo, Goldy face off in Cubs-D-backs tilt By Carrie Muskat

Paul Goldschmidt and Anthony Rizzo are two of top first basemen in baseball and two of the bright young stars in the game. They'll square off in a four-game series between the host D-backs and Cubs, starting Thursday in Phoenix.

Goldschmidt and Rizzo finished 1-2 in home runs and RBIs by National League first basemen last year. The D-backs star posted a .324 average; Rizzo batted .278. Goldschmidt is a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner; Rizzo has been selected to the All-Star Game twice. Goldschmidt finished second in the National League Most Valuable Player voting last year, Rizzo was fourth.

"I really enjoy watching him play," Rizzo said of Goldschmidt. "We're similar. He runs the bases, I try to run the bases, we both play defense and he hits. He plays all aspects of the game."

Goldschmidt, 28, is a favorite in the D-backs' clubhouse, too. He gave up a corner locker to Rickie Weeks Jr., a space usually dedicated to a veteran player.

"That's the thing that's good about him -- he's humble," Weeks said of Goldschmidt. "Sometimes you see guys in this league with a lot of ego, but when it comes down to it, we're all blessed to play this game and if you play it the right way and be humble, the game rewards you. That shows you what kind of guy he is."

Goldschmidt has his "Goldy's Fund 4 Kids" that benefits Phoenix Children's Hospital. Rizzo's charitable efforts are coordinated by the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, which has raised more than $1 million through its events to battle pediatric cancer.

"He is a great teammate," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Rizzo, 26. "This guy gives his time to everybody. This guy is positive to everybody he comes in contact with. He's absolutely about team. He's willing to carry the message of the organization and the group."

What to watch for

• John Lackey will make his Cubs debut Thursday night in the series opener against the D-backs. Lackey, who signed a two-year contract this offseason, appeared in three Cactus League games but also made two starts in the Minor League camp to tune up. Maddon, who knew Lackey when he was a rookie with the Angels, has been impressed with the right-hander's delivery this spring.

• Rubby De La Rosa will start for the D-backs. The right-hander had an uneven spring, and gave up 14 earned runs over 16 1/3 innings in his last three outings.

• On Thursday, the D-backs will pay tribute to the 1999 team that played in the National League Division Series and wear the alternate home vest uniform, which was worn from 1998-2006.

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Cubs.com Where the Cubs' Top 30 Prospects are starting the season By Jim Callis

With the 2016 season getting started, here's a look at where the Cubs' Top 30 prospects are projected to start the season:

1. Gleyber Torres -- (A Adv) 2. -- (AAA) 3. Ian Happ -- Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A Adv) 4. Duane Underwood -- Extended spring training 5. Albert Almora -- Iowa Cubs (AAA) 6. Billy McKinney -- (AA) 7. Jeimer Candelario -- Tennessee Smokies (AA) 8. Dylan Cease -- Extended spring training 9. Oscar De La Cruz -- Extended spring training 10. Eloy Jimenez -- (A) 11. Pierce Johnson -- Iowa Cubs (AAA) 12. Donnie Dewees -- South Bend Cubs (A) 13. Bryan Hudson -- Extended spring training 14. D.J. Wilson -- Extended spring training 15. Eddy Julio Martinez -- South Bend Cubs (A) 16. Carl Edwards Jr. -- Iowa Cubs (AAA) 17. Justin Steele -- South Bend Cubs (A) 18. Mark Zagunis -- Tennessee Smokies (AA) 19. Ryan Williams -- Iowa Cubs (AAA) 20. Dan Vogelbach -- Iowa Cubs (AAA) 21. Trevor Clifton -- Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A Adv) 22. Jake Stinnett -- Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A Adv) 23. Carson Sands -- South Bend Cubs (A) 24. Jen-Ho Tseng -- Tennessee Smokies (AA) 25. Victor Caratini -- Tennessee Smokies (AA) 26. Christian Villanueva -- Chicago Cubs (MLB) -- DL 27. Corey Black -- Tennessee Smokies (AA) 28. Jacob Hannemann -- Tennessee Smokies (AA) 29. Brad Markey -- Tennessee Smokies (AA) 30. Josh Conway -- Tennessee Smokies (AA)

Team to watch

The Cubs' best prospects are divided almost equally between their four full-season clubs, but Double-A Tennessee has the deepest roster. The Smokies feature nine members of our Cubs Top 30, including a Top 100 overall prospect in outfielder McKinney (No. 87) and a Top 10 third baseman in Candelario. A third top prospect, right- hander Underwood, will join them when he's ready to leave extended spring training.

New faces

Martinez, a Cuban defector who signed for $3 million in October, will make his pro debut at Class A South Bend. He'll be part of an all-prospect outfield with Jimenez and Dewees.

On the shelf

Third baseman Villanueva led Cubs farmhands with 20 homers and 95 RBIs in 2015 but will miss all of this season after breaking the fibula in his right leg in February. Underwood and fellow right-hander De La Cruz had some minor soreness and will spend some time in extended spring training. Underwood should join Tennessee in mid- April, while De La Cruz will head to South Bend later in the season.

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ESPNChicago.com Year 2 could be a lot different for Jon Lester (and David Ross) By Jesse Rogers

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It’s not clear if Chicago Cubs lefty Jon Lester is more comfortable on the mound because it’s his second season in a new league or second year with his new team. Or maybe it’s the fact he’s healthy and had a full spring training, or perhaps it’s just that his best friend, John Lackey, is beside him everywhere he goes.

“You just saw it in spring how much more relaxed he was,” first baseman Anthony Rizzo said after the Cubs' 6-1 win over the Angels on Tuesday. “Especially with John Lackey here. Those two are Yin and Yang.”

In reality, all of those factors have set Lester up for a big year after a seven-inning, one-run debut Tuesday night. He and Jake Arrieta dominated the Angels the first two nights of the season, holding them to one run over 14 innings while in the game. Albert Pujols and Mike Trout went 0-for-15 in the two games.

That set the tone for the series sweep. The Cubs made it look easy.

“I feel like I made some really good pitches to those guys,” the always-understated Lester said after the game.

In fact, he’s been making good pitches since the beginning of the spring. It’s a huge difference from a year ago, when he struggled with expectations and a dead arm. Now he’s healthy and no longer the big free-agent face of the team. In fact, he’s not even the ace anymore, but he’s still capable of dominating.

“Last year was so different,” he said. “There was a lot of hype involved just around myself. A lot of expectations for myself. You try and go out there your first start, trying to live up to those expectations all at once as opposed to letting the season play out.”

It never felt or looked right for him. It absolutely does this time around. Lester got better in each spring start, culminating in a five-inning, 10-strikeout performance just before the regular season began. It carried over to Tuesday, when his changeup and curveball were on the mark even if his cutter wasn’t. Whatever the case, Lester knows how to pitch -- and now that he’s comfortable again, he might show the baseball world the Cubs aren’t just about Arrieta, their Cy Young winner.

“He pitched really well to the scouting report,” catcher David Ross said. “He’s had a natural progression throughout the spring. He’s gotten better in every start. Everybody needs his time to get ready.”

Ross is also in his second season with the Cubs, but there’s less mystery to his fast start. His isn’t about comfort; it’s about defying age. At 37, he hit .176 last season -- it wasn’t good enough, for him or the team. And it won’t be for the final year of his career. Ross wants to go out on a high note. His two hits and four good at-bats on Tuesday were a good beginning -- and a carryover from a hot spring.

“It was something I worked on and put a lot of time in,” Ross said. “Just see if I can be part of the grind of at-bats these guys do nightly. I want to be part of the mix.”

Lester and Ross -- bound together every five days, for better or worse. Both struggled at times last season, but their 2016 debuts were anything but average. Lester’s $155 million “burden” is behind him, as are his health problems. It means the National League is on notice. Lester gave up four hits, struck out four and didn’t walk anyone as Cubs pitching dominated the Angels over two nights.

“After Jon's first pitch tonight, it was a ball, but I was like, 'Man, that moved more than it normally does,’” Rizzo recalled. “Seeing him relaxed in spring, I’m happy for him in his first start.”

To a man, Lester's teammates see a different player. Lackey has a lot to do with that, as he’s contributed to the comfort factor that Lester admittedly didn’t have last year. He’s seemingly found it in Year 2, though, and now has nowhere to go but up. Lester is a “feel pitcher,” and boy is he feeling good right now.

“I’m in a better place than last year coming into the season,” Lester said. “Physically, mentally, I’m light years ahead of where I was last year at this point.”

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ESPNChicago.com Repeat performance nets Cubs a sweep of the Angels By Jesse Rogers

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It was déjà vu all over again as the Chicago Cubs used a similar formula from opening night in defeating the Los Angeles Angels, this time 6-1 in Game 2 of the season on Tuesday.

Jon Lester went seven innings -- exactly the same length as Jake Arrieta the night before -- giving up one run. The Cubs' offense kept Angels starter Andrew Heaney on the mound for one lengthy inning (third) before chasing him after six. Garrett Richards suffered a similar fate the night before and the Angels must be scratching their heads: It wasn't what they did wrong so much as what the Cubs did right in sweeping the two-game series. Pretty much everything is the answer.

The definitive inning came in the third -- it was the fourth Monday -- when the Cubs sent eight men to the plate as the bottom of the order created havoc, just as they had Monday. For the second night in a row the No. 8 hitter homered as Matt Szczur made the most of his surprise start. What followed was typical Cubs baseball at this point -- despite the season being two games old. A double, single, ground out and another home run -- this one by Anthony Rizzo -- essentially put the game away thanks to Lester's performance on the mound. He looked great at the end of camp and that carried over as he gave up four hits over his seven innings. What looks like a trend now at the plate -- grinding out at-bats -- might soon be a pattern and then simply part of the Cubs' DNA. They've found a formula that works and are 2-0 because of it.

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ESPNChicago.com Matt Szczur making his case to stick with Cubs By Jesse Rogers

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Villanova alum Matt Szczur is making a case to stick with the team even after Javier Baez comes off the disabled list (thumb). Manager Joe Maddon started the righty Szczur on Tuesday night -- he homered in his first at-bat -- against Los Angeles Angels lefty Andrew Heaney one night after Szczur delivered a three-run double in the Chicago Cubs 9-0 win. That came not long after the Villanova Wildcats won the NCAA men's basketball championship with a 3-pointer of their own.

"It was poetic justice wasn't it?" Maddon said of the two 3s.

"Give him an opportunity to get out there and play a little bit. We have to check him out."

That implies the Cubs are contemplating what to do with Szczur when Baez is ready, considering the former player is out of options. It means he has to clear waivers if he's to be sent to Triple-A Iowa. Baez does not, though Maddon made it clear he had a spot on the Cubs when healthy. Of course that can change.

A simple case can be made that Szczur has more value in the role being asked of him than Baez, though Baez has more potential and can play more positions. That's not to say the decision comes down to Baez or Szczur. The Cubs are carrying eight relief pitchers. One of them could go down to the minors, but that one would be a tough call as well. The last pitcher to make the team, Neil Ramirez, is out of options just as Szczur is.

"The game has this cruel way of making its own decisions," Maddon said. "Let's see when that day happens, we'll make the appropriate decision at that time."

But let's assume there are no new injuries and Szczur proves he's a better than decent option off the bench. He and Tommy La Stella are probably better pinch-hitters than Baez or Jorge Soler despite the talent disparity the latter players possess. It's an interesting question. Is a team better suited with extra starters coming off the bench or true utility guys who have perfected their role coming in late in games? If there's a major injury to a starter than there's no doubt who the replacement is, but for purely a bench position a case can be made for the lesser overall talent.

"I'm excited just to be part of this team and help contribute," Szczur said.

That sounds like someone just happy to be here. Baez and Soler have higher aspirations -- which they should -- but there is something about everyone understanding their roles. Having said that, Baez and Soler have shown every willingness to accept what the Cubs are asking of them, especially Baez considering he's learning multiple defensive positions. Maddon was asked directly if Szczur was making a case to stick around.

"Could be," he responded.

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