July 1, 2018 • Chicago Tribune, Cubs bats as hot as the weather: 20-hit, 14-9 win over Twins is 3rd straight game with double-digit runs http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-twins-20180630-story.html • Chicago Tribune, Kris Bryant 'on target' to return to Cubs next week, but Joe Maddon says they won't push it http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-kris-bryant-return-disabled-list- 20180630-story.html • Chicago Sun-Times, Cubs reach halfway point with wild win over Twins https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/cubs-reach-halfway-point-with-wild-win-over-twins/ • Chicago Sun-Times, ‘More definition’ a positive for Yu Darvish, Cubs https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/more-definition-a-positive-for-yu-darvish-cubs/ • Chicago Sun-Times, Albert Almora leaves Saturday’s Cubs game with leg cramps https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/albert-almora-leaves-saturdays-cubs-game/ • Daily Herald, Chicago Cubs' Almora, Baez not thinking about beings all-stars http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20180630/chicago-cubs-almora-baez-not-thinking-about- beings-all-stars • Daily Herald, Singularly offensive: Cubs use small ball to beat Twins 14-9 http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/20180630/singularly-offensive-cubs-use-small-ball-to-beat- twins-14-9 • The Athletic, What we’ve learned about the Cubs at the season’s midpoint https://theathletic.com/415144/2018/06/30/what-weve-learned-about-the-cubs-at-the-seasons- midpoint/ • Cubs.com, Cubs beat heat, outlast Twins in hitfest win https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/cubs-outhit-twins-win-on-hot-day-at-wrigley/c-283636020 • Cubs.com, Almora has 3-for-3 day, but exits with leg cramps https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/albert-almora-jr-exits-after-big-day-at-plate/c-283652624 • Cubs.com, Hendricks 'focusing on every throw' to improve https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/kyle-hendricks-working-to-improve-mechanics/c-283637804 -- Chicago Tribune Cubs bats as hot as the weather: 20-hit, 14-9 win over Twins is 3rd straight game with double-digit runs By Phil Rogers The finish line is exactly as far away as the starting point for the Cubs, and that should be a welcome development. Recent history says they’re about to get rolling, and the way they’re swinging the bat says maybe the turnaround has already begun. Despite weather hot enough to force four players out of the game, the Cubs scored in double digits for the third game in a row Saturday, beating the Twins 14-9 before 40,950 at Wrigley Field. Jason Heyward’s bases-loaded single broke a 9-9 tie in the seventh, and the Cubs added four more runs in the inning to make the lead as comfortable as it could be on a day like this. The Cubs finished with a season-high 20 hits, 17 of them singles. All three extra-base hits were doubles. Manager Joe Maddon said the game reminded him of one in the Texas League in which his Midland team lost to El Paso 30-5 despite El Paso not hitting a home run. “That’s impossible,” Maddon said. “The park is smaller than this, the wind blows out harder than this, but that occurred. For those that have never experienced West Texas baseball, you just saw it today. That’s exactly what it looks like, what it’s played like, what it feels like. Fortunately we kicked the last field goal.” Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario and Cubs center fielder Albert Almora Jr. exited in the fifth — Rosario for a defensive replacement mid-inning, Almora for a pinch runner because his legs were cramping — when the temperature had climbed to 96 with a 107 heat index. The Twins switched catchers in the sixth after Bobby Wilson looked wobbly running the bases, and they replaced center fielder Max Kepler in the eighth because of another apparent case of dehydration. “Not everybody is used to this,” said Javier Baez, who was 2-for-6 and made his usual share of outstanding fielding plays. “I was fine, but I’m used to it.” The Cubs are 46-35 at the midpoint of the season — short of where they hoped to be but well within sight of President Theo Epstein’s annual goal of 95-plus wins. They have consistently played better in the second half of the season since Maddon arrived. They’ve built their .597 winning percentage (338-228) in the Maddon era by going 157-85 after the 81st game, with 52 or 53 true second-half wins in each of the last three seasons. “The big thing is, if you’re doing well, it’s nice (to have a good record halfway through),” Maddon said. “If you’re not where you want to be, don’t panic, there’s a lot of time left, obviously. I’ve learned that over time.” Maddon expects better from a Cubs team that has led the National League Central for only five days this season. “We’ve played well in spurts but still haven’t played to our capabilities yet,” he said. “Part of it is we missed KB (Kris Bryant) for a bit. We missed (Carl) Edwards and (Brandon) Morrow for a bit and got through that moment. Our starting pitching hasn’t nailed it down like we thought they would. There’s been some things that have happened, and in spite of it, we’re still in pretty good position.” The Cubs have scored double-digit runs in their last three games, including two victories over the Twins. They go for a sweep Sunday with Jon Lester facing Lance Lynn. Tyler Chatwood got off the hook Saturday despite allowing a season-high seven runs. Maddon was hoping to get him into the seventh, but Chatwood imploded in a four-run fifth, when the Twins took a 7- 4 lead. The Cubs jumped back ahead 9-7, but the Twins tied it 9-9 before the Cubs took control for good with five runs in the seventh. “We’re in a good spot,” Chatwood said. “We’re starting to play good baseball. We’re in a good spot in the standings. Everybody’s excited to get going.” Getting into the air conditioning is nice too. -- Chicago Tribune Kris Bryant 'on target' to return to Cubs next week, but Joe Maddon says they won't push it By Phil Rogers Kris Bryant is eligible to rejoin the Cubs on Tuesday for the start of a series against the Tigers but might need a little extra time to sufficiently recover from inflammation in his left shoulder. “He’s doing well,” manager Joe Maddon said Saturday. “He’s still on target maybe (for) Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. We’re not sure. Everything’s going in the right direction, but there would be no sense in pushing it if he’s not 100 percent ready.” Bryant is on the disabled list for the first time in his career. He and Anthony Rizzo enjoyed good health from 2015 to ’17, their first three seasons together. But Rizzo preceded Bryant on the DL with a 10-day stint in April after trying to play through tightness in his lower back. The Cubs were 4-4 while Rizzo was out and have gone 4-4 without Bryant. They’re 38-27 when both are active. Thanks to solid production from four replacements, Bryant’s absence has not had a major effect on scoring. The Cubs are averaging 7.3 runs in the last eight games. Rookie David Bote was at third base Saturday, his third start in Bryant’s spot. Ian Happ, Javier Baez and Tommy La Stella also have had turns at third, with the group going 10-for-26 with five walks and seven strikeouts. Baez’s two-homer, five-RBI game Tuesday at Dodger Stadium came when he started at third. Smoking hot: The game-time temperature Saturday was 91, following a 96-degree reading and 106- degree heat index for the first pitch Friday. It had climbed to 96 with a 107 index by the fifth inning Saturday, when Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario left with a heat-related illness. Albert Almora Jr. left in the bottom of the fifth because of leg cramps. Maddon said it was so hot, it made him think about when he worked in the instructional league in Arizona. “I remember one year it didn’t get lower than 100 until Oct. 10 or 11, and we started on Sept. 15,” Maddon said. “You’re doing work every day from 7 o’clock in the morning or 7:30, and we played the game at 1 o’clock and it’s 100 every day. There’s no shade. If you’ve gone through an Arizona or even Florida instructional league as a coach, it’s like that for weeks at a time.” Maddon spent two years managing the Jackson (Miss.) Mets in the Texas League in the mid-1980s. That’s the hottest he remembers being during a baseball season. “I was telling somebody during the game yesterday — it was Albert (Almora) — throwing batting practice to Dante Bichette in 1985 in Jackson, when you’re throwing (BP) and you can see water just shooting off the top of your hand, it had to be hot,” he said. “Then you go into a clubhouse that did not have air conditioning. Texas League was pretty rough. Jackson, Little Rock, Tulsa and Beaumont. You got a break in Midland and El Paso because it was dry.