ATLANTA -- If you see Albert Almora Jr. and Dexter Fowler talking a lot in the outfield, that's a good thing. Fowler is helping position the Cubs' rookie, who made his presence felt in left field on Friday night with two stellar defensive plays.
Almora made a nice sliding catch of Nick Markakis' fly ball to left to open the Braves' second inning, and he also robbed Markakis of a potential extra-base hit in the seventh in Atlanta's 5-1 win over the Cubs.
"He plays hard," right-hander Jason Hammel said of Almora, who made his second start in left field on Friday. "He's a quality addition. We pride ourselves on the guys we have at the lower levels. They're going to come up here and help us. Albert is no different. He came up and made an impact right away. He's a player to watch play."

Almora also doubled to lead off the third and eventually scored on Fowler's groundout, but that turned out to be the Cubs' only run.
This was Almora's first time at Turner Field. How did he adjust so quickly?
"The only difference I've seen is the third deck [in the stadium] when the ball comes off the bat," Almora said of having to adjust to a different backdrop. "Once it's in the air, it's in the air. You know your situation, your surroundings, the wind. I have a pretty good idea of where I'm at, and Dexter is doing a great job positioning me where I need to be, and it's been working out well defensively."

Both Fowler and first-base coach Brandon Hyde are helping Almora with positioning -- plus, the rookie has plenty to study in the scouting reports.
"If I have an idea, I'll move and let [Fowler] know where I'm going," Almora said. "We're working really well out there, the three of us."

That includes right fielder Jason Heyward, who made a nice catch of Markakis' ball in the third.