Game 3 start time based on other DS outcomes
ST. LOUIS -- The Cubs will play their first postseason game at Wrigley Field since 2008 on Monday, and the start time is a little fluid. If there are four postseason games on Monday, Game 3 of the National League Division Series between the Cubs and the Cardinals will start at 5:07 p.m. CT. If there are only two or three postseason games on Monday, the game will begin at 3:37 p.m. CT.
Monday's schedule includes Game 3 of the NLDS between the Mets and Dodgers, and also could include Game 4's for both of the American League Division Series.
Monday's game will be the first postseason game at Wrigley Field since Game 2 of the NLDS between the Cubs and Dodgers on Oct. 2, 2008. Chicago lost that game, 10-3, and was swept in the best-of-five series.
:: NLDS: Cubs vs. Cardinals -- Tune-in info ::
If there is a Game 4 in the Cubs-Cardinals' NLDS, it will start at 3:37 p.m. CT on Tuesday, but could move to 7:07 p.m. CT if the Mets and Dodgers NLDS has ended. If Game 5 is necessary, it would be played at Busch Stadium on Oct. 15 and start at either 3:37 p.m. CT or 7:07 p.m. CT, again depending on the Mets-Dodgers series.
Worth noting
• Manager Joe Maddon said the Cubs' NLDS roster would not be "dramatically different" from the Wild Card Game.
"You have to do a couple of different things based on the numbers," Maddon said Thursday. "We need more pitchers, legitimate bullpen guys, a couple more starters."
The Cubs are expected to trim a position player from the Wild Card roster. They carried 10 pitchers and 15 position players against the Pirates. The 25-man NLDS roster is expected to be announced around 10 a.m. CT on Friday.
• Jake Arrieta batted ninth in the NL Wild Card Game, but that was an exception. This season, Maddon inserted the pitcher in the No. 9 spot 12 times, preferring to have them bat eighth. Part of the reasoning was that he thought it would help rookie Addison Russell develop as a hitter by batting ninth, plus he becomes what Maddon called a "leadoff batter in training." Batting the pitcher eighth also permitted Maddon to pinch-hit sooner.
After watching his format for a full season, Maddon's first in the National League, what did he think?
"I think it works if you have a really good bench and options, left- and right-hand options," Maddon said. "We have a really good switch-hitter on the bench. The eight-hole is really attractive to have your pitcher in the eight-hole game in progress, and the final point would be to hit him ninth, which I'm considering doing [Friday].
"By hitting [the pitcher] ninth, you extend making a decision [regarding the] pitcher," Maddon said. "So those are the kind of things that I've thought about, but primarily this year, the primary reason to do it was to benefit Addison Russell."
Did it? Yes, Maddon said.
"I don't think you'd have seen the same kind of development offensively from him had he been hitting in front of a pitcher all year," Maddon said of the rookie shortstop. "He would've been walked a lot. You'd expand the strike zone more often because you don't care, and you get to the pitcher next.
"So again, moving forward the rest of this playoff series, you might see the pitcher eighth, you might see him hit ninth -- it just depends on a couple of different variables, but the overarching philosophy contains all of those different components."
• The Pirates won't find it funny, but Jon Lester tried to make light of teammate Jake Arrieta getting hit by a pitch in the Wild Card Game. On his Twitter account, @JLester34, he posted: "Update: the ball that hit @JArrieta34 suffered a deep contusion to the left stitch and is out for the rest of the season. #LetsGo #NVRQT"
• Reliever Jason Motte, on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder, will not be on the Cubs' NLDS roster.
"I feel good," Motte said Thursday. "I threw a live [bullpen session] in Arizona, threw a bullpen the other day, played catch today. Everything feels good. I don't make the decisions. I go out and do what I can do to be healthy. I feel good."