No cooling Cubs, who roll to another series win
CHICAGO -- That bat that Kris Bryant has been swinging for the past few weeks has been a talking point around the Cubs lately. He has become amused by the growing attention surrounding the story, but Bryant gets it. The switch coincided with a power resurgence for the slugger, so
CHICAGO -- That bat that
On Sunday night, Bryant was able to get a pink version of his Axe handle bat for Mother's Day and he stayed hot in the batter's box, launching a two-run homer that helped Chicago pull off a 4-1 victory over the Brewers at Wrigley Field. The blast was Bryant's fifth in his past eight games and it helped the Cubs pick up their 12th win in 14 games, as well as an eighth consecutive series win.
"I don't know. I feel comfortable with the bat," Bryant said with a smile. "I'm going to keep going with it. But, yeah, I just had a laugh that it was talked about so much. But it is, it's a good bat."
Bryant's seventh-inning blast -- a two-run shot off reliever
Bryant was hardly alone in guiding the National League Central-leading Cubs to the series victory over the rival Brewers, though. Here is a look at two more players who played a key role in Sunday's win.
Lester's strong start
One night after the Cubs edged out the Brewers in a 15-inning marathon, manager Joe Maddon was asked if he was comfortable with the state of his bullpen.
"No, we're not comfortable," Maddon said with a laugh before Sunday's game.
Chicago did not make any roster moves to add reinforcements, putting the onus on veteran lefty
"I tried to save them as best I could," Lester said. "We all watched the game the day before. You know what you need to do. I was just trying to get as many quick outs as I could early on."
Lester fed Milwaukee a heavy dose of four-seamers (43) and cutters (39), generating nine swinging strikes, but mostly utilizing his defense and avoiding the barrel (30 foul balls). When the smoke cleared on his outing, Lester had given up one unearned run over 6 2/3 innings, ending with six strikeouts and one walk.
In four starts since coming off the injured list, Lester has allowed one earned run with 25 strikeouts and two walks in 24 2/3 innings.
"He's always tough every time we face him," Brewers outfielder
Lester exited in the seventh with two outs and two runners aboard, but righty
"Oh my God. He doesn't even know how he threw that pitch," Aguilar said. "The ball was moving a lot -- moving a lot. Sinking a lot. I have to give the credit to him, because he executed really good tonight."
Baez on both sides
Maddon has noticed Cubs star
"That's what I'm seeing," Maddon said. "Recently, he's come up, pulled off a couple balls. I see his head in the dugout. Too big. Chase. And then all of a sudden, he realizes what he's doing wrong. I don't say anything to him. And all of a sudden, you see boom, boom. Right-center. Right-center. His head's back on the ball. He's making better choices."
That happened again in the fifth inning, when Bryant got things started with a two-out single to left. Baez followed by sending a pitch from Brewers starter
Per Statcast, Baez entered the night batting .658 with a 1.447 OPS on balls hit to the opposite field this season.
"I feel like he's been playing well, but I don't really feel like he's been hot," Lester said. "I don't know if that's the right way to describe it, because obviously his numbers speak for themselves. But I feel like he's just had a lot of big hits for us, but he hasn't really got like kind of Javy hot."
Javy Baez has been line-to-line with his extra-base hits this year. Has consistently hit for power to the opposite field. Here's a look at his XBH this season, plus his RBI double in the 5th tonight. pic.twitter.com/70TU7TW8yk
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 13, 2019
That comment made Bryant laugh.
"I don't know what Jon's watching," he quipped. "Gosh, I watch Javy play and he's on base all the time."
In the sixth inning, Baez preserved Chicago's slim lead with his defense.
With one out and runners on the corners --
"He changes the game on both sides of the ball," Lester said. "The play he made tonight with Willy at home, I don't know if many shortstops make that play."
Jordan Bastian covers the Cubs for MLB.com. He previously covered the Indians from 2011-18 and the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Major League Bastian and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian.