Cub Tracks tops it off

You win some.

You lose some.

If I were to come to bat, this would probably be my walk-up music.

The Cubs will play again today, hoping to take the rubber game and maintain possession of the meatloaf, having earned a split in the five-game series.

And now, before you scream — here’s the news — as always * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

Cubs News and Notes:

“He just told me, ‘Hey, you’re going to get a 6-4-3 double play right now and then we’re going to score some runs next inning, so here you go,’” Tyler Chatwood said of Anthony Rizzo’s message. “Obviously, I got in the way of the 6-4-3 double play and turned it into a 1-2-3. Sure enough, they went in and scored some runs the next inning. It was pretty cool to see that happen.” — Carrie Muskat.

Javier Baez and Joe Maddon were kicked out of the game after Baez got upset with home plate umpire Will Little on a check swing strike 3 call to end the fifth inning with two men on base and the Cubs tailing 1-0. Baez wanted Little to ask for help from the first base umpire but he was denied as Little did not hesitate on the call. Maddon came out to argue and was subsequently tossed as well. It’s the first ejection for Baez in his career. — Jesse Rogers.

• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs relying on offense as starting pitchers come up short. “We do need to get it straightened out,” Maddon said of the rotation’s lack of staying power.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs decide extra rest is best for ‘fatiguing’ Jose Quintana. “Normal fatigue,” Maddon said. “He just seemed to be fatiguing a bit – nothing awful.”
• Craig Edwards (Fangraphs): The Cubs are on pace for their worst rotation ever. “...as a group, Cubs starters have been outperformed by nine major-league pitchers.”
• Steve Greenberg (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): How bad is Cubs’ Tyler Chatwood? So bad, they can’t stop winning when he pitches. “You can’t change what happened in the past,” Chatwood said. “Obviously, I know I’ve walked a lot of people. But [if] you walk them and they don’t score, I guess it’s not really relevant.”
• Rian Watt (Fangraphs): Jesse Chavez is here to pitch, not walk people. He’s used to throwing more than one inning at a time, and his 5.1% walk rate is among the very best in the game.
• Jesse Rogers (ESPN*): Cubs face tough stretch without key members of their bullpen. “When you have less than everybody, it just has to be all hands on deck,” Maddon said.
• Patrick Mooney (Sports Mockery): Cub fans might be focusing on the wrong Mets pitcher. “Zach Wheeler is viewed, by far, as the Mets starter most likely to be dealt at the trade deadline...”
• Michael Walton (NBC Sports Chicago*): Anthony Rizzo is ready to be the leading man. “...it is hard to blame Maddon for letting his experiment ride out longer.”
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs fight back after Javy Baez ejection: ‘We’re not animals’. “He had no reason to kick him out,” Maddon said.
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic* {$}): Sources: Cubs targeting Zach Britton as trade deadline approaches. “Britton would give Joe Maddon’s bullpen a different left-handed look plus more ninth-inning experience (139 career saves).”
• Tommy Birch (Des Moines Register {$}): Life-long Cubs fan Ryan Court hoping to make big-league debut with Chicago.
• Mark Gonzales (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Cubs’ top pick Nico Hoerner could return for Instructional League. “Hoerner will start his rehabilitation on Monday in Arizona, Jaron Madison said.”
• David Haugh (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Fan who survived heart attack at Wrigley Field returning to thank Cubs employee who helped him. “How do you put into words gratitude impossible to measure for a gesture unreasonable to expect?”

Food for thought:

• Beth Geiger (Science News): You’re living in a new geologic age. It’s called the Meghalayan. “It’s one of three newly designated ages divvying up the Holocene Epoch, a geologic time period kicked off 11,700 years ago by the end of the Ice Age.”
• Sara G. Miller (Live Science): A rare condition Is causing a boy’s skin to turn to ‘Stone.’ What is stiff skin syndrome? Pierre-Paul Duval might’ve had this, but his condition was communicable and that was comic books. 12-year-old Jaiden Rogers has it for real.
• Frankie Schembri (Science): ‘Smart plants’ could soon detect deadly radon and mold in your home. “...scientists are genetically engineering houseplants to sense harmful chemicals from mold and other kinds of fungi—and alert homeowners to their presence.”

Thanks for reading.