Cub Tracks is on first

In curiously stochastic fashion, I bought a gently-used recliner Friday afternoon. Didn’t get much opportunity to test it out that night as I was too busy moving furniture and boxes around in order to make space for the thing.

Ah, but Saturday! The Cubs and Brewers kindly handed me an excuse to test out my new giant overstuffed black leather monstrosity as both teams flat refused to get a hit with the bases loaded, preferring instead to work on the ‘old’ Jason Heyward special* after David Bote channeled Javy Baez.

A good time was had by all, even though most of us thought the game over on Javier Baez’ drive to right-center... including outfielder Lorenzo Cain. But it was not to be... that task was left to Cubs catcher Willson Contreras, whose deep fly to left narrowly missed being collected by members of Al’s coterie. See the recap for details.

Keep on smilin’. Hopefully the Cubs can meatloaf for Mother’s Day. Even if we do have to endure ESPN’s crew in order to see it.

Here’s today’s Cubs News and Notes. As always, * means autoplay on, or annoying ads, or both (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome).

Kris Bryant tied a career high, reaching base in his 21st straight game as he singled in the 6th inning today. It’s the longest active on-base streak in baseball. — Jesse Rogers.

• Mark Gonzales, Tim Bannon (Chicago Tribune* {$}): ‘Did you see, Mom?’ Willson Contreras’ phone call to his mom after his 1st career HR is part of a new Mother’s Day ad. “For every first, she’s your first call.”
• Barry Rozner (Daily Herald {$}): At least for now, Chicago Cubs panic quiets. “We’re lucky to have a player group that is really professional and focused,” Theo Epstein said Friday.
• Tony Andracki (NBC Sports Chicago*): The unsung hero of the Cubs’ 15-inning win over Brewers. “... it was Cubs third-base coach Will Venable who will go down as an unsung hero of the 5-hour affair.”
• Jared Wyllys (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs win marathon game as Tyler Chatwood continues to thrive. You cannot afford to give up runs, and he’s answering the call,” Cole Hamels said of Chatwood after the game.

• Dayn Perry (CBS Sports”): Cubs achieve rare feat with third walk-off home run in last five games. “Contreras was Saturday’s hero.”
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): One giant swing and one smart send: How the Cubs won a 15-inning game to stay in first place. Summing it up.
• Jared Wyllys (NBC Sports Chicago*): Are the Brewers better at shifting against the Cubs than the rest of the league? “I think the Cubs are just a team that in general has players that indicate shifts,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
• Moshe Wilensky (Cubs Insider): Predicting future Cub payrolls (Part 1): Learning from past mistakes. “... to estimate payroll I first needed to estimate revenues.”
• Cubs birthdays: Harry Truby, Casey Hageman, Alex McCarthy, Hank Borowy, Norm Gigon, Mark Clark, Blake Lalli. Also notable: Yogi Berra (HoF).

Food for thought: