Cub Tracks’ hey, Abbott!

Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we like to keep things brief on the principle that it makes us appear wise. We don’t always, but we like to.

Unfortunately, that was it off of nasty Giants hurler Kevin Gausman, who logged ten Ks in a quality outing. Kohl Stewart was unable to match his effort, and though none of the Cubs pitchers actually looked bad, they were unable to keep the score low enough.

The bats looked bad, especially Javy, but then the ninth inning had some weird Cubbie occurrences. I hope Evan Longoria is all right. I hope Eva is, too. Javy was involved, because Javy is El Mago and all laws both written and unwritten are suspended in his presence. One run scored, but that was all the magic there was on this occasion. A 4-3 loss was the result. Al’s recap has full details of the contest.

The Cubs can still salvage the final game of the series this afternoon. Kyle Hendricks (6-4, 4.62 ERA) is scheduled to face Johnny Cueto (4-1, 3.45 ERA).

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• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs fall to the San Francisco Giants 4-3, suffering their 3rd consecutive loss to open a 7-game trip. “Losing is no fun regardless if it’s one or three (straight),” third baseman Patrick Wisdom said.
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs downplay tense Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras moment. “Just a disagreement on some competitive stuff,” Ross said.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Contreras relishes role as iron man backstop. “This offseason, I prepared myself really well.”
• Maddie Lee (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs activate Jason Heyward off IL, Jake Marisnick not far behind. “Still some soreness from playing,” Ross said of Marisnick Saturday.
• Andy Martinez (Marquee Sports Network*): News and Notes: Cubs inching closer to full health, Joc loving being back in California, red-hot Giants. “I think there’s a sense of they’re getting better and optimism like yeah, we should be back to full strength,” Ross said.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): Contreras relishes role as iron man backstop. “This offseason, I prepared myself really well.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): What buying at the trade deadline could look like for the Cubs. “There is a vast middle ground between trading away Kris Bryant and trading for Max Scherzer.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Ben Zobrist’s agent says the former Chicago Cubs star’s 2016 World Series ring is not for sale — 1 day after an auction house said it was up for grabs: ‘He is not getting rid of this ring’. “He’s not selling it,” Scott Pucino said. “I had a conversation with him twice — one late (Friday) night and one early in the afternoon.”
• Buster Olney (ESPN*): MLB’s enhanced plans for enforcement of foreign-substance rules being finalized, with June rollout pending, sources say. “Major League Baseball is expected to instruct its umpires to enforce a rule that has long been on the books but mostly ignored.”

Food for Thought:

Thanks for reading.