A whirlwind afternoon that included the demotion of struggling shortstop Addison Russell, a late change in starting pitchers, an ejection of Anthony Rizzo and an injury to All-Star third baseman Kris Bryantput the Chicago Cubs in a must-win situation as far as manager Joe Maddon was concerned. "With everything that had been going on, you get on an airplane not winning that game, that's where the dialogue becomes fabricated in a negative way," Maddon said. "It's very difficult to control that. You try to, but it is." Fortunately for Maddon, he won't have to. Javier Baez homered in the first inning, Bryant and Albert Almora Jr. also went deep, and the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1 Wednesday after starter Jon Lester was scratched with an illness. read more
