April 27--The Chicago Cubs have maintained their focus is on the daily process and not looking too far ahead.
But there was an interesting development that sculpted their 4-3 win Tuesday night over Milwaukee.
It was obvious that the need for runs was urgent as early as the bottom of the fifth inning, as manager Joe Maddon acknowledged by pulling starter Kyle Hendricks for a pinch-hitter despite allowing only two hits.
But Maddon had the luxury of a rested bullpen after Monday's day off as well as other factors that he could face Wednesday night.
"I'm also thinking at the weather report," Maddon said. "Potentially, it could be a tough day. So if you had to beat up a bullpen, (Tuesday night) would be the night to beat it up. And with Jake (Arrieta) pitching (Wednesday), all kind of arrows pointing in that direction."
Arrieta, who is scheduled to make his first start since throwing a no-hitter Thursday, will try to win his fifth game in as many starts.
Meanwhile, the Cubs improved to 15-5 -- their best start since starting 16-4 in 1907, when they won the first of two consecutive World Series titles.
In the process, they improved to 10 games over the .500 mark. They didn't achieve that goal in 2015 until Aug. 2 (57-47) before finishing with a 97-65 record.
That early achievement wasn't lost on Maddon, who recalled rookies Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, and Kyle Schwarber arriving at different times, and Dexter Fowler getting hot in the second half.
"There were a lot of different parts that didn't arrive early enough, regardless of lack of experience or we just hadn't played well enough to that point," Maddon said.
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