Aug. 24--From a screeching line drive into the lower first-base box seats to a flying baseball bat into the stands behind the third-base dugout, fans were in extreme peril Sunday at Wrigley Field.
A female fan was struck by a line drive off the bat of the Cubs' Kyle Schwarber in the first inning. She was carried off on a stretcher and taken to a hospital. The team said she was conscious. Another fan appeared not to be injured when the bat slipped out of the hands of Cubs rookie Addison Russell.
"That's awful," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said about the fan who was struck by the line drive.
Asked for a solution to the issue of fan safety, Maddon replied: "Pay attention. I hate to say, but those are wonderful seats. You paid a lot of money for them ... the fact that you're right there. I watch and you see people turning their back to the field. You just can't do it."
Asked about the possibility of adding protective screens in front of the box seats, Maddon said: "That would be an answer for someone other than me. But when you are at the ballpark and you are in those particular locations, watch what's going on. Every time a ball is pitched, you look. That's probably the best answer, just pay attention."
Setting the table: The resurgence of the Cubs offense seems inextricably tied to the hot streak of switch-hitting leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler.
"You go, we go," Maddon said he tells Fowler. "Every at-bat, he has really got the strike zone back in order. He is accepting his walks and he is really hitting the ball hard. Both sides. The left handed (at-bats) are really coming up."
Fowler led off the bottom of the first inning with his career-high 14th home run. He has five doubles, two triples, three home runs and 12 runs scored in his last 10 games, during which he is batting .462.
"I just try to get on base and let the big boys do what they need to do," Fowler said.
"Any time you have a leadoff hitter who is doing what he is doing right now, he relaxes everybody else," Maddon said. "You anticipate good to happen. That's probably the best way to describe it."
Down and out: Russell left the game in the sixth after experiencing tightness in his groin. Maddon said Russell could miss Monday's makeup game against the Indians.
Extra innings: The Cubs are 16-4 in August. ... Kris Bryant became the first Cub to hit 11 consecutive homers at Wrigley Field in the same season since Sammy Sosa (April 17-June 20, 1993), according to STATS. Sosa hit 12 straight at Wrigley. ... Pitcher Jason Hammel recorded his career-high 10th hit and fourth RBI of the season in the fourth inning.
