ATLANTA _ The Cubs have lined up part of their rotation through July 30 with Jose Quintana tentatively not scheduled to face his former White Sox teammates.
Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester and Quintana, acquired in a trade Thursday from the Sox, will face the Cardinals this weekend at Wrigley Field. The Cubs want to keep Lester, who threw seven innings of three-hit ball on Monday against the Braves, on a normal five-day schedule. That would line him up to pitch the finale of a four-game home-and-home series against the Sox on July 27.
The Cubs have yet to decide their rotation for the Sox series, but it appears Kyle Hendricks could be activated to pitch the series opener on Monday at Wrigley Field.
"We want to get (Lester) back in a routine," said manager Joe Maddon, adding that he likes the idea of Quintana opening a three-game series against the National League Central-leading Brewers on July 28 in Milwaukee.
Maddon isn't concerned about starting left-handers Lester or Quintana against the Sox and Brewers, two predominantly right-handed hitting teams.
"Our lefties really do pitch well against righties," Maddon said. "You saw it in Baltimore."
The Sox are batting .283 against lefties and the Brewers are at .260.
