Sept. 01--Starlin Castro has shown signs of offensive improvement, but that has been offset by his struggles at second base.
Castro made no excuses for his three errors Monday night, including his failure to catch what would have been an inning-ending force play at second base that he missed and led to three unearned runs and the finishing touches on the Chicago Cubs' 13-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Castro mishandled a toss from shortstop Addison Russell, who initially appeared to throw to first base before throwing in the direction of second, where Castro muffed the throw.
"I don't think I have any excuse," said Castro, who mishandled a grounder earlier in the ninth and also sailed a throw wide of first that set up the Reds' first run in the fourth. "I should have made that play. It's right in the chest. I have to make that play. (Russell) kind of confused me a little, but it was a throw right there. I have to make that play."
Castro ignited the Cubs' four-run rally in the fifth with a double, and he also went 3-for-5 against the Dodgers on Sunday. But he also was charged with an error that was the only blemish in Jake Arrieta's no-hitter.
"It's a really bad night for me and the team," Castro said. "I'll just come back (Tuesday) and keep the head up and try to make every play and keep swinging the bat."
Left-hander James Russell was victimized by Castro's second error, but Russell allowed two hits in what is becoming a mercurial season for the veteran left-hander. After posting a 2.70 ERA on Aug. 5, Russell has been tagged for 16 hits in his past 7 1/3 innings covering eight games.
But Russell was left in for 1 2/3 innings to preserve the rest of the bullpen in a 15-8 loss to the Detroit Tigers (allowing five runs on six hits), and manager Joe Maddon fiercely defended Russell after Monday night's game.
"It was a tough moment for him," said Maddon, who didn't want to waste setup reliever Pedro Strop or closer Hector Rondon in a low-leverage situation and was forced to use Russell against a plethora of right-handed hitters because fellow left-hander Travis Wood walked three in two-thirds of an inning.
"The walks messed us up," Maddon said.
