Maddie Lee

13 hours ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Maddie Lee

It’s hard to imagine a more entertaining start to a homestand than the show the Cubs put on this past week against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers. It included a comeback from a 10-run inning and the first walk-off victory of the year. Of the five games, three were decided by one run and two went into extra innings. TheCubs still have three more games, against the Phillies, to play at Wrigley Field this weekend before heading back on the road.

1 day ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Maddie Lee

Utility player Nicky López was at home in Arizona Tuesday evening, eating dinner and then watching the Cubs’ thrilling walk-off win in extra innings against the Dodgers, when the opportunity to re-join the organization unfolded. “Just to be able to get that call yesterday: ‘Hey, we have a spot open for you, would you like it?’ And I’m like, I would be stupid not to accept it,” Lopez said Wednesday from in front of his new Wrigley Field locker, before the Cubs’ 7-6 win against the Dodgers.

1 day ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Maddie Lee

Left-hander Drew Pomeranz was on the brink of making his long-awaited return to the majors 11 months ago. Signed by the Giants for what he said he knew was only going to be a four-day stint, Pomeranz was warm in the bullpen and ready for the call. Then Patrick Bailey hit an eighth-inning grand slam to put the Giants ahead by a run, changing the bullpen plan in one swing. “I’m like, ‘That’s probably my shot,’” Pomeranz said Wednesday.

2 days ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Maddie Lee

Part way up the first base line, Ian Happ pointed across the diamond at Vidal Brujan, who was rounding third and heading home. Happ already knew how the game was going to end. “You hit that ball, you know he’s going to score,” Happ said after the Cubs’ 11-10 victory against the Dodgers. “It’s on the ground the whole way, so he got a good break. The guy flies. It was guaranteed he was going to make it.

2 days ago | chicago.suntimes.com | Maddie Lee

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has acknowledged how hard it is to get every reliever on the active roster clicking at the same time. To some extent, it’s out of his hands. What he can do is make sure that the team has depth to turn to as it tries to solve the bullpen puzzle. “Ultimately, the goal is to get to the point where eight guys in the bullpen are throwing well,” Hoyer said Tuesday.