Edwards gets lesson in moving past ‘blip’

CHICAGO — Hector Rondon may not have been available to pitch on Saturday, but the Cubs reliever did get an assist, giving rookie Carl Edwards Jr. advice on how to handle tough outings.

Rondon, who was available on Sunday against St. Louis, spoke to Edwards after the young right-hander walked four and gave up one hit over two-thirds of an inning in a loss to the Cardinals.

“I told him, ‘Hey, it happens to everybody. Don’t feel bad. It’s in the past,'” Rondon said on Sunday. “We have to have a short memory and come in today like nothing happened. I told him, ‘Hey, man, learn from that.'”

Manager Joe Maddon wasn’t too concerned about Edwards, who was charged with five runs. The young right-hander had given up five runs over 23 2/3 innings in his career prior to the outing.

“That was nothing — that’s a blip,” Maddon said of Saturday’s outing. “It has to happen at some point. It’s more difficult to plan your day without Rondon and it’s much more difficult without [Pedro] Strop.”

Rondon has not pitched since Aug. 2 because of tightness in his right tricep, while Strop went on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a torn meniscus in his left knee. Strop was expected back in four to six weeks.

Maddon said he’ll be careful with Rondon.

“You don’t want to push him too hard early on,” Maddon said. “The guy is so important to us, there’s no reason to put the pedal down on him now.”

Rondon was ready.

“Yesterday I …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com