CHICAGO -- Willson Contreras said he wasn't nervous before his first Major League start. After all, he hit a home run on the first pitch he saw in his first at-bat the night before as a pinch-hitter.
"It's just baseball," the Cubs rookie catcher said prior to Monday's game, a 3-2 loss to the Cardinals at Wrigley Field. "For me, baseball is the same everywhere. Up here, it's a little faster."
Manager Joe Maddon wanted Contreras matched up with veteran John Lackey, whom the young catcher caught on Friday during a side session.