FRANK SCHWINDEL

The Chicago Cubs have hired Carter Hawkins as general manager, dipping into Cleveland’s front office in an effort to bolster their own player development system.

Umpire Bill Miller provided an explanation Monday for a wild sequence during St. Louis' 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs that added another layer of drama to the Cardinals' 16th straight win. A request was made for an explanation after Sunday's game, but a spokesman for the Cubs said it was declined. The play occurred after St. Louis reliever Giovanny Gallegos walked pinch-hitter Austin Romine and Rafael Ortega with one out in the ninth.

Make it a very sweet 16 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

The surging St. Louis Cardinals soared to their 13th straight win, using homers by Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill to top the Chicago Cubs 8-5 in the opener of a doubleheader.

The surging St. Louis Cardinals emphatically matched a team record with their 14th straight win, pounding the Chicago Cubs 12-4 in the second game of a doubleheader behind Tyler O’Neill’s three-run homer and a pair of solo shots by Lars Nootbaar.

Kris Bryant drew a pair of standing ovations in his return to Wrigley Field, then Evan Longoria and Brandon Belt homered in the seventh inning to send the San Francisco Giants over the Chicago Cubs 6-1 for their fifth straight win.

The Toronto Blue Jays have won four in a row entering their big series this week in New York against the Yankees.

Frank Schwindel hit a go-ahead grand slam, Matt Duffy homered twice, including a grand slam, and the Chicago Cubs outslugged the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday for an 11-8 win. With Chicago trailing 8-7 with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Schwindel hit a curveball off reliever Nick Mears to the bleachers in center turn the game around. Duffy also had three hits and Jason Heyward also went deep as the Cubs won their sixth straight.

Rookie Frank Schwindel is hitting.

Chicago Cubs manager David Ross and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer missed the team’s 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates after they tested positive for COVID-19.

Yasmani Grandal homered twice and drove in eight runs in his return from the injured list, and the Chicago White Sox beat the sloppy Chicago Cubs 17-13.

Kris Bubic carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago Cubs 4-2.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Kris Bubic has thrown six hitless innings against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

Michael Hermosillo homered for the first time since 2018 and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 7-1.

Bryan De La Cruz hit a grand slam and Alex Jackson added a three-run homer as the Miami Marlins tied a team record by scoring 11 times in the second inning during a 14-10 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Luis Urías tied a major league record with five extra-base hits and Manny Piña drove in six runs, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 17-4 romp over the Chicago Cubs.

Brian Goodwin led off the 10th inning with a two-run homer, and the Chicago White Sox regrouped after Craig Kimbrel blew a three-run lead against his former team to beat the rebuilding crosstown Cubs 8-6 at Wrigley Field.

It was a great day for former Detroit Tigers: Four of them were summoned to the big leagues in the last 24 hours. Catcher John Hicks (Texas Rangers), first baseman Frank Schwindel (Oakland Athletics) and left-handed pitcher Kyle Lobstein (Washington Nationals) had their contracts selected from Triple-A. He spent the pandemic-shortened 2020 season at the Arizona Diamondback’s alternate site and joined the Rangers on a minor-league deal this winter. Schwindel, 29, signed with the Tigers on a minor-league deal after being released by the Kansas City Royals in 2019. He spent the 2020 season in Toledo but never got a chance to play in the big leagues.

His comments Wednesday morning make it sound like the Detroit Tigers could be without him for a long time. Free agentsThere arent many free agents to choose from in the middle of the season, and the ones who are out there are free agents for a reason. The San Francisco Giants are buried behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies in the NL West and dont expect to compete in the near future. Brandon Belt #9 of the San Francisco Giants fields during the game against the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park on September 24, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (2019 Getty Images)Belt has won two World Series titles in San Francisco, which could be attractive to the Tigers.

DETROIT The Detroit Tigers sent 19 players to their alternate training site in Toledo on Monday, leaving 37 players to battle for 30 Opening Day roster spots. READ: How will the Tigers fill their final rotation spots after the Jordan Zimmermann injury? Haase and Rogers were fighting for what figured to be two or three catcher spots on the roster. That means seven of these 13 players will also be sent to Toledo or the taxi squad, while six make the roster. Lets assume its 11, leaving four bullpen spots and two reserve spots open.

DETROIT The Detroit Tigers have released their initial Club Player Pool, including 58 players who can participate in spring training. Schwindel was one of the nice success stories of spring training in March. Willi Castro could benefit from the extra roster spots, but Lugo feels like someone who could still end up on the outside looking in. ProspectsThese are the players Tigers fans are most anxious to see, and for good reason. Dingler made the cut just weeks after being the teams second-round draft pick, but hell likely just get some work in Toledo.