Notes: Cubs' baserunning much improved

CHICAGO -- The Cubs arrived to Spring Training months ago with improvement on the bases as a goal. As the regular season nears its end, Chicago's focus in that area has paid clear dividends.

Entering Wednesday's game against Cleveland at Wrigley Field, the Cubs ranked sixth in the National League and 10th in the Majors with 2.0 Baserunning Runs Above Average, an all-encompassing metric on FanGraphs. Last year, Chicago ranked ninth in the NL and 18th in MLB with -2.2 BsR.

"We just try to talk about responsible baserunning," Cubs manager David Ross said. "You don't want to ever take the aggressiveness out of the guys. I think knowing game situations is important, knowing the game state means a lot. That being said, we still are going to make some mistakes. We're not perfect or robots, by any means."

The Cubs also entered Wednesday ranked first in the Majors with a 53 percent extra-base-taken rate (up from 44 percent in '19). Chicago also had the most sprints from first to third on a single (39) in MLB.

A little bit of everything was mixed into Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Tribe.

Javier Báez flashed his creativity with a stolen base and all-out sprint home on an errant throw by catcher Sandy León in the eighth inning. It could have been a costly decision, but the result proved important for the Cubs. Kris Bryant went first to third on a single twice, and Ian Happ went second to home on a base hit.

On the flip side, Willson Contreras was thrown out at second in the fifth, when he tried to stretch a single to right into a double, anticipating a throw to the plate that did not come to fruition when Anthony Rizzo was held at third. In the seventh, Happ was also caught stealing easily, following a leadoff single with the game in a 3-3 tie at the time.

"Every mistake is a moment to teach and get better. That's the way I look at it," Ross said. "[Third-base coach] Will Venable's in charge of baserunning. He's done a phenomenal job of keeping these guys on task. ... But, overall, I've been very proud of the group.

"There's definitely some scenarios that the manager puts them in that may not be the best situation to maybe send a guy every once in a while. And the manager learns as well. We're all accountable here."

Cubs join MLB in Hispanic Heritage celebration
The Cubs will join Major League Baseball's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month during this weekend's series against the Twins at Wrigley Field.

All three games against Minnesota will have Omar Ramos, the Cubs' Spanish radio broadcaster, on pregame public-address announcements, along with PA announcer Andrew Belleson. Cubs Spanish play-by-play man Hector Lozano will also join Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies on the Marquee Sports Network's pregame coverage on Friday.

During the games, the Cubs will feature the team's Hispanic players past and present in a variety of ways. The team also is also encouraging fans to join in the celebration and conversation across social media, using #SomosMLB (We Are MLB) and #SomosCubs.

First look at Cubs' 2021 spring schedule
On Wednesday, the Cubs unveiled their tentative 2021 Spring Training schedule, which currently features 33 games (18 at their Sloan Park home in Mesa, Ariz., and 15 on the road). The North Siders are currently slated to open against the Dodgers on Feb. 27 at Sloan Park.

The Cubs and White Sox will tentatively play four times: March 19 in Glendale, Ariz., and then March 26, March 29 and March 30 at Sloan Park. The last two games in that series will conclude the Cubs' Spring Training ledger.

Individual game tickets for '21 Spring Training games at Sloan Park are scheduled to go on sale in January.

Worth noting
• Left-hander Andrew Chafin (10-day injured list, sprained finger on left hand) faced hitters in a simulated game (20-25 pitches) on Wednesday. Ross said Chafin will be assessed over Thursday's off-day, adding that it was "conceivable" that the reliever could join the bullpen as early as this weekend.

"He threw really well," Ross said. "Looked great. Faced hitters. I thought he looked really sharp."

• Lefty José Quintana (10-day IL, left lat) threw a light bullpen session on Wednesday in his ongoing comeback. A simulated game would be the next likely step for the sidelined pitcher.

• The official scorer changed one of Yu Darvish's runs allowed in the third inning Tuesday to unearned. That resulted in Darvish's season ERA dropping to 1.86 from 2.00 as he continues his bid for the NL Cy Young Award.

• Per Cubs historian Ed Hartig, Tuesday's win was the first walk-off victory via back-to-back hit-by-pitches for the Cubs since July 18, 1948, in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Phillies. Robin Roberts hit Phil Cavarretta to load the bases and Andy Pafko to hand the Cubs the win.