Strop seals win after dealing with car theft

CHICAGO -- Cubs reliever Pedro Strop's car was stolen prior to Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Dodgers, according to reports.

Strop, who has taken over as the Cubs' closer with Brandon Morrow sidelined, told ESPN he had been dealing with the situation until the fourth inning of Wednesday night's game.

The reliever appeared in the ninth, earning his third save of the season after inducing a game-ending double play.

Lester returns for finale with Dodgers
The Cubs' starting rotation has been on a roll over the past 10 games and will receive additional reinforcements as ace Jon Lester will make his return to the mound for Thursday's series finale against the Dodgers at Wrigley Field.

Lester, who has been on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, will be making his first start since April 8. It was in that outing against the Pirates that Lester sustained the injury running the bases after he hit a second-inning RBI double. He briefly returned to the mound in the third but exited after allowing a pair of singles.

"Realistically, I'd say 75 [pitches]. Almost like what we had set up for [Tyler] Chatwood the other day," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said before Wednesday's game. "How we'll get to that number? Were they stressful? Were they not stressful? Does he have to leave the mound a lot on different plays? We'll just monitor all of that. I'm saying 75-80 sounds like the right kind of number."

The veteran southpaw had turned in back-to-back quality starts to begin the season before his injury-shortened outing against the Pirates. He's 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in his three starts this season.

With the addition of Lester back into the rotation, Chatwood likely heads back to the bullpen. Chatwood could be called first out of the bullpen Thursday depending on how Lester feels, according to Maddon.

The Cubs' starters have been solid, going 7-2 with a 1.39 ERA in their past 10 starts. What had been a weakness for the team over the first few weeks of the season has now become one of its strengths.

"The starters have really set the tone. They've done a wonderful job, and I think the bullpen has backed that all up," Maddon said.

The starting rotation has not only been good, but they've allowed their manager to help conserve the bullpen by going deep into games. Something Maddon has seen become a lost art around baseball.

"I still don't understand that," he said. "I'm sure there's some statistical background to that, but that would be based on a pedestrian start -- maybe a pedestrian starter. If a guy is good and a guy is rolling, you're doing the other team a favor by getting him out most of the time."

Kyle Hendricks, Yu Darvish and Jose Quintana are scheduled to pitch in the Cubs' three-game set at Arizona beginning Friday night.

Bote back from paternity leave
Infielder David Bote returned to the clubhouse with a little pep in his step after his wife, Rachel, gave birth to their third child, Sullivan, on Monday.

Bote hit the walk-off single in the Cubs' 2-1 victory Sunday against the D-backs, but he couldn't stay to talk about it with reporters as he had to race to the airport to be with his wife in Colorado after the game.

"I knew we were going to do that on Sunday night and I was like, 'Man, we can't go to extra innings. Can't miss this flight.' But it's still baseball. Still wanting to do what I can do to help the team win," Bote said with a smile. "It was a special day. It was fun. I guess those things have happened recently and baby and momma are healthy. That's all that matters."

In a corresponding move, right-hander Alec Mills was sent to Triple-A Iowa. He did not appear in a game during his three-day stint with the Cubs.