The team has won five games in a row and will try to stretch it to six on Wednesday .

For the Chicago Cubs T.J. Hockenson Jersey , the last few days have felt like Christmas in July.


“Everything is believable,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon told reporters when asked about his team’s recent hot streak. “We believe in everything right now. Santa Claus is absolutely true.

“When you get to that point and you get that kind of confidence, you don’t want to do anything to nick it.”

Chicago (48-35) has climbed 13 games above .500 to match its high-water mark. The Cubs have a chance to set a new high when they host the Detroit Tigers (38-49) in the finale of a two-game series at Wrigley Field.

All of the Cubs’ five wins during the streak have been in come-from-behind fashion.

“One of our concepts is to score first,” Maddon said. “One of our concepts is to win the inning. But I think this is maybe the residue of our starting pitching not being what it probably is. We’ve given up more runs early from our starters that we didn’t anticipate happening.

“But it’s a tightly knit group. They’re there to pick everybody else up. So, OK, they’ve scored a couple runs. There’s no quit. The chatter in the dugout is great, all that stuff is outstanding. I just think that the come-from-behind component right now is based on our starters not pitching to their capabilities yet.”

That said, the Cubs will look for a solid start from left-hander Jose Quintana (6-6, 4.31 ERA) in his 17th start of the season. The 29-year-old has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine of his past 12 starts.

In 18 career starts against the Tigers, Quintana is 5-5 with a 4.37 ERA. The Colombia native has walked 26 and struck out 82 in 111 1/3 innings.

The Tigers will counter with veteran left-hander Francisco Liriano (3-4 Justice Hill Jersey , 3.99 ERA), who is scheduled to make his 13th start of the season. The burly southpaw carries a career record of 105-103 with a 4.14 ERA in 335 career games.

More than a few teams could be scouting the 34-year-old Liriano as the trade deadline approaches. He is coming off a quality start against the Toronto Blue Jays but has not logged a victory since April 17 against the Baltimore Orioles.

In 14 career starts against the Cubs, Liriano is 5-4 with a 3.27 ERA. He most recently faced the club in 2016, when he posted an 0-2 record with a 7.63 ERA in three starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays.

The Tigers could turn to a six-man rotation in the next couple weeks, which is fine with Liriano.

“I think that would work,” Liriano said recently to mlive.com. “It wouldn’t bother me at all. I don’t know about any other guys. (Blaine) Hardy has been doing a great job, so it’s hard to put him in the bullpen with the way he’s throwing the ball right now. I think that’s a great idea.”

Injured Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (shoulder) is not expected to play Wednesday. He is hitting .280 with nine home runs and 36 RBIs in 66 games this season.

Buster Posey certainly thought he got hit by a pitch in retaliation.

Manager Bruce Bochy is still disappointed the Marlins plunked Evan Longoria last week and the third baseman is now recovering from surgery on his left hand.

Miami’s Don Mattingly insists nobody on either side was intentionally hit and became upset that the umpires warned both teams too quickly.

Posey homered in the first, Gorkys Hernandez hit a two-run drive in the second and an RBI double later, and the San Francisco Giants held their lead this time to beat the Marlins 6-3 on Tuesday in another night of plunking by both pitching staffs.

Marlins starter Dan Straily and Mattingly were automatically ejected in the second after Straily hit Posey on the left arm with a pitch. Both sides had been warned by plate umpire Andy Fletcher the previous inning after Giants rookie starter Dereck Rodriguez beaned Lewis Brinson as tempers flared for a second straight game.

Whether it was intentional by Straily, Posey said: ”I don’t know. It sure seemed that way.”

Three players were hit and both benches warned early http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/ben-powers-jersey-cheap , upsetting Mattingly that the warning came after only his player had been hit.

”I think everybody knows if you give one warning after one guy then you’re asking for trouble out of the blue,” Mattingly said.

He added: ”I’m sure Rodriguez didn’t mean to hit Brinson and Straily didn’t mean to hit Buster. … If they thought there was going to be something going on they should have given both teams warnings before the game. If they thought it was intentional on their part, (Rodriguez) should have been out of the game.”

The tension began during Monday’s series opener when Hunter Strickland took exception to Brinson’s celebration following his tying RBI single in the ninth off the Giants closer, who blew the save and took the loss. Brinson appeared to say something to the reliever on his way to first. Brinson was at third when Strickland was pulled and the two exchanged words.

The Giants closer later broke his pitching hand punching a door in frustration and had surgery Tuesday.

Rodriguez (2-1) struck out six over five innings. He hit Derek Dietrich in the fourth but it wasn’t considered intentional so he was safe from being tossed from his fourth career start. He had a no-decision in a 16-inning Giants win against the Marlins last Thursday.

Straily was ejected for the first time in his career while Mattingly got tossed for the 35th time as both player – seven times – and manager.

”My response I guess would be: Were they throwing at Longoria? (Kelby Tomlinson) got hit in the back last night, so that’s my response, were they throwing at him?” Bochy said.

Elieser Hernandez relieved Straily (2-3), who had been 4-0 with 2.82 in his initial six starts against the Giants.

Andrew McCutchen immediately singled and Brandon Belt drew a bases-loaded walk to put the Giants up 4-0 – the same lead they held in the early innings Monday only to squander it and fall 5-4 as Strickland gave it up and lost his cool. He will be out six to eight weeks.

JT Riddle hit a two-run triple in the fourth following singles by Starlin Castro and Miguel Rojas. Brian Anderson’s RBI double four batters later snapped an 0-for-10 stretch over his previous three games.

The Giants added on in the fifth with consecutive RBI doubles by Alen Hanson, his second of the night, and Hernandez.

Posey sent the first pitch he saw from Straily midway up the bleachers in left-center before Hernandez – who didn’t hit a single homer all last season and now has eight – connected following Hanson’s double leading off the second.

The Marlins left the bases loaded in the second after Rojas reached on second baseman Joe Panik’s one-out throwing error and Riddle singled before Brinson was plunked.

STRICKLAND’S (LATEST) PUNCH

An X-ray after Monday’s game revealed the break of Strickland’s pinkie, similar to what sidelined lefty ace Madison Bumgarner to begin the season after he was hurt in his final spring training start.

Strickland Iman Marshall Jersey , who apologized on social media Tuesday, had shown Bochy maturity since his fight with Nationals star Bryce Harper in late May of last year.

Bochy said after the game Sam Dyson would be his regular closer. Dyson came in to relieve Will Smith and record the final two outs on a double play for his second save.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Marlins: 1B Garrett Cooper (bruised right wrist) played four innings for a second straight game at Class A Jupiter and was set to continue his rehab with Triple-A New Orleans.

Giants: SS Brandon Crawford is expected to rejoin the team from paternity leave Wednesday and play again Thursday. … All went as expected with Longoria’s surgery on his hand and he was accompanied by athletic trainer Dave Groeschner at the procedure in Los Angeles. Longoria was headed to Arizona and is in a soft cast for a few days then is scheduled to rejoin the Giants in the Bay Area on Friday or Saturday. … RHP Johnny Cueto, who threw a 40-pitch, two-inning simulated game Monday, is likely headed out soon to begin a rehab assignment as he works back from inflammation in his pitching elbow. … RHP Pierce Johnson was on his way from Triple-A Sacramento to take Strickland’s roster spot.

UP NEXT

Marlins: RHP Jose Urena (2-8, 4.18 ERA) looks to win back-to-back starts for the first time this season and build off his best outing of 2018. He tossed eight shutout innings Friday at Baltimore.

Giants: LHP Derek Holland (4-7, 4.48), coming off a loss last Friday at the Dodgers, pit