9/14 No Pujols, no problem

Jeff Samardzija was feeling so good about his outing Monday that he was able to joke with Albert Pujols after the Cardinals batter flew out.

“I told him, ‘Too many pitches’ — he was wearing me down,” Samardzija said. “He’s a great dude. He’s obviously the best player in the game. You get to battle him three, four times a game with runners on whatever. It’s fun. He wants to get a hit, he wants to get a home run. You want to get him out. It’s just fun.”

The Cubs caught a break on Tuesday. Pujols was not in the lineup because of a sore left elbow.

“Of course it makes a difference,” Mike Quade said about not having Pujols in the lineup. “[Colby] Rasmus might have something to say about that. I’m never disappointed when you don’t have to figure out a way to get [Pujols] out.

“My bet is, if it’s a close game, I’ll have to figure out a way to get him out late because that’s the kind of guy he is. In my four years, he’s never not played against us, not that I can remember, and especially down the stretch.”

– Carrie Muskat