It was another rough day for Dan Haren, but Joe Maddon still believes in the veteran right-hander.
A fly-ball pitcher, Haren struggled with a crosswind that sent balls flying to left during the Cubs’ 9-7 win Saturday over the Atlanta Braves. He went 4 1/3 innings and allowed four earned runs and gave up Nick Swisher’s second-inning homer. He has allowed at least one homer in seven consecutive outings, and was coming off a start Sunday against the White Sox when he gave up three solo blasts,
Since coming to the Cubs from Miami on July 31, Haren has failed to get out of the sixth inning while surrendering 13 earned runs in four starts. Maddon, however, said Haren is “going to be a big help to us down the stretch” and will take his next turn in the rotation.
“I have a lot of respect for this guy. You look at his numbers and what he’s done and there’s definitely a lot left in the tank,” Maddon. “We’ll run him right back out there.”
Haren wasn’t too thrilled with his outing, and knows the stakes are getting higher.
“When it comes down to it, when we’ve got 40 or 50 games left, whatever we’ve got left, it’s just about winning games,” Haren said. “I think everybody has to just put their self… wanting to do good for themselves behind them and just go out and just do the best they can for the team because that’s what it’s about at this point in the year.”
