Story thread · 2 reports / 1 sources

World Series hunger fuels Kevin Gausman, Clay Holmes, who see chance to return with Cubs: ‘An addicting drug’

suntimes.com · 2dShare

KANSAS CITY – Kevin Gausman almost won a World Series ring last year. Clay Holmes almost won a World Series ring the year before. Almost. For pro ballplayers, almost is usually not good enough, and the Cubs ’ new pair of righty pitchers – the team’s two biggest acquisitions at the trade deadline – is itching to get back to October’s ultimate stage. “It’s an addicting drug once you get there,” Gausman said last week. Both Gausman and Holmes, who made their Cubs debuts this weekend in Kansas City, had their World Series dreams stomped on by the Dodgers, who made their own massive trade-deadline splash, adding back-to-back Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in a quest for a third consecutive ring. Team president Jed Hoyer said it’s up to the Cubs – and the rest of the sport – to stop the Dodgers from accomplishing that goal . He brought in these two pitchers in an effort to do just that, and even before they donned Cubs uniforms, this team showed them it might be capable of stopping a seemingly

First report: Cubs’ best-in-baseball glovework has pitchers jazzed to join: ‘This is the defense you want to pitch behind’ — suntimes.com, 4d