The Rundown: Cubs Finish Road Trip at 5-4, RF Bleachers Open Tonight, David Price Interested in Chicago, Cubs Discussed Trade for Papelbon

After the disappointing loss to the Tigers on Tuesday, last night’s 12-3 win was great to see.

It was really an up-and-down road trip, but ultimately it ended at 5-4. I’ll take that all day.

On Wednesday night, the Cubs’ bats were alive, collecting a season-high 15 hits. Chris Coghlan and Miguel Montero each hit three-run homers, and even Mike Baxter chipped in. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored.

I love that the Cubs were able to bounce back after a tough loss and take care of business. The Tigers may not be firing on all cylinders just yet, but they’re no slouches either. It was big to get the win and split the series.

Bleachers

The right-field bleachers are scheduled to be open tonight for the first time all year. I look forward to seeing how the complete set of bleachers will look with the two new video boards.

Wrigley Field should actually look like a real ballpark, imagine that.

I’ll be at the game — my first in a while. I have a feeling Kris Bryant is about to go off and start hitting a ridiculous amount of home runs. Hoping that starts tonight.

The Price is right

Of all the high-talent free-agent pitchers becoming available next offseason, David Price might be the best to dream on.

He played for Joe Maddon. His college coach at Vanderbilt, Derek Johnson, is now the Cubs’ minor-league pitching coordinator.

The Cubs have a young, exciting team that could be one top pitcher away from winning a whole bunch of games. The fit makes sense.

And he at least seems intrigued by the idea. “There’s probably not another city that’s dying for a World Series more than Chicago,” Price told Patrick Mooney on Wednesday. “I think everybody would probably agree with me on that. That’s special. It’s absolutely special.”

Sounds almost like a done deal, right? I wouldn’t be so sure.

I’d love Price on the Cubs, don’t get me wrong. But I’m just not sure I see the Cubs front office doling out another gigantic contract to a 30-something pitcher. However, if they truly trust that Price will not decline dramatically in effectiveness for several years, and have a good feeling he can stay injury-free — who knows, maybe they go for it.

A rotation of Price, Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta would certainly be pretty special.

More bullpen help?

The Cubs have had trade discussions with the Phillies about closer Jonathan Papelbon, according to Ken Rosenthal.

After signing free-agent Rafael Soriano to a minor-league deal on Tuesday, it appears the Cubs would like to add as many solid options as possible to the bullpen.

Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are very familiar with Papelbon — they drafted him in 2003 while with the Red Sox.

Rosenthal says the Blue Jays have also inquired about the Phillies closer, and that the Jays may have the inside track.

I’d definitely welcome Papelbon to the Cubs bullpen. He’s 12-for-12 in save opportunities this season and is sporting a 1.13 ERA (2.36 FIP).