Chicago Cubs

Cubs manager Maddon works magic with struggling Bryant, Castro

Published Jul. 27, 2015 8:32 p.m. ET

foxsports

Hand-in-hand with the Chicago Cubs' recent downturn has been the hitting slumps of rookie sensation Kris Bryant and shortstop Starlin Castro, a subject of recent trade rumors.

During Monday's batting practice session at Wrigley Field before the Cubs were set to start an important three-game series against the Colorado Rockies, the NL West's worst team, Cubs manager Joe Maddon and hitting coach John Mallee got hands-on with his two slumping players, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Maddon & Mallee w/ some hands on instruction w/ Castro in the cage. KB off to side getting ready for work as well. pic.twitter.com/HQkSEMzGsQ
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) July 27, 2015

In the previous seven games, the two were hitting a combined .113. Maddon could be seen in the batting cage giving instruction to Castro, who was batting .083 in the last seven games. Castro's overall average dipped to .233, while Bryant was down to .252.

So what happened in the game?

Castro went 2-for-4 and drove in two runs. And then there was Bryant. The young slugger also collected two hits and knocked in three runs, including the first walk-off home run of his career, a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to give Chicago a much-needed 9-8 come-from-behind win.