Joe Maddon did not sugarcoat Addison Russell’s ugly performance Saturday.

Russell lost one pop fly in the sun and let another fall behind him in shallow right-center field. He also struggled badly on the basepaths, getting doubled off second base and later thrown out at home.

“He’s got to straighten some things out,” Maddon said. “He has to. There’s no question. I’m not going to stand here [and deny it]. We’ve talked about his baserunning in the past.

“The sun ball, yeah, there’s nothing you can do about that. The baserunning, there are some things there where we’re making too many outs on the bases and we’re missing things on the bases that we can’t to be an elite team.”

A heads-up play by Cubs reliever Brandon Kintzler prevented a bad play from turning into something worse in the sixth. Russell went back on a high pop fly before giving up on it, and the ball fell in front of Albert Almora.

“I think [Russell] thought somebody was going to get it instead of him,” Maddon said.

Kintzler sprinted to second base and caught a throw from Almora to get a forceout.

Outfield experiment

Robel Garcia made his first career start in left field after appearing in a handful of games at second base.

Maddon acknowledged that Garcia had not played much outfield but said he had the athleticism to do so. Garcia misplayed a line drive over his head in the first and otherwise was not challenged defensively.

“We’ve been working on it the last couple of days,” Maddon said. “I think it’s interesting to find out if he can do this. It could really be beneficial for us and for him.”

Garcia batted fifth and went 1-for-3 with an RBI triple. He’s hitting .333 (9-for-27) with two doubles, two triples, three home runs and six RBI in 11 games since the Cubs promoted him July 3.

Injury updates

Catcher Willson Contreras showed no signs of a sore foot as he ripped line drives off the ivy-covered wall in batting practice.

Maddon joked that Contreras was “chirpy” in their most recent conversation and is itching to return. His productive session in the batting cages is the latest indicator that he could be back soon.

“He’s going to be a force when he shows up again,” Maddon said. “He’s feeling pretty good right now.”

Meanwhile, left-hander Cole Hamels (oblique strain) had a pregame bullpen session and is “progressing well,” Maddon said.

Memories of Mo

Maddon and his players will try to catch glimpses of this weekend’s Hall of Fame festivities in Cooperstown, New York.

The class includes former Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, whom Maddon marveled at many times when he managed the Rays in the American League East. Rivera is the first player to earn a unanimous vote on his first ballot.

What does Maddon remember from managing against Rivera?

“Game was over,” he said. “Game was over. And a lot of times it was three-plus outs.”