saw they congratulated one another. We’re really into it.”

Almora’s defense always has been a part of his game, even back to when the Cubs took him in the first round of the 2012 draft.

“I think of it like this: If we made a T-shirt for (defense), it’s pretty big,” Almora said.

One of the shirts made up by Maddon says “D-peat,” meaning that if the Cubs are going to repeat as world champions, the defense will get it done.

“We make T-shirts and we say things that are really valuable to our team, and I think defense is one of them,” Almora said. “And we take pride in that.”

The defense made a winner of starting pitcher Brett Anderson, who labored through 5 innings to get his first win as a Cub against no losses.

“I think I owe Almora my paycheck for the day,” said Anderson, who called his outing a “grind” because he didn’t have his best stuff. “He made two web gems … Today was one of those days where it was a grind from Pitch 1, but I was pleased with the way I battled.”

On a day when the wind was blowing in off Lake Michigan, the Cubs got a couple of big blasts. Anthony Rizzo hit his first home run of the season in the first inning, a drive to right-center. Addison Russell also hit his first, a booming drive onto Waveland Avenue in the fourth. The Cubs added 2 more in the fifth, and relievers Carl Edwards Jr. (2 innings), Koji Uehara and Wade Davis finished.

But the defense never rested — second baseman Javier Baez turned a lineout double play in the seventh — nor did Maddon rest in talking about it.

“We played the heck out of defense,” said Maddon, whose team is 6-3, having won two of three in each of its first three series of the season. “Albert was fantastic. “The outfielders really had a big part in the game. (Left fielder Kyle) Schwarber almost had a circus catch, also, but give the defense credit.

“There was a lot of little nuance in that game today, but without that defense, it doesn’t look anything like that.”