Cubs
One of only 13 pitchers to make 250 starts with the Cubs, Hendricks has made 253, and — after a loss Friday that dropped him to 0-4 with a 10.57 ERA — it’s fair for anyone to be asking if there should be a 254th.
Skenes, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, was in complete control in his second major-league start, leading the Pirates to a 9-3 victory.
Happ’s strikeout rate has jumped this season. He’s still performing well against fastballs (.347 average) but is struggling against off-speed pitches (.114) and breaking balls (.093).
Hoerner went through a regular pregame warmup Thursday, testing his left hamstring as the Cubs evaluated his return timeline.
The Cubs opened a four-game series with the Pirates on Thursday.
It’s the infield’s turn to manage a spike in injuries.
Notes: Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ were out of the lineup Wednesday for a second straight game, but for different reasons.
The Cubs, who lost 7-0 Tuesday, have been shut out by the Braves in back-to-back games.
The Cubs made the trade late Monday night.
The Cubs will not have a timeline for Alzolay’s injury recovery until doctors review his imaging.
Notes: Craig Counsell logged his first ejection as Cubs manager, and Christopher Morel exited in the ninth.
For those who followed Boo Buie’s remarkable career with the Wildcats, it might be a bit surprising to see him on the NBA’s pay-no-mind list so soon after it ended — and in his own backyard, no less.
Taillon felt good throwing off the mound Saturday, but the Cubs decided to give him another couple of days to recover from a back issue.
Hendricks held the Pirates to one run through five innings.
Cubs lefty Justin Steele struggled and MLB’s top pitching prospect, Paul Skenes, made his debut in the Pirates’ 10-9 victory.
In a corresponding move, the Cubs recalled reliever Jose Cuas from Triple-A Iowa.
In this week’s Polling Place, we also asked about the White Sox and the Sky.
Right-hander Javier Assad started Friday in Pittsburgh.
Swanson had been dealing with the injury for two weeks.
Morel has made plenty of spectacular plays at third base this season, but the routine ones have stood out to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer.
The Cubs lost 3-0 to the Padres on Wednesday.