Montero escapes injury on play at plate; Rizzo (back) day-to-day

The banged-up Cubs appeared to sidestep an injury to catcher Miguel Montero on Wednesday, but headed to Miami for a long road trip unsure of All-Star Anthony Rizzo’s status for Thursday’s series opener against the Marlins.

Rizzo left Wednesday’s game in the seventh inning after his back tightened, though he said he was well enough to play through it if the game had been closer. The Cubs lost 7-2 to the Cardinals.

Rizzo missed a game two weeks ago with the same issue.

Manager Joe Maddon called Rizzo’s status day-to-day and said he might sit Rizzo Thursday, especially with a left-handed pitcher (Wei-Yin Chen) scheduled to start for Miami.

Maddon suggested Rizzo’s back might have played a role in the low throw he was unable to pick on a potential double play that would have ended the fifth inning – a play that instead allowed the first two runs of the game to score.

Rizzo downplayed that as a reason: “I just missed it.”

The Cubs already have five players from their active Opening Day roster currently on the disabled list, including leadoff hitter Dexter Fowler.

It looked like Montero was headed there again when he “heard a pop” in his right knee while making an awkward tag on a play in the sixth, then limped off the field.

“I got a little scared,” said Montero, who had surgery on the knee in 2010 to clean out torn meniscus.

But the knee loosened significantly by the time he reached the clubhouse after leaving the game, he said. And Maddon considers him ready for the Marlins series.

Rookie Willson Contreras, who has fast become a fan favorite since making his major league debut Friday, took over for Montero and hit a two-run homer — his second HR — in his first at-bat of the game.