HOUSTON — Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing two games with what he called “very mild” symptoms related to hitting his head in Sunday’s outfield collision with teammate Jason Heyward.
“I felt good a lot sooner than I thought [I would],” said Bryant, who was held out of the field for another day as a precaution, batting as the designated hitter.
He homered to center field in the third inning of the series finale against the Astros.
“It was just mild symptoms,” Bryant said. “Of course, they’re always going to take a look at that and take it seriously. But running into J-Hey’s no joke. He’s a big dude.
“It was very mild. It felt like I just got blindsided or tackled. I never played football, but maybe that’s what it feels like.”
He’s expected to be back at his cornerback — make that corner infield — position when the Cubs open their weekend series in St. Louis on Friday.
Baez at … third?
Javy Baez, who batted DH the first two games in Houston to alleviate pressure on his bruised heel, was back in the field — but at third base for the first time this year instead of his usual shortstop.
But don’t read anything into it, like some secret agenda that involves shifting Addison Russell back into an everyday role at short, manager Joe Maddon insisted.
“He’d have been playing short tonight if his foot was fine,” Maddon said. “If his foot was ‘well-well,’ he would be at short, Addison at second and [David] Bote at third. This is purely based on trying to restrict his movement [defensively].”
Strop for Saturday?
After a six-pitch scoreless inning for Class AAA Iowa on Tuesday, interim closer Pedro Strop (hamstring) has one more scheduled minor-league rehab inning scheduled for Thursday before joining the team in St. Louis.
Barring a setback, he’s expected to be activated for Saturday’s game.
Maddon, who texted with Strop on Wednesday, said his reports had Strop’s fastball at its usual 95 mph.
“So the numbers are right, and he felt really good about it,” Maddon said.