DENVER — Cubs reliever Steve Cishek went from severe pain to a sense of relief to viral in the span of about an hour Wednesday at Coors Field.
“Somebody sent me a video, and I was like, ‘Great,’ ” said Cishek, who appeared to escape serious injury after getting hit on the inside of the knee by a ball while playing catch with teammate Brandon Kintzler before the Cubs’ 10-1 win over the Rockies.
“Hit me in the perfect spot,” said Cishek, who immediately dropped to the ground and was in such pain that he was carted from the field. “It’s just a bruise, thankfully, and hopefully it’ll just be a day or two.”
Kintzler and Cishek were working on their pitches when Kintzler threw a sinker that instead cut unexpectedly in the thin air, Cishek said.
X-rays weren’t deemed necessary, and Cishek’s status for the upcoming four-game series against the Dodgers will be a day-to-day decision.
June boon
Pitching seven more scoreless innings in the unlikeliest of settings, left-hander Cole Hamels extended his streak without allowing an earned run to 23 innings.
He hasn’t allowed one in three June starts, which account for 22 of those innings. Wednesday’s effort at Coors Field averted a Rockies sweep and snapped the Rockies’ 10-game home winning streak.
“Outstanding performance,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Tremendous command. . . . It’s not easy to pitch like that here.”
Hamels — who had two hits at the plate and was hit by a pitch — struck out nine. He also hit Nolan Arenado with a pitch that Arenado seemed sure was intentional — apparently in response to Kris Bryant getting hit twice by pitches Tuesday.
Retaliation?
“Not that I know of,” Hamels said with a straight face.
Good day for a day off
Bryant was expected back in the lineup for Thursday’s series opener against the Dodgers and left-hander Clayton Kershaw after getting the unscheduled day off Wednesday following the HBPs.
“He’s been ball-peened over the last several days, and beyond that, he turned his ankle a couple days ago,” said Maddon, who talked to Bryant after Tuesday night’s game about taking Wednesday off.
Maddon said he didn’t think Rockies rookie Peter Lambert hit Bryant on purpose Tuesday. But he also saw a good reason for a situational day off, especially ahead of a series featuring three Dodgers lefties, and after Bryant tweaked the ankle Sunday.
Bryant, who also was hit in the head by a pitch last April at Coors Field, wasn’t available in the clubhouse after Tuesday night’s game or during the media access period before Wednesday’s game.
He said it
Arenado, who jawed at Hamels and the Cubs’ dugout after being hit, on a possible October rematch between the Cubs and Rockies: “If we played them again, it could be a pretty spicy series. Hopefully we make the playoffs, and if they do, too, we’ll see what happens.”
Notes
The Cubs and Rockies split their six games this season, each winning their home series. There were nine HBPs overall in the six games.
• The Cubs snapped their five-game road losing streak with Wednesday’s win.
