MILWAUKEE — Third baseman Kris Bryant was out of the Cubs’ lineup against the Brewers on Tuesday with soreness in his right side. He had made a few diving attempts at balls while playing the outfield against the Dodgers and in Monday night’s loss to the Brewers.
Bryant is slashing .261/.347/.500 with 15 homers and 41 RBI.
“He got a little something going on with his side,” manager David Ross said. “Banged it in L.A. diving for that ball. Then yesterday, in the hole with a couple of dives. I think it’s pretty sore. We talked about it [Monday] night after the game, and he woke up [Tuesday] morning pretty sore.”
First baseman Anthony Rizzo was also out of the lineup with tightness in his lower back — the second game in a row he missed because of injury and the sixth he has missed this year because of a tight back.
“He’s better. Getting better each day,” Ross said. “I think he was shockingly surprised. He woke up [Tuesday] morning and felt much better. [In his words, it feels] not nearly as bad as it did last time he had to sit out. So that’s a good sign. He’s trying to make sure he’s doing all the right things, so [the soreness] gets out of there and he’s not trying to play through something.”
Tepera lands on 10-day IL
The Cubs will be without right-hander Ryan Tepera, one of their best bullpen arms, for a little while after putting him on the 10-day injured list with a strained left calf before Tuesday’s game.
Tepera has been lights-out for much of the first half, with a 20„-inning scoreless streak at one point, but has looked more human in his last handful of appearances, allowing seven earned runs over his last four games.
He has a 3.35 ERA and is tied for the second-most appearances in MLB this season with 37.
“[The injury] just popped up . . . before the game [Monday], and then he’s got some other stuff going on, as well,” Ross said. “Nothing arm-related, but with a heavy workload . . . I think it made a lot of sense to give him the rest to make sure everything’s all right. Just looks like he’s working really hard right now, and I don’t know if that’s fatigue or just working through injuries.”
Megill out, Morgan in
The Cubs selected the contract of left-hander Adam Morgan from Triple-A Iowa. The longtime major-leaguer is 0-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 15 games in Des Moines this year.
Right-hander Trevor Megill was optioned to Iowa after Monday’s loss to the Brewers, having allowed six runs and four hits in the eighth inning without recording an out.
To make room for Morgan on the 40-man roster, the Cubs moved infielder Matt Duffy (bulging disc) to the 60-day IL. He’s eligible to come off July 22.
