The Cubs’ game against the Marlins on Thursday at Wrigley Field was postponed because of rain in the forecast. The teams will play a split doubleheader Saturday, with the first game starting at 1:20 p.m. and the second at 6:40.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon, whom the Cubs activated from the 15-day injured list (strained back) and was set to start Thursday, will make his season debut Friday.
Left-hander Shota Imanaga, who was slated to start Friday, will pitch one of the games Saturday, and right-hander Javier Assad will start the other.
With the Cubs adding another starter to the roster, veteran right-hander Kyle Hendricks is set to start Sunday on regular rest, rather than rookie Ben Brown on extra rest. Even before the Cubs were scheduled to play a doubleheader, they weren’t considering skipping Hendricks’ next start, despite his struggles in his first four.
Entering Thursday, Hendricks’ 12.71 ERA was the second-worst among major-league pitchers who have thrown at least 10 innings, behind only the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland (13.21).
Because of the 13-pitcher roster limit, however, skipping a starter’s turn in the rotation essentially means playing down a reliever, and the Cubs aren’t in a position to do so. They need Hendricks’ innings, and Brown has the ability to fill multiple roles.
“I’m always that type where, once it clicks, I feel really good about it,” Hendricks said after his last start. “Clearly not there. So relying on a lot of experience, a lot of things I’ve been through in the past, it’s clearly a unique piece of adversity.”
Roster moves
Even though the Cubs didn’t play Thursday, they made a series of roster moves to set themselves up for the weekend. In addition to activating Taillon, they reinstated corner infielder Patrick Wisdom (strained back) from the 10-day IL.
To make room on the roster, the Cubs optioned right-hander Hayden Wesneski and utility player Miles Mastrobuoni to Triple-A Iowa.
Wesneski pitched four scoreless innings Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, so he won’t be available for a few days.
Wisdom was swinging a hot bat during his Triple-A rehab assignment, hitting .407 with three homers in nine games.
Brewer nearing Cubs debut
A series that includes a doubleheader always means heavy-lifting for the bullpen. The Cubs already have a new, fresh arm on their roster. Right-hander Colten Brewer will likely make his Cubs debut in the coming days.
The team called him up at the same time as Wesneski, with plenty of time before Brewer’s May 15 opt-out date. And while Wesneski’s story of how he received the news at 1 a.m. Wednesday made his performance in Arizona all the more impressive, Brewers’ story was just as wild.
It was late, and the night before a day game. So Brewer, like Wesneski, wasn’t picking up his cellphone. Triple-A coach Marty Pevey made his way to the lobby of the hotel where Brewer was staying and got the receptionist to call up to his room.
Said Brewer: “The receptionist is just with him the whole time, like, ‘Hey, congratulations, Mr. Brewer.’ ”
