BOSTON — A trio of Cubs corner infielders converged on the mound, choreographing a change of positions and gloves, searching for some way to end what would become a 17-0 loss Saturday to the Red Sox.
The moment summed up exactly how lopsided the game had become, as the Cubs used two position players as pitchers in the eighth inning.
First baseman Michael Busch tossed his mitt in, swapping it for a regular infielder’s glove to take over at third base for the first time this season. Matt Mervis walked to the dugout railing for his first baseman’s mitt, handing over the ball after his first professional pitching performance. Patrick Wisdom went from third base to the mound.
‘‘When it’s that score, you’ve got to start thinking about tomorrow, absolutely,’’ manager Craig Counsell said. ‘‘So they beat us. On to the next day.’’
Unfortunately for the Cubs, the next day held its own bad news.
Left-hander Jordan Wicks originally was scheduled to start Sunday, but the team announced he was dealing with tightness in his left forearm. Right-hander Hayden Wesneski replaced him as the probable starter.
Wicks’ injury made it even more important for the Cubs to save as many bullpen arms as possible Saturday.
Wesneski has been throwing out of the bullpen and his regular pitching schedule has been altered by a pair of call-ups, so he isn’t fully stretched out. He last pitched Thursday, tossing 2⅓ scoreless innings against the Astros.
Strong pitching performances such as that had been a theme for the Cubs all week. Until Saturday, that is.
Rookie right-hander Ben Brown was making his first start in almost two weeks after moving to the bullpen when Jameson Taillon was reinstated from the injured list.
Brown gave up some hard contact, most notably a solo home run by Tyler O’Neil that comfortably cleared the Green Monster and struck one of the light towers. O’Neil had the green light on a 3-0 count.
‘‘That at-bat went wrong [from] pitch one, not making strike one,’’ Brown said. ‘‘Other than that, I feel like I executed pretty well, especially after that homer.’’
The Cubs were still in striking distance, trailing by three runs, when Brown handed the ball to Counsell with two outs in the fourth. Counsell called on left-hander Luke Little, who hadn’t allowed a run in his last two outings. But it was quickly apparent that he was battling control issues.
Little got out of the fourth unscathed, despite walking the first batter he faced, but the fifth didn’t go as well.
O’Neil showed off his power again, driving a single off the upper half of the Green Monster. Little then induced Wilyer Abreu to hit a ground ball to Busch, but no one covered first base, handing Abreu a hit.
Little also hit two batters. With one out, he got a ground ball up the middle from Bobby Dalbec. He tried to field the ball but deflected it away from shortstop Dansby Swanson as the Red Sox took a 5-0 lead.
‘‘He’s a little bit struggling with the slider command and getting that pitch in a good spot and making it competitive,’’ Counsell said of Little.
Right-hander Colten Brewer came in with the bases loaded and gave up a three-run double to Ceddanne Rafaela, all but putting the game out of reach, if it wasn’t already. He remained in for mop-up duty until the position players yielded six more runs in the eighth.
The Cubs were shut out for the first time this season.
