Reliever Almonte to IL; Cuas recalled
PITTSBURGH — The Cubs’ wave of early-season injuries continued, with the team putting reliever Yency Almonte on the 15-day injured list Saturday. In a corresponding move, the Cubs recalled sidearmer Jose Cuas from Triple-A Iowa.
‘‘Just didn’t recover from his last outing well,’’ manager Craig Counsell said.
Almonte pitched a scoreless inning Tuesday against the Padres, then took the next two days off. But playing catch Friday didn’t go well, Counsell said. The Cubs don’t have a timeline for Almonte’s recovery.
Almonte has been an important member of the bullpen this season, taking on more high-leverage innings since righthander Julian Merryweather landed on the IL with a stress fracture in a rib a little more than a week into the season.
‘‘Counsell’s using us, especially me, in situations where I think, in his head, he expects me to succeed,’’ Almonte said in a recent conversation with the Sun-Times. ‘‘So I’m going with that mindset, going out there like, ‘OK, I’m getting called in this situation because these are the guys that I’m meant to go get out.’ ’’
Almonte introduced the cutter, a weapon against left-handed hitters, to his repertoire last season, but he said
he was ‘‘still trying to get a feel for it’’ then. During the offseason and in spring training, he honed the shape of the pitch.
Against right-handers, his slider and sinker have been a potent combination.
Almonte is the 13th Cubs player to go on the IL this season.
‘‘Everybody fills roles,’’ Counsell said of adjusting to Almonte’s absence. ‘‘Ben Brown did it [Friday]. So it’s going to be different guys that’ll fill in. Our bullpen’s in a little bit of a unique situation, but we’ve done a good job of adapting and the guys have done a good job of adapting to different roles and pitching in different spots. And we’ll continue to do that.’’
Brown pitched 3⅔ scoreless innings in the Cubs’ 7-2 victory Friday. He hadn’t pitched in a week, as the Cubs’ plan for him evolved with the health of the rotation.
Brown said he leaned on Adbert Alzolay and Hayden Wesneski, teammates who have served in similar multifaceted roles, for advice.
‘‘They gave me a lot of wisdom, just what to do,’’ Brown said Saturday. ‘‘And it’s also acknowledging that it’s not the easiest role to be in.’’
Brown earned his first major-league victory Friday and kept the lineup card to commemorate the milestone.
Happ at home
Outfielder Ian Happ extended his on-base streak against the Pirates to a major-league-record 61 starts, dating to Sept. 26, 2018.
‘‘[It’s great] to be able to keep coming back and always have family here,’’ said Happ, a Pittsburgh native. ‘‘My high school coach [Patt McCloskey] is right behind the on-deck circle with his dad, who also coached me. It’s just really special.”
Hendricks to start today
In a bit of a surprise, Counsell said after the game that the Cubs will activate righthander Kyle Hendricks from the 15-day IL to start Sunday.
Taillon tests back
Right-hander Jameson Taillon threw off a mound, testing his back after tweaking it earlier in the week. Counsell said it went well.