Chicago Cubs' rotation catching a break
If you've watched the Chicago Cubs closely over the past month or so, you've noticed that manager Joe Maddon has lengthened out his starting rotation.
Whether it has been a spot start here or an extra day for somebody there, the goal has been to keep the starting staff fresh for the stretch drive.
That process continues, and a shoulder ailment bothering right-hander John Lackey now figures into the equation.
It was lefty Jon Lester (13-4, 2.86 ERA) who took the mound Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, and he went 6⅔ innings as the Cubs won their third straight in this series, 6-1.
Cubs batters pounded Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson for 5 runs in the first inning, 3 coming on Jorge Soler's home run to the back of the bleachers in left field. David Ross added a solo shot in the third.
The Cubs are going to give veteran Lackey some extra time after he came up sore in this past Sunday night's start against the St. Louis Cardinals.
For the upcoming weekend series at Colorado, Maddon will start Kyle Hendricks, Mike Montgomery and Jason Hammel, with Lackey being held back until next Tuesday at San Diego.
It will be Montgomery's first start as a Cub since the July 20 trade that brought him from Seattle. He backed up another spot starter, Trevor Cahill, in the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader.
"We're going to give Johnny a couple extra days," Maddon said. "We thought it would be good to extend that time before he has to pitch again.
"Like I said before, I think Montgomery can be a very, very legitimate major-league starter. We saw what Cahill just did, also (5 scoreless innings Tuesday). This is the part of our group we've been trying get thicker, and that's the starters.
"So all of a sudden these two guys surface. Who knows? I'll take it at this time of the year. It's actually a really important time of the year for that stuff to surface in a positive way."
General manager Jed Hoyer would not rule out a disabled-list stint for Lackey, saying the long view is most important now.
"Anytime there's a shoulder injury, you try to treat it as carefully as possible," Hoyer said. "He's obviously been an incredibly durable pitcher over the course of his career, but you don't want to take that for granted.
"We'll evaluate it every day. I know it's a cliché, but it's a reality in this situation. Obviously, Joe has already said he's penciled in next Tuesday. We hope that's the case.
"If it's not, at that point it probably becomes a disabled-list assignment because of the number of days it's been.
"The important thing is, it seems like we're in the home stretch, but really we have 42-43 games left in the season in about six weeks. The important thing is getting back and pitching well during that time frame."