Chicago Cubs' streak snapped; Baez leaves with injury
The Chicago Cubs are down one shortstop already. Being down two would put them into some serious trouble.
That's why they were holding their collective breath Sunday when Javier Baez left the field with a head injury.
Baez, the Cubs' 24-year-old dynamo, slid hard and head first into second base in the second inning of a 5-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves as he tried to steal. He was called out, and his head hit the knee of Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies.
Baez came back out to his position for the third inning, but after one batter he sought attention from the athletic trainer and walked off the field, being replaced by Mike Freeman.
The Cubs said after the game Baez was suffering from blurred vision because of the blow near his right eye but that he was not in concussion protocol. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital for further tests but was expected to fly to Pittsburgh on Monday morning to join the Cubs, who begin a four-game series against the Pirates.
The team expressed optimism about Baez's health, but there is no denying his importance to the team, especially with starting shortstop Addison Russell on the disabled for about two more weeks with a foot injury.
“He's pretty important,” said manager Joe Maddon. “He's been playing so well, and you can feel difference, obviously. But hopefully, like we're talking about right now, it's going to be minor and the fact that he'll be back tomorrow, we won't have to jones over all of that stuff, or Baez over all of it.
“He's very important to us right now. You cannot deny that.”
Baez is a hard-nosed player, but Maddon said he has “no issues, none” with Baez sliding head first.
The Cubs (75-61) had their winning streak snapped at six and saw their lead in the National League Central cut to 3½ games over the second-place Milwaukee Brewers.
Mike Montgomery (5-7) pitched 5 innings for the Cubs, giving up 5 hits and 3 runs. He also acknowledged the importance of Baez to the team.
“Javy's one of the best shortstops in the league, hands down,” he said. “It's unfortunate that he came out like that. I hope he's going to be all right. I think he's going to be all right. We need him. He's a big part of this offense and defense.”
The Braves got a run in the first and 2 in the fourth against Montgomery. Ian Happ tied the game in the second with his 21st homer of the season, off Max Fried. The Braves added 2 in the ninth against Felix Pena, but Maddon was more than happy with a 6-1 homestand.
“Please, I'd be an idiot to not be happy,” he said. “We played great all week. We've done so many things well all week. There's no way a loss and winning a four-game series is going to drive me down.”
Scouting report
Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park
TV: ABC 7 Monday; Comcast SportsNet Tuesday and Thursday; WGN Wednesday
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jake Arrieta (14-8) vs. Chad Kuhl (6-10) Monday at 3:05 p.m.; Kyle Hendricks (6-4) vs. Steven Brault (0-0) Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. Jose Quintana (5-3 with Cubs) vs. Gerrit Cole (11-9) Wednesday at 6:05 p.m.; Jon Lester (9-7) vs. Jameson Taillon (7-5) Thursday at 6:05 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs swept the Pirates in three last week at Wrigley Field. The Pirates will be without Josh Harrison, who suffered a broken left hand when hit by a pitch Saturday. He is on the DL. The Pirates have fallen out of the race in the NL Central. Offense has been a problem all year. They rank near the bottom in several key categories. For the Cubs, Arrieta leads the team in victories and has 8 quality starts in 9 outings since the all-star break. The Cubs entered Sunday ranked second in the NL in runs scored and second in on-base percentage.
Next: Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field, Friday-Sunday
— Bruce Miles