Cubs send Kilian back to Iowa after major-league debut

With the pitching staff getting healthy, the Cubs sent RHP Caleb Kilian back to Iowa on Sunday.

Kilian allowed 3 runs on 3 hits in 5 innings in his major-league debut during a 7-4 10-inning loss to the Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

Before Kilian left he had a meeting with manager David Ross, pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and general manager Jed Hoyer.

"A lot of baseball conversation. It was great," Ross said. "I think he understands he's gonna be a major-league pitcher for a really long time and help us win. We don't need a fifth starter (soon). We're pretty much set there, so it's about go down and continue to work on the things that you identified and that we saw."

Kilian retired the first nine Cardinals he faced then ran into trouble in the fourth. The big blow was a 2-run double by Brendan Donovan. Kilian said he stopped using his legs, which caused his velocity to drop.

Kilian allowed only a two-out single in the fifth inning before exiting.

"It was the best day ever. Best day of my life," said Kilian, who spent some time on the field with his mom, dad, aunt and a few friends after the game. "To be able to debut at Wrigley, Saturday night against the Cardinals and it starts raining. Tie game in the ninth. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Going long:

David Robertson threw 2⅓ innings in relief during the Cubs' loss to the Cardinals on Saturday. It was his longest outing since Game 5 of the 2017 ALDS when he was with the Yankees.

Robertson struck out Paul Goldschmidt with two outs and the bases loaded in the seventh and ninth innings. Ross originally called on Robertson in the seventh after Mychal Givens had walked three.

Robertson retired St. Louis in order in the eighth, got the first two batters of the ninth, but then gave up 3 straight singles. The third hit was a ground ball that went into left-center and should have given the Cardinals a 4-3 lead, but Edmundo Sosa missed third base and had to retreat.

After Robertson got Goldschmidt to ground into a forceout, he went into the dugout and asked his teammates: "How did (Sosa) not score?"

"They were like, 'Well, he missed third base,'" Robertson said. "Thank God. Appreciate it."

Robertson has a 1.66 ERA in 21⅓ innings. He's allowed 11 hits and struck out 30.

Around the horn:

Christopher Morel's 20-game on-base streak is tied for the 10th-longest career-opening stretch in major-league history. It is also the longest of any active player. ... David Ross said that infielder Jonathan Villar (mouth) is "feeling good" and should be able to come off the injured list Tuesday when the Cubs open a two-game series at Baltimore. ... Alec Mills (quadriceps) will travel with the Cubs to Baltimore. "We'll see where our pitching is at that point," Ross said. ...

St. Louis' Albert Pujols (1-for-3) tied Cal Ripken Jr. for eighth-most games played in MLB history (3,001) on Sunday. His fourth-inning single gave him 3,319 hits, tying him with Paul Molitor for ninth-most all-time.