Rizzo, Holland injuries force Chicago Cubs roster shuffling

Injuries forced the Chicago Cubs to do some roster shuffling Sunday.

First baseman Anthony Rizzo did not play in Sunday's 7-5, 11-inning loss to the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field. He exited Saturday's 7-2 loss with mid-back tightness.

Rizzo avoids the injured list, but that isn't the case for left-handed reliever Derek Holland. He went on the 10-day IL with a bruised left wrist. The Cubs recalled infielder David Bote from Class AAA Iowa to take Holland's spot and to give the Cubs another bat off the bench.

With Monday's off-day, Rizzo could be ready to play again Tuesday night in New York against the Mets. Manager Joe Maddon said after the game that he isn't sure whether Rizzo will be ready Tuesday or Wednesday.

"He's still pretty sore, stiff, whatever," Maddon said. "It's a little bit different spot, he said, so we're not as concerned. I talked to him afterward yesterday. He was pretty optimistic."

The Cubs said Holland's injury stemmed from being hit with a batted ball last Wednesday against the Giants.

"He had stitch marks on his hand from that ball, too," Maddon said. "He's fine. We talked (Saturday). It's a short period of time. When you have to do things like that at this time of the year, send somebody down or put somebody on the IL, it's a little bit easier on them mentally knowing they're going to get back in a relatively short period of time.

"With Bote, we didn't think this was going to happen this quickly, but it did."

Off to New York:

The Cubs will face three tough pitchers at Citi Field this week: Marcus Stroman, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets. The Cubs will counter with Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester.

"It's going to be very interesting," said Joe Maddon. "They've got decent pitching, too. We have to rise to the occasion. We're going to see three really good pitchers and a team that's really come from a long ways back to be in the position they are (contending for a wild card). There's no layups in this game."

A Schwarber milestone:

Kyle Schwarber tied his single-season career high with his 30th homer of the season. He hit 30 in 2017. Schwarber is the third Cubs left-handed batter all time with multiple 30-homer seasons, joining Billy Williams (five) and Anthony Rizzo (four).