A Chicago Cubs offense already in a prolonged funk is now without regulars at the top of the lineup.
Mike Tauchman landed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a Grade 2 left groin strain he sustained during Monday’s 7-6 loss to the San Francisco Giants. The injury is expected to need four weeks to heal, manager Craig Counsell said. Given the length of time he will be sidelined, Tauchman will likely require a rehab assignment when he is ready to return.
“He’s going to miss significant time,” Counsell said.
Tauchman hurt his groin while running out an infield single in the third inning. He immediately signaled to the Cubs’ dugout after running through first base and subsequently exited the game.
Without their typical leadoff hitter against right-handed starters Tuesday facing the Giants’ Logan Webb, the Cubs’ ability to put the ball in play paid off in a 5-2 victory on a muggy night in front of 36,297 fans at Wrigley Field.
Dansby Swanson’s two-run, opposite-field home run put the Cubs (35-39) ahead in the second inning. But the Giants took advantage of Justin Steele’s only two walks of the night to tie the game in the fifth on catcher Curt Casali’s two-run double. Steele otherwise limited San Francisco’s opportunities, giving up four hits in 6 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts.
“He’s been excellent, I would argue he’s even been better than his numbers,” Counsell said. “He’s pitched really, really well and kind of quietly. Shota (Imanaga’s) obviously got a lot of attention and rightfully so, but Justin’s been every bit of what he was here last year and what he’s been the last couple of years for sure.”
The Cubs used four consecutive hits to open the eighth to spark a three-run inning. Cody Bellinger, Ian Happ and Christopher Morel each delivered RBI singles, and right-hander Keegan Thompson struck out the side in the ninth to secure the win.
“It’s just something that we’ve been really good at, at times, and what’s made us click is just to be able to continue to keep innings going, to be able to pass the baton to one another,” Swanson said. “Obviously ran the bases really well in that inning, just a lot of good baseball things there in the eighth. It’s better late than never.”
Tauchman had become Counsell’s reliable leadoff hitter over the last month because of the consistency of his at-bats. His .359 on-base percentage leads the Cubs this season while his 111 OPS+ is third-best behind Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki (both at 125).
“Mike’s been a very consistent offensive presence for us for sure and that will be missed absolutely,” Counsell said. “The left-handed bat, the ability to get on base, which his ball-strike decisions are as good as anybody really in baseball. And so that on-base component definitely will be messed.”
The Cubs recalled infielder Miles Mastrobuoni to take the open roster spot. The organization’s two outfielders at Triple-A Iowa on the 40-man roster — Alexander Canario and Brennen Davis — are both banged up. Canario exited Iowa’s game Saturday and hasn’t been in the lineup since while Davis has been out the last seven days.
Counsell indicated they didn’t consider bringing up a non-40-man hitter, explaining that because of how the lineups have played out, they didn’t see opportunities for a lot of playing time. Mastrobuoni will largely be a bench piece while Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong will get the bulk of the playing time that would have gone to Tauchman.
In Tauchman’s absence, Counsell is hoping second baseman Nico Hoerner will take hold of the Cubs’ leadoff spot where he batted Tuesday night against the Giants.
“I think that’s really important for our offense, just to get him going as much as anything regardless of where he hits in the lineup,” Counsell said. “So that’s the goal, but we will look at it every single day and try to make the best choices.”
Hoerner is among the notable Cubs hitters in a slump. Since coming back from his hamstring injury, Hoerner is batting .195 with a .271 OBP and two extra-base hits in his last 85 plate appearances (23 games).
“He relies on squaring the baseball up, he puts the ball in play a lot,” Counsell said. “He has a strength of not striking out. He’s got to hit the ball hard and find holes. He finds more holes because he does put the ball in play a lot and gives himself more chances. It just hasn’t clicked recently, but it’s in there for sure and we’re hopeful we can get him going here.”
Among the changes Counsell does not appear to be inclined to make right now is moving Héctor Neris out of the closer role. Counsell explained Neris, who has allowed eight runs in his last three outings, needs to continue to be in that role for Counsell to manage games in a way that allows their relievers to be in the best position to succeed.
“He’s had a couple of rough outings, I don’t think he pitched that poorly (Monday) night,” Counsell said. “Today we’re going to have to check availability on some guys so that always changes it. But, yeah, I think we’re absolutely going to need to see Héctor at the end of games.”
Opposing hitters are doing damage against Neris’ four-seam fastball, owning a .595 slugging percentage against the pitch with 7 of 12 hits going for extra bases, including three home runs. Comparatively, Neris has allowed only one extra-base hit off his splitter.
Counsell acknowledged that fastball slugging percentage is a concerning number. He pointed to the pitch’s location and the counts Neris gets into: “And that’s where Héctor has gotten himself into trouble.”
Boisterous boos accompanied Neris off the field in the ninth inning Monday following Thairo Estrada’s go-ahead three-run home run off the veteran righty to hand the Cubs another one-run loss. Asked whether hearing the rare boo birds at Wrigley Field surprised him, Counsell said that’s part of the privilege of buying a ticket. The Cubs entered Tuesday with the third-worst record in the National League.
“Fans, they’re emotional,” Counsell said. “There’s no question it doesn’t feel good. But it’s been a tough stretch and you’re voicing your displeasure and that’s OK. However we interpret it, we’ve got to take it the right way and use it as a positive. That’s part of our jobs here. You’ve got to be able to process that, take that and use it in a good way.”
