MLB
After sitting out 3 games this weekend with shoulder soreness, Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant lands on the DL for the first time in his young career with left shoulder inflammation. The Cubs were hopeful that he would be able to avoid the DL with a couple of days’ rest. That has not panned out for them. The injury is to his non-throwing shoulder, which Bryant attributes to too much swinging in the cages. He was not concerned about it, and tried playing through it. He had experienced something similar in college and in the minor leagues. Eventually, however, the 26-year-old had to admit that it was worse than he thought. The move is retroactive to Saturday.
Picking Up the Slack
For the season, Bryant is batting .280. He has 9 home runs and 36 RBIs. Bryant lands on the DL and in his absence Javy Baez will be starting at 3B, at least for tonight’s game. Baez will also occupy Bryant’s third spot in the batting order. Ben Zobrist will play 2B. The Cubs will face the Dodgers for the second game in their 4 game series. The Dodgers have won 7 of their last 10 and are on a 4-game win streak. The Cubs have lost 7 of their last 10 and are on a 5-game losing streak. Last week in Chicago the Cubs took the series from the Dodgers, but then got swept by the Reds in Cincinnati this weekend. The Dodgers, meanwhile, headed to New York to sweep the Mets in a home run power show.
In tonight’s rubber match, Jon Lester will take on Ross Stripling. Stripling came out of the bullpen to start for the Dodgers when several of their starters went down, and has been impressive in his short career as a starter. For the season he is 6-2 with a 1.99 ERA. Lester is 9-2 with a 2.10 ERA, so tonight’s showdown should be impressive. Game time is 7:10 PDT.
Written by Susannah Schmidt
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