The Chicago Cubs won’t have right fielder Kyle Tucker in their lineup when they go for a three-game sweep against the visiting Atlanta Braves on Wednesday evening.
Tucker belted a three-run homer in the third inning of the 4-3 win on Tuesday. He departed, however, in the seventh because of right calf tightness.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Tucker had notified the coaching staff of the tightness before the game.
“No specific incident where it happened,” Counsell said. “It was a little sore before the game on (Tuesday) and, just as the game went on, it just gradually got a little more sore, so we wanted to be cautious at this point.”
Counsell said Tucker won’t be in the lineup on Wednesday and Chicago has a day off on Thursday, so they’ll reassess his condition before the Cubs open a three-game series against the visiting Washington Nationals on Friday.
The Cubs (80-59) plan to start right-hander Cade Horton in the series finale on Wednesday.
Horton (9-4, 2.92 ERA) went 5-1 in six starts in August with a 1.20 ERA.
He won his most recent outing last Friday, allowing two runs and six hits in five innings of an 11-7 win against the Colorado Rockies.
“It’s a really good moment to start heating up,” Horton said. “In all honesty, you don’t want to be hot the first of August. You want it late August, early September and carry that all the way up until the postseason. So, it’s good. It’s good building momentum off of that and just continue to stay the course.”
The Braves (62-77) claimed Ha-Seong Kim off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday and he made his team debut at shortstop on Tuesday, going 2-for-4 in the No. 6 spot in the order.
“He’s going to be a good addition for us,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Two relief pitchers also made their major league debuts on Tuesday.
Rolddy Munoz threw two scoreless innings and Hayden Harris tossed another.
“They did really good,” Snitker said. “They held the game there for us, which is all you could ask.”
Right-hander Bryce Elder is scheduled to start the series finale for Atlanta.
Elder (5-9, 5.85) is coming off his best performance in nearly three months, holding the Philadelphia Phillies to one run and three hits over seven innings last Friday.
He departed with the score tied, and the Braves eventually dropped a 2-1 decision.
“He’s been throwing the ball really well; I mean, really well,” Snitker said. “It’s great to see. He’s had some struggles. But, man, just the efficiency and the sinker had been really good. His slider, everything.”
Elder also pitched well against the New York Mets on Aug. 24, limiting them to two runs and three hits over six innings, but did not earn the win in the 4-3 victory.
He’s looking to keep that consistency over the final month of the regular season.
“I think there, for a while, I was having one good (start) and then one real bad, then one good and another bad one,” Elder said. “So to be able to kind of piece it together and get two good ones against two pretty good teams feels good.”
Elder has made two starts against the Cubs in his career and is 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA.
–Field Level Media
