The Chicago Cubs ended up losing in an 18-inning marathon on Sunday night against the New York Yankees, but perhaps more importantly several players from the team are dealing with bumps and bruises after the contest.
The most high-profile injury belongs to Anthony Rizzo, who was drilled by a 99 mile-per-hour fastball by Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman. Rizzo took the ball off of his forearm, but he was able to stay in the game despite being in obvious discomfort.
“Luckily it’s nothing serious,” Rizzo said after the game. “(I) thank my parents that I drank my milk when I was a kid. I have decent bones.”
According to the Cubs’ P.R. staff, Rizzo underwent an X-ray on the injury after the game, and it came back negative, but that didn’t take away the pain from one of the scariest pitches that Rizzo has ever been hit by.
“I mean, it just hurt,” he said. “I don’t like to labor too much on hit by pitches, because it hurts more a few minutes after. It rode up and in, and it got me pretty good. I plan on being in there (tomorrow) though.”
Even with the soreness in his wrist, Rizzo was still able to smash a double in extra innings, and Maddon gushed about the play in his postgame press conference.
“I didn’t even know if he could have swung,” he said. “He got hit pretty hard. When he hit that double, he really surprised me.”
Chicago Baseball
More unclear is the status of Jason Heyward, who has missed the last two games with a knuckle injury. Despite the length of Sunday’s game, Heyward was not used as a pinch hitter, and Maddon said that the outfielder will be re-evaluated on Monday as the team prepares to play the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
Finally there was infielder Javier Baez, who drilled a foul ball off of his foot in the third inning of the game. Baez was able to stay in the game, and a few pitches later he smacked a home run to left field to tie the game at 1-1.
The Cubs will next take the field on Monday night in Colorado when they take on the Rockies in the first game of a road trip. First pitch for the game is scheduled for 7:40 p.m., and the game will air on CSN Chicago.
