MILWAUKEE -- Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain limped back to the dugout following a first-inning groundout and then exited Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Cubs an inning later with what the team termed left quadriceps discomfort.
“We were at the point where it was risky keeping him out there,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “No more information than that. We’ll assess it [Wednesday] a little bit and, hopefully. the off-day [Thursday] helps and we’ll see what this weekend brings.”
The Brewers have adopted the convention of calling every injury “discomfort” so they can quickly get word to their broadcasters pending a formal diagnosis of injury, but any leg issue qualifies as bad news for Cain, who turned 35 on Tuesday. He missed a significant portion of Spring Training after straining his right quad early in camp, costing Cain important at-bats as he returned from sitting out the majority of the shortened 2020 season.
He’s already had an impact in 2021 beyond his .160 batting average entering Tuesday night. Cain homered twice in the late innings of the Brewers’ extra-inning win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field last week, accounting for all of Milwaukee’s runs. And he was riding a string of starts because one of the Brewers’ other star outfielders, Christian Yelich, has been sidelined since the middle innings of Sunday’s game at St. Louis because of lower back soreness.
With Cain and Yelich down, the Brewers were left with three healthy outfielders in Jackie Bradley Jr., Avisaíl García and Billy McKinney. Utility man Jace Peterson is up in the big leagues at the moment and can also play the outfield, as can Tuesday’s starting second baseman, Daniel Robertson.