CHICAGO -- Edward Cabrera wore a look of frustration as he headed off the mound following a chat with manager Craig Counsell and head athletic trainer Nick Frangella on Tuesday night at Wrigley Field. The pitcher was doing what he could to keep going, but it was clear his outing had reached its end.
Three starts after coming off the injured list due to a blister issue on his right middle finger, Cabrera was pulled in the fifth inning of a 5-2 loss to the Rockies due to cramping in his right hand. The righty had issued two walks to open the frame and was lifted after striking out Edouard Julien.
While the injury seems minor on the surface, it nonetheless marks the latest blow to a Cubs rotation that has been hit with a wave of issues this season.
“Injuries are part of the game. They’re part of the challenge,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Tuesday afternoon. “Some seasons, you maybe skate through it a little bit. Some seasons you don’t. We haven’t. But, we have to fight through it and we have to find different ways and be creative.”
Cabrera was on the 15-day IL from May 21 until June 4 due to the blister woes, which have been a recurring issue throughout his career. After coming off the shelf, Cabrera allowed eight runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Giants on June 5, though six runs came in the fourth. He was sharper last time out, limiting the Rockies to two runs over 5 1/3 innings last Thursday in Colorado.
In this second straight start against the Rockies, Cabrera went nine up, nine down before running into trouble in the fourth inning. Colorado collected three hits in a row -- the last being a two-run homer by TJ Rumfield. The Cubs righty got through the rest of the frame unscathed, but then had clear command trouble to begin the fifth.
Cabrera ended with five runs charged to his line -- two came after his departure – in 4 1/3 innings that raised his ERA to 5.21 on the season. It has been an up-and-down showing that comes after the Cubs pulled off a trade over the winter to make Cabrera the big-ticket addition to their starting staff.