CHICAGO -- Mike Montgomery will make his first start on Monday in the Cubs' series opener against the Pirates at PNC Park while Yu Darvish preps for an MRI exam after being sidelined with right triceps tendinitis.
Darvish, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list retroactive to May 23, will have the exam on Tuesday. If he passes all the tests, the right-hander could start Saturday when the Cubs are in New York.
"I know what I've seen in the past and I know how good he is," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Darvish, who is 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA in eight starts and is on the DL for the second time this year. "Once we get him rolling right and he feels good, this guy is going to take off."
The Cubs hope so after signing Darvish to a six-year, $126 million contract in February. Maddon said the right-hander had been bothered by some discomfort in his arm all week and they wanted to take a cautious approach. Darvish also has had to battle in most of his starts.
"He has not been on any kind of cruise control, by any means," Maddon said. "He's had a lot of difficult innings this year already. When it's right, it's like that nice sports car. When it's running properly, it's fun to watch. He's just not been there with any kind of consistency."
On Sunday night, Tyler Chatwood replaced Darvish, who had been scheduled to start. Montgomery, who was 5-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 14 starts last season, will be subbing for Chatwood on Monday. Montgomery leads the Cubs relievers in innings pitched with 25 1/3 innings and his longest outings have been a pair of three-inning appearances, most recently on May 6 against the Cardinals.
Worth noting
• Outfielder Ian Happ did not start Sunday night because of soreness in his shoulder suffered trying to catch Andrew McCutchen's ball in the fifth inning on Saturday. Maddon said Happ was to get treatment and might be available to pinch-hit.
• The Cubs will be arriving in Pittsburgh early Monday for a day game against the Pirates. The players were encouraged to pick their favorite shoes and will be wearing matching blue track suit jackets with their nicknames on the back. Maddon's is "Pino."
"It's 'Joe' in Italian," Maddon said. "Whenever I write Eddie Vedder, I sign it 'Pino.' He loves that."
The theme of this trip?
"It's just a comfort trip -- comfort food, comfort clothes," Maddon said. "Having a nickname on the back is always comfortable."