CHICAGO – Cubs manager Craig Counsell referred to Nico Hoerner as the engine of the offense during the second baseman’s torrid start to this season. Given his importance to the lineup and defense, losing Hoerner for any amount of time would be detrimental.
Early in Friday’s 6-5 win over the D-backs, the Cubs used caution when Hoerner developed tightness in the left side of his neck. The second baseman contributed a double and scored Chicago’s first run in the first inning, but he was replaced by Matt Shaw by the next frame.
“It’s not an injury,” Hoerner said, “but the kind of thing where it didn’t leave me in a place to be myself today.”
Counsell held Hoerner out of the starting lineup for Saturday’s game against the D-backs after the second baseman still felt a little discomfort while going through a morning workout. The manager noted that Hoerner did feel improvement and was hopeful he would not remain sidelined for too long.
“He’s still feeling it a little bit, so he’s not in the lineup,” Counsell said on Saturday morning. “He ran around a little bit today. Took some swings. And it’s just there enough still that we’ll try to get him another day.”
Hoerner said he did not have any issues when he arrived at Wrigley Field on Friday morning, but the neck tightness started to develop during his pregame workout. The second baseman stayed in the lineup long enough to extend his on-base streak to 12 games.
Hoerner led off the first inning Friday by sending a pitch from D-backs righty Zac Gallen deep into the left-center-field gap at Wrigley Field for a double. As he hustled into second, Hoerner could be seen grimacing. He remained in the game and went on to score from third on a two-run opposite-field single from Michael Busch that sparked a three-run outburst in the frame.
Hoerner then played defense in the top of the second inning, but exited as the tightness persisted. Shaw – a super-utility player who offers depth for both the infield and outfield – pinch-hit for Hoerner in the second, and he also replaced him at second base.
“It got worse on the swing and run around the bases,” Counsell said on Friday. “He tried to go out there in the second and he couldn’t throw. He just couldn’t move his neck at all. It’s a muscle thing. … It may be a day or two, but I think it’ll be fine after that.”
In 32 games this season, Hoerner has hit at a .297 clip with four home runs, nine doubles and 26 RBIs. He was only the fourth player in the Wild Card Era (since 1994) to amass at least 25 RBIs and 35 hits in the first 30 games of a season for the Cubs. He also has 13 walks and only 14 strikeouts in 147 plate appearances while posting an .835 OPS.
Hoerner noted that he was hit on the side of the helmet by a pitch from Padres pitcher Matt Waldron in the fifth inning on Wednesday, but could not say for certain if the neck issue stemmed from that moment.
“I didn’t have anything coming into the field today or anything,” Hoerner said Friday. “I mean, you get hit in the head two days ago and you kind of wonder, I don't know, if anything’s related. But I had no symptoms from that [during Thursday’s off-day] or anything.”