MILWAUKEE – Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner was out of the lineup on Saturday, the day after he exited with a bruised left knee. In his absence, Christopher Morel started at second base.
Hoerner woke up with soreness in his knee, according to the team. He underwent treatment before the game and was expected to be available off the bench.
It would have been shocking if he hadn’t felt the effects of the injury. Hoerner fouled off a ball into his knee in the sixth inning of the Cubs’ 4-3 extra-innings loss Friday. He stayed in to finish the at-bat and play in the field in the bottom half of the inning. But he exited in the seventh.
“Nico’s obviously a staple on this team and somebody that’s really, really tough and grinds at it every single day,” shortstop Dansby Swanson said Friday. “But, unfortunately for him, he just wasn’t able to fight through this one.”
It created a unique situation in the late innings.
Corner infielder Patrick Wisdom has been open to changing roles and positions all year. On Friday, he took that flexibility to the next level.
Miles Mastrobuoni replaced Hoerner in the field, but then power-hitting Wisdom pinch hit for Mastrobuoni in the eighth.
After making that move, manager David Ross’ options at second base were limited. Morel was serving as the designated hitter at the time, so if Ross moved him to second base, the Cubs would lose the DH spot. So, Wisdom played second base for the rest of the game, for what he said was his first time at the position since high school.
“It was exciting to walk over there, honestly,” Wisdom told the Sun-Times on Saturday. “I was super pumped to do that. [Bench coach Andy Green] and Dansby helped me out with positioning. So once I was in the right spot, you feel normal. I wish I got a ground ball, but it’s part of the game.”
Rare short start for Wicks
Cubs lefty Jordan Wicks has impressed in his debut season. But his last start of the regular season on Saturday wrapped up the campaign on a sour note.
Wicks entered the day with a 3.00 ERA in six starts. His shortest outing had been four innings. He’d given up three home runs all season – two in a quality start against the Rockies last Sunday.
He’s a very good competitor with good stuff,” Ross said before the game.
The Cubs spotted Wicks a 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning. But in 1 ⅔ innings, he gave up six runs. Of the Brewers’ six hits off Wicks, two were homers.
Quotable
“We know that we need to play better,” Wisdom said before the game Saturday. “And I know that this is causing turmoil within people just because we know we can play better, and we know what’s at stake. I know it’s driving me nuts – like jeez. But that’s just baseball, Right? And it’s going to come down to the wire. And it’s exciting; we’re playing meaningful games at the end of September. These are the cool moments in baseball, and it’s exciting, but it is hard to accept that our fate’s ultimately in other teams’ hands.”