The Chicago Cubs have been in the midst of one of their most disappointing seasons. Favored to battle the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central division, they find themselves in last place with a 42-49 record.
Colten Brewer is headed to the 60 day IL after breaking his hand punching the dugout wall at Wrigley Field.
Frustration has been the watchword at Wrigley Field this season, and it reared its head once again in Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Angels. During that 7-0 defeat, Cubs relief pitcher Colten Brewer pitched ineffectively after he was inserted into the game to replace starter Kyle Hendricks. He gave up two hits, two walks and one hit batter and was charged with three runs.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell removed Brewer from the game at that point, and the reliever expressed his frustration with his performance by punching the wall once he returned to the Cubs dugout. It turned out to be a damaging move because Brewer broke his hand.
The Cubs responded by placing Brewer on the 60-day injured list. The right-handed reliever — he punched with his left hand — met the media prior to Sunday's game against the Angels and attempted to explain his actions.
“My intention wasn't to break my hand,” Brewer said. “I'll get frustrated and make mistakes. That's no excuse. There's a lot I can prove out there, that I'm willing not to do stuff like that. Emotions get the best of us sometimes.”
Cubs bench boss Counsell offers his reaction
Brewer has had a difficult run in Chicago during his first season with the Cubs. Counsell has called on him to pitch 16 times in relieve, and he has a 5.66 earned run average and 1 blown save to go along with 22 strikeouts and 9 bases on balls.
Counsell made somewhat of an attempt to explain what happened and while he did not defend Brewer, he understood the reason behind his unhappiness.
“When those things happen, you know you screwed up,” Counsell said in his media session. “That was the conversation. Then there's consequences for the mistakes you make. It's an unfortunate mistake, and he let emotions get the best of him. It's not who he is, but it's a mistake that he made.”
With Brewer unavailable for the next two months, the Cubs reached down to their Triple-A team in Iowa to bring up right-handed relief pitcher Hunter Bigge. The 26-year-old Bigge is 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA and six saves in his 11 appearances with the minor league team.
The Cubs responded with a 5-0 victory over the Angels in Sunday's series finale. The victory allowed the Cubs to take 2 of 3 games from the AL West visitors. It marked the first time the Cubs have won a series since they took 2 of 3 from the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field from June 17 through June 19.
Their only other series victory since mid-May was a 2-game sweep of the cross-town White Sox in early June.
