There were a few minutes there where it was over for the Chicago Cubs. Justin Steele suffered a setback last month. Cade Horton is already out for the season, while Matthew Boyd is recovering from knee surgery. The last thing the Cubs can afford right now is another pitching injury, and while it’s less than ideal, at least Edward Cabrera didn’t blow out his elbow on Wednesday night.
It seemed like that was the case after Cabrera threw a 92.5mph four-seam fastball to begin the fourth inning. That was considerably lower than his average velocity, and the pitch that ended way out of the strike zone made catcher Carson Kelly call for the trainer. A quick conversation on the mound resulted in Cabrera exiting the game in the fourth inning.
The Cubs finally gave an update, but those 10 minutes before hearing anything were painful. Any time you see a pitcher lose 4-5mph on a fastball and the trainer is called, you automatically think there’s an elbow injury, which means months, if not the rest of the year, being missed. Luckily, it turned out to be a blister on Cabrera’s middle finger that caused his early exit against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Cabrera allowed four runs in three innings pitched on Wednesday, but only one of those runs was earned. Yet, it was yet another shaky performance from Cabrera, who has been trending down in the past few weeks. The righty only had two strikeouts, while giving up four hits and two walks in his three innings.
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Last year, Cabrera began the regular season on the injured list because he had his right middle finger removed to expedite his recovery from the blister that he suffered during spring training. Hopefully, this time around, the recovery will be a lot quicker for Cabrera.
