Friday was a good, bad and ugly kind of day for the health of the Cubs’ pitching staff.
Left-hander Matthew Boyd said he’s on target to return to the rotation Wednesday, the Cubs put closer Daniel Palenica on the 15-day injured list and manager Craig Counsell said right-hander Cade Horton could miss 16 months after having Tommy John surgery on his pitching elbow.
The news of Palencia’s strained left oblique, which was announced just before the Cubs’ 12-4 victory against the Mets, came as a surprise. After the game, Counsell said Palencia began feeling discomfort after a throwing session Wednesday in Philadelphia. His bullpen session Friday went well, but his conditioning afterward did not.
‘‘At that point, we’ve got symptoms over the course of three days and didn’t think it made sense to go any further with it,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘The fact that his bullpen went well gives us some optimism. I don’t think he’d be able to do that with a high-grade strain, but we’ll know more in the coming days.’’
‘‘The bullpen felt awesome; I threw 96, 95 [mph],’’ said Palencia, who indicated the discomfort was on the left side of his lower back. ‘‘It’s just I felt something during my conditioning. I wanna be smart; I don’t wanna push too much. I think it’s just tightness. I think it just needs a little bit of time, and we’re gonna be ready soon.’’
In the meantime, the Cubs will be without a third pitcher — along with Phil Maton (tendinitis in knee) and Porter Hodge (season-ending strained elbow) — who was expected to solidify the back of the bullpen. Counsell said he’ll change pitchers’ usage on a game-by-game basis. A corresponding move will be made Saturday.
With a run of misfortune that has 10 pitchers on the IL, the Cubs were due for some good news. They finally got it after Boyd, who has been out with a strained left biceps, threw 3⅔ innings for Triple-A Iowa on Thursday.
‘‘Things went good; I feel really good today,’’ said Boyd, who allowed three runs, four hits and a walk with six strikeouts in Columbus, Ohio. ‘‘That’s the important thing. Everything feels normal for the day after a pitch. Excited for Wednesday, and we’ll build toward that each day.’’
Boyd last pitched April 1, when he threw 98 pitches and struck out 10 in 5⅔ innings against the Angels. But the conditions — 39 degrees at first pitch with 21 mph winds — might have been a factor in the injury. He wasn’t wearing long sleeves.
‘‘It had nothing to do within the outing,’’ Boyd said. ‘‘I’m sure the weather had something to do with it, [plus] sitting for 20-plus minutes [during a five-run third inning] in cold weather. You’re throwing more reps down below because you’re trying to stay ready for that inning. There’s always different little dynamics that can change, all these different stressors that are not consistent from start to start.’’
Meanwhile, Horton’s star-crossed time with the Cubs took another turn with the news that he might miss 16 months after having surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament. Horton left his start April 3 in the second inning, and the Cubs put him on the IL with a strained right forearm. He had been expected to miss the rest of this season.
‘‘When something like this happens, the only thing you can do is worry about what’s next,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘Putting that on some big time frame isn’t very helpful. [With] Cade, we talked about just worry about today and make today the best you can and keep doing that. That’s how you somehow speed this process along. If you get too far ahead of yourself, that doesn’t help.’’
Counsell also said Maton will throw a bullpen session Saturday.
‘‘It’s an important bullpen,’’ Counsell said. ‘‘We’ve reached the stage where this is the next test. We don’t know how he’s gonna feel off the mound. Can he drive off the mound the way he wants to?’’
