The Cubs survived a couple of big scares Friday in a 6-5 victory over the Diamondbacks at Wrigley Field, their third straight win.
Second baseman Nico Hoerner exited abruptly in the second inning with what the team called “left-sided neck tightness.” But it looks like Hoerner, off to an All-Star-caliber start, might be only day-to-day.
The two-time Gold Glover didn’t even rule out returning Saturday.
“It’s probably something a lot of people out there have dealt with, where your neck just kind of gets stuck,” Hoerner said after the Cubs won for the 13th time in 16 games. “It had locked up moving around pregame and then just wasn’t in a good place on the field.
“So got some good treatment and see where we’re at tomorrow. Not an injury, but the kind of thing that didn’t leave me in a place to be myself today.”
Hoerner is batting .297 with four homers and a team-best 26 RBI in 32 games. He has been slick, sometimes sensational, in the field.
Facing Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen, Hoerner led off the first with a liner to the left-center gap for his team-leading ninth double. Video showed Hoerner gritting his teeth after he rounded first.
He remained on second, then came around and scored on Michael Busch’s two-out, two-run single in the three-run inning.
Hoerner was in the field for the second but got no action. Utilityman Matt Shaw pinch-hit for Hoerner in the bottom of the inning, then replaced him in the field.
The Cubs signed Hoerner, to a six-year, $141 million contract in March, cementing the 28-year-old as one of their cornerstones — one they can ill-afford to lose along with the nine pitchers who have gone down with injuries since the start of spring training.
That leads us to the second scare Friday. The Cubs narrowly escaped a near meltdown right after starter Colin Rea exited after 102 pitches.
After the Cubs opened a 6-1 lead in the fourth, the Diamondbacks charged back behind a four-hit day by second baseman Ildemaro Vargas and a four-run sixth keyed by Geraldo Perdomo’s three-run homer off reliever Ryan Rolison.
First the good news.
Rea exited with one out in the sixth, again filling a spot in the rotation with Cade Horton out for the season after his second Tommy John surgery and Justin Steele taking longer than hoped to return from his second reconstructive elbow procedure.
Rea allowed two runs and eight hits in 5⅓ innings but was consistently over the plate as he struck out six and walked none.
“That was the biggest thing, just getting ahead of this team, trying to put them in a hole early,” the right-hander said. “I felt like we did a good job of that. They also had some long at-bats to drive the pitch count up.”
The D-backs rallied in a hurry against Rolison, making his fourth appearance with the Cubs since they picked him up off waivers from the White Sox in January. He entered having allowed no runs and three hits in six innings with no walks.
But the first four batters he faced reached base. After pinch hitter Tim Tawa walked, Jorge Barrosa doubled on a bunt that rolled past third baseman Alex Bregman, hit the bag, created confusion and allowed a run to score.
Perdomo followed with a three-run homer to left on a 2-0 fastball that cut the deficit to 6-5. For good measure, Vargas then lined a single to left, his fourth on the day as he extended his hitting streak to 27 games.
Rolison regrouped to strike out Corbin Carroll and Adrian Del Castillo to retire the side. The left-hander was charged with three runs, and his ERA went from 0.00 to 4.05.
Phil Maton tossed a 1-2-3 seventh. Jacob Webb pitched the final two innings, striking out three and walking one for his first save with the Cubs and eighth in his seven-year career.
“He pitched great,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Getting six outs at the end of the game is very difficult.”
The Cubs looked like they might coast in this one. Busch had two more hits as he inched his average up to .203 after an icy start at the plate.
After Busch’s two-run single in the first, Ian Happ scored when Carson Kelly’s routine pop fell between center fielder and Mount Carmel product Alek Thomas and second baseman Vargas for a single.
Vargas’ second single drove in a run to cut to 3-1 in the fourth.
The Cubs went ahead 6-1 in the bottom half, thanks to Dansby Swanson’s RBI single, a wild pitch and Bregman’s double.
