Ahead of last night’s 7-1 win at the San Diego Padres, the Chicago Cubs placed starting pitcher Adbert Alzolay on the 10-day injured list (blister on the middle finger on his pitching hand) and recalled right-hander Kohl Stewart from Triple-A Iowa.
They also activated Alec Mills off the 10-day IL, and sent right-handed pitcher Cory Abbott back down to the I-Cubs. Mills saw relief action last night, giving one hit, one run, it was earned, in an inning of relief work. He walked two and struck out two.
The Cubs are 2-4 thus far in their west coast road trip, and the Padres are -255 favorites today in a game starting at 3:10 central, 1:10 on the west coast. You can look into more options for baseball betting by going here. San Diego are favored -1.5 on the run line, as Wednesday will see Jake Arrieta go to the mound for the Cubs against their good old friend, Yu Darvish. Given that match-up, it’s easy to understand why the Friars are favored.
Mills, the Adjunct Prof. (as he’s a poor man’s Kyle Hendricks of sorts) went on the IL May 16 with a lower back strain.
He made three rehab outings with Iowa, and after last night’s inning of relief work, he’s now 2-0 with a 6.08 ERA and one save in 12 games (one start) on the season, walking ten and striking out 15.
Alec Mills is 8-6 with a complete game no-hit shutout in his Cubs career, with two saves in 40 games (18 starts). Last night he faced the man who caught his no-hitter in September of last season, Victor Caratini. He walked him.
Alzolay is 4-5 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP as one of the stronger members of the Cubs starting rotation this season.
Abbott has no record with a 2.70 ERA in 3.1 IP, including his major league debut this past Saturday in San Francisco. Stewart is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA (3 ER/8.2 IP) in two starts with the Cubs, walking three and striking out seven.
The Cubs are 13-17 on the road this season, and after Wednesday, it’s a travel day tomorrow and then a home stand begins on Friday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.