ST. LOUIS — The Cubs’ 10-3 win over the Cardinals on Thursday night took a bizarre turn early in the game.
In a scary moment in the first inning, Ian Happ hit Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras, his former Cubs teammate, in the head on his backswing. Cardinals trainers rushed to address the bleeding from a cut on Contreras’ scalp and led him off the field. On Contreras’ way to the dugout, Happ gave him a hug.
“It just sucks,” Happ said after the game. “It’s just something that’s horrible. . . . We played together for six years. We’re good friends. A lot of love for him.”
Happ said he exchanged texts with Contreras, who said he was doing all right. Contreras told St. Louis reporters he passed his concussion tests and is now considered day-to-day.
“He was trying really hard to stay in the game and trying to fight the trainer as blood’s coming out of his head,” Happ said with a smile. “That’s who he is. We saw that over here for a long time, and that’s the kind of competitor he is.”
After Contreras exited, Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas threw the next two pitches inside, hitting Happ with the second. The umpires congregated before ejecting Mikolas. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol protested and also was thrown out.
“It felt like [Mikolas] was trying to go in there,” Happ said. “So you have the ability to get on base for the team. That’s the important thing.”
Forced to go to the bullpen, the Cardinals called on right-hander Dakota Hudson, who threw a season-high 4 ⅓ innings.
The Cubs used Happ’s free pass as a jumping-off point for a two-out rally. That three-run first set the tone for the offense, which scored seven-plus runs for the fifth straight game. With the win, the Cubs reached .500 at 51-51.
Someone ahead of Smyly?
The Cubs are getting creative as they try to help left-hander Drew Smyly out of a midseason slump. Although his turn in the rotation is set to come up Friday, the Cubs’ probable starter was again listed as “TBD.” Manager David Ross declined to name that starter before the game Thursday.
Smyly, whose ERA has risen from 2.60 to 4.60 over the last month, was set to face the Cardinals in back-to-back outings. Last week, using Michael Fulmer as an opener for Smyly didn’t produce the intended results. But the thought process was easy to follow: Smyly has experience coming out of the pen, and sticking a righty in front of him could mean some more favorable matchups.
“I don’t know if it’s a long-term thing that we feel like we’re going to go to consistently,” Ross said, “but we’re definitely trying to maximize that in this one moment — playing a team eight times within 11 days and a heavy right-handed base lineup that’s hit lefties really well.”
After this two-outing experiment, the Cubs are expected to re-evaluate their plan for Smyly and could put him back into a more traditional starting role. They’ll weigh several factors, including his performance as he continues to implement adjustments.
