(670 The Score) With right-hander Tyler Chatwood and left-hander Jose Quintana both landing on the injured list recently, the Cubs will need someone to step up in their rotation as they look to keep control of the NL Central.
The Cubs are in the early stage of a stretch in which they'll play 14 games in 13 days, with five of them coming against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field from Friday through Monday. The Cubs held a four-game lead over the Cardinals entering play Thursday.
There's no timeline for Chatwood's return from a right forearm strain. While the hope is Quintana can come back from his left lat inflammation, the Cubs probably can't count on him being a starting pitcher given that he hasn't gotten his pitch count ramped up. Quintana will see the doctor Friday to further evaluate his injury.
So behind Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester and Alec Mills, the Cubs will need at least one starter and likely another to step up amid the busy stretch. That includes needing a starter for one end of their doubleheader against the Cardinals on Saturday. The top two candidates appear to be right-hander Adbert Alzolay and right-hander Tyson Miller, who have each made one start for the Cubs this season and are currently working at the alternate camp in South Bend.
Manager David Ross has indicated that Alzolay is the most likely to get the first call, but the team hasn't made that decision yet, he said Thursday before the Cubs played the Pirates.
Alzolay threw five shutout innings in his only start for the Cubs and is unscored upon in two appearances this season. Miller went two innings and allowed two runs in his lone start.
Right-hander Colin Rea is another candidate for a spot start. He's currently working out of the Cubs' bullpen. He has a 3.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP in eight appearances, one of which was a start.
