Cole Hamels injury update: Cubs put starter on 10-day IL with left oblique strain

Thomas Lott

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Cole Hamels injury update: Cubs put starter on 10-day IL with left oblique strain image

Cubs left-hander Cole Hamels strained his left oblique in Friday's start against the Reds and was placed on the 10-day injury list Saturday.

The team announced after Friday's 6-3 loss in Cincinnati that Hamels would have an MRI on Saturday to determine the severity of the injury.

Hamels threw 22 pitches in the first inning, allowing one run on two hits and a walk before leaving the game after one warmup pitch before the second inning.

"It was grabbing again," Hamels told reporters. "So, I just knew that that's not always good. You can definitely injure yourself a lot more by trying to play through it."

Hamels, 35, is no stranger to oblique injuries. He was pitching for the Rangers in 2017 when he missed nearly two months with a right oblique strain. He said that experience will help him determine when he returns from his current setback, indicating he came back a week too early in 2017.

“I don’t think it’s going to be as bad," Hamels said Friday, "but I know after experiencing it once and seeing what kind of results I was then continuing to put up, that’s not going to be any sort of good case or scenario to repeat that.

“So I want to make sure I come back (and) everything is the way it should be and the way I’m used to doing it and the way I’ve been playing so that I can make a difference. Otherwise, it’s a waste.”

Hamels has been the Cubs' best pitcher this season going 6-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 17 starts.

The Cubs, who lead the NL Central by one game over the Brewers heading in to Saturday's action, recalled two pitchers from Triple-A Iowa on Saturday – right-handers Dillon Maples and Rowan Wick. To make room for a second pitcher, outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was designated for assignment. 

Thomas Lott