After spanking the Reds in the series opener, the Cubs got beaten in the second game to even the series. Making matters worse, they added injury to insult when Miguel Amaya left the game due to an oblique strain in the bottom of the 5th inning. Rather than playing shorthanded like they do in so many of these cases, an option that wasn’t viable due to the positional need, they made the immediate decision to place Amaya on the IL.
And rather than going with Moisés Ballesteros in what would have been a very limited role, they’re opting for 30-year-old Reese McGuire.