Nam Y. Huh/AP
It’s hard to be a contender without a closer.
But that’s the situation the Cubs might find themselves in after a ninth-inning disaster in their 6-3 loss Sunday to the Nationals. Closer Daniel Palencia left the game with a shoulder injury after coughing up a 3-1 lead.
After the game, manager Craig Counsell said that Palencia ‘‘felt some tightness in the posterior right shoulder’’ and that the Cubs will evaluate him further in the coming days. But the sight of Palencia walking through the dugout with his right arm hanging at his side was the opposite of encouraging.