Cubs' Smyly (oblique) exits start vs. Brewers originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Drew Smyly threw three no-hit innings Monday night against the Brewers before exiting with a right oblique soreness.
Cubs manager David Ross and trainer P.J. Mainville went out to check on Smyly as he was warming up before the top of the fourth inning. He walked off with Mainville.
Smyly will get imaging done on the oblique Tuesday. Ross said Smyly first felt the soreness when facing Victor Caratini in the third inning.
"Right now it's just soreness," Ross said. "We'll get it looked at [Tuesday], take some pictures of that stuff and see what we got."
Losing Smyly for an extended period would be a tough blow for a beleaguered Cubs rotation and pitching staff. Wade Miley landed on the injured list over the weekend, and the Cubs are in the middle of a grueling stretch where they need a ton of pitching.
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They're playing 11 games in the current nine-game stretch, that, in addition to Monday, includes a doubleheader Saturday.
"We've got some guys banged up right now for sure," Ross said.
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Smyly also has been the Cubs' most consistent starter, holding a 3.80 through nine starts, including Monday's three innings.
Smyly faced one over the minimum, walking Mike Brosseau in the second. Anderson Espinoza replaced him and made his MLB debut, striking out six in four innings while allowing two runs.
The Cubs called Espinoza up from Double-A Tennessee earlier in the day to serve as the '27th man' for Monday's doubleheader vs. Milwaukee.
"Really nice," Ross said of Espinoza. "Kept us in the ballgame, pitched real well, settled in."
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