Yup, it happened again. Left-handed Cubs reliever left Friday night's game vs. the Cardinals with an injury after calling for the team trainer following his fourth pitch out of the bullpen. Little came in during the eighth inning and something went wrong on the 1-2 pitch to Lars Nootbaar. The Cubs pitcher immediately felt discomfort, signaled for the trainer and bent down in front of the mound in frustration.
After a quick meeting with Craig Counsell and the trainer, Little walked off the field.
Little, 23, has posted a 3.43 ERA in 26 innings with the Cubs this year. He's really only had one awful outing, which came on April 27, against the Boston Red Sox. In that appearance Little gave up five runs and was only able to record two outs before he was lifted. Besides that bad performance Little has been rock solid when called upon, allowing a total of five earned runs in his other 28 appearances, covering 25.1 innings (1.78 ERA).
His recent stretch of dominance dated back to June 14, as Little had gone nine straight appearances without allowing a run.
The Cubs have been brutalized with injuries throughout the 2024 season and the pitching staff has especially been hit hard. Little had been part of a bullpen group that has finally been effective for the Cubs since the beginning of June, but now it appears as though the hard-throwing left-hander will miss some time on the injured list.
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