ATLANTA — After the Cubs’ 5-4, 10-inning victory against the Pirates on Sunday, right-hander Adbert Alzolay, who closed out the game, went through the handshake line with his gloved left hand extended across his body and his right arm hanging at his side.
For another player, that might not have stood out. But the strength of Alzolay’s high-fives after wins had become a running joke among his teammates, who brace for impact.
The next day, the Cubs put Alzolay on the 15-day injured list with what they called a right forearm strain and recalled side-armer Jose Cuas to reinforce the bullpen.
Alzolay underwent medical testing Monday, and the team will know more about his diagnosis and recovery timeline after they get the results. Alzolay wasn’t available to speak to reporters before the game against the Braves because he still was being evaluated.
“We put him on the IL, we got testing the next day, it’s an elbow, so that’s concerning,” manager Craig Counsell said.
According to Counsell and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, Alzolay hadn’t been dealing with soreness in that area before Sunday.
“It started as what he described to me as some general tightness when he was warming up, and then thought it was the kind that would just go away as he got loose,” Hottovy said. “And it just never really got loose.”
Alzolay took the mound in the 10th inning Sunday with a three-run lead. He gave up a leadoff home run to Connor Joe and walked Jack Suwinski, prompting Hottovy to visit the mound.
“Even when I went out for the mound visit,” Hottovy said, “there was no sign of like, ‘Hey, I’m hurting, I’m sore, I’m tight, I’m not feeling great.’ . . . So that was at least a positive there. But then obviously, as it went on, it just never really got any better.”
Alzolay hunkered down and got out of the inning. Counsell said he was “proud of him” for recovering.
“Feeling way better with my mechanics now,” Alzolay said after the game. “So it’s just taking the little things so far and then keep building of it.”
Alzolay opened the season as the closer, a role he’d won last year. But after back-to-back blown saves last month, he moved to a lower-leverage role.
The Cubs found that Alzolay’s arm slot was climbing and he was opening up his chest too much early in his delivery.
“What makes him so good is that he can use his lower body really athletically and then just let that upper body happen naturally,” Hottovy said.
Hottovy agreed with Alzolay that he was trending in the right direction mechanically. It’s also possible that those early mechanical issues put extra stress on Alzolay’s arm before he addressed them.
“Anytime you get more chest-dominant, open up, it’s going to put strain somewhere,” Hottovy said. “Something down the chain is going to get it. This area is the closest to the end of the chain as you possibly can get.”
Just last September, Alzolay spent 2½ weeks on the IL with a right forearm strain. Hottovy won’t know if this is a similar injury until doctors have a chance to look at Alzolay’s imaging.
Of the eight Cubs on the IL, five are relievers. Alzolay joined Julian Merryweather (rib stress fracture), Drew Smyly (right hip impingement), Daniel Palencia (right shoulder strain) and Yency Almonte (right shoulder).
