{"id":56363,"date":"2025-05-20T10:31:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T10:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56363"},"modified":"2025-05-20T10:31:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T10:31:31","slug":"chicago-cubs-handed-a-8-7-walk-off-loss-by-the-miami-marlins-but-ian-happ-is-nearing-a-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56363","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Cubs handed a 8-7 walk-off loss by the Miami Marlins \u2014 but Ian Happ is nearing a return"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MIAMI \u2014 Daniel Palencia was one strike away from putting away another win for the Chicago Cubs.<\/p>\n

With Porter Hodge unavailable because of a left oblique issue that will land him on the injured list, manager Craig Counsell turned to Palencia to close out the ninth inning Monday at LoanDepot Park. The 25-year-old hard-throwing right-hander retired the first two batters he faced and went ahead 0-2 on No. 8 hitter Derek Hill when he hung a slider.<\/p>\n

A ground-rule double on a ball right fielder Kyle Tucker couldn\u2019t snare, and an ensuing four-pitch walk forced Palencia to face Jes\u00fas S\u00e1nchez. Palencia, sticking with his four-seam fastball, left one over the inner half of the plate that the lefty-hitting S\u00e1nchez pulled down the right field line for a two-run triple to hand the Cubs an 8-7 walk-off loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you can\u2019t execute your pitch in the final outs, that\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Palencia said. \u201cI\u2019m working hard, I feel good. It\u2019s baseball, that happens, so I just want to keep my head up and be here tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Counsell believed Palencia, pitching for the third time in four days, tired as the inning progressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been working really hard and doing a heck of a job, and probably ran out of a little bit of gas there,\u201d Counsell said.<\/p>\n

Ben Brown\u2019s 4 2\/3-inning start was bookended by two bad innings. Back-to-back homers by the Marlins\u2019 first two batters in the first inning put the Cubs in an early hole, and in the fifth Miami scored four runs on five hits off Brown. A standout offensive performance by Miguel Amaya (two hits, five RBIs) was wasted in the loss. His three-run home run in the fourth inning gave them the lead, and a two-RBI double in the Cubs\u2019 four-run sixth tied the game.<\/p>\n

\"Chicago
Miguel Amaya of the Chicago Cubs rounds the bases after hitting a home run against the Miami Marlins in the fourth inning on May 19, 2025, in Miami. (Megan Briggs\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ian Happ is nearing a return to the lineup<\/h4>\n

When he initially hurt his left oblique on a swing earlier this month at Citi Field, left fielder Ian Happ was confident he wouldn\u2019t miss much time.<\/p>\n

While he ultimately needed to go on the 10-day injured list, Happ believed it would only be a minimum stint. Since taking swings for four consecutive days, he felt encouraged Monday. Happ is eligible to be activated as soon as Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking so many swings in your life, you know when it feels right and when it doesn\u2019t,\u201d Happ said Monday. \u201cMaking sure that I\u2019m getting enough swings and enough volume and intensity to simulate, can\u2019t simulate game speed. Can\u2019t stimulate check swing. I\u2019m breaking ball in the dirt to a degree, but you can get close. And so we\u2019ve been doing a lot of things to try to simulate that and try to get as close as we can to game speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Happ is expected to come off the injured list at some point during the Cubs\u2019 series in Miami this week, Counsell said before their series opener, as long as he feels good after Monday\u2019s pregame work.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll signs have been good so far,\u201d Counsell said.<\/p>\n

Oblique injuries are known for being fickle to completely heal without re-injury. Knowing the ideal time for a player to return relies on a combination of factors.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, you have to make a decision, we\u2019re here to make some decisions and you don\u2019t get all the information, you don\u2019t get 100% guaranteed this is going to go right,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cBut you take everybody\u2019s feedback, you take the player\u2019s feedback, you take medical feedback, take your experience, and you make a decision. Ian\u2019s had multiple good days of a probably over-exaggerated cage routine, like, more than he would do to try to recreate symptoms, almost, and he hasn\u2019t, so you feel good about it from that perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys get hurt, so you can\u2019t control everything, but you feel like you go through a step to get a player back healthy, he shows signs of being healthy, it\u2019s time to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clarity provided for Shota Imanaga\u2019s timeline to rejoin the rotation<\/h4>\n

The Cubs rotation must roll on without left-hander Shota Imanaga as he recovers on the injured list from a left hamstring strain.<\/p>\n

The goal is for Imanaga, out since May 5, to throw off a mound by the end of next week, Counsell said Monday. From there, the Cubs project \u201cwe\u2019re probably well into June\u201d before Imanaga returns to the rotation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe injury was a little more serious, a little more significant, probably, than we thought at the outset,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cAnd so we have to take time until he\u2019s fully symptom-free before we can start the running that he might be required and the pushing off of a mound that you would be required to do in a more live setting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a little ways away still.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cubs are 7-6\u00a0<\/strong>since losing Imanaga, who sustained the hamstring injury attempting to cover first base during his last start in Milwaukee. Their starting pitching depth was tested early, from losing left-hander Justin Steele to season-ending elbow surgery in April, and right-hander Javier Assad twice suffering from an oblique strain, the re-aggravation of which could prevent him from helping the Cubs until July.<\/p>\n

Imanaga had a 2.82 ERA and 142 ERA+ in his first eight starts this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to rush (Imanaga),\u201d president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Monday. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get him back and healthy for the length of the season and getting him back and having him have questions about it doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Cubs provided injury updates on Ian Happ and Shota Imanaga before Monday\u2019s game in Miami.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":56364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[282,1985,200,1984,289,1848,80,117,1986],"class_list":["post-56363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-daniel-palencia","tag-ian-happ","tag-injured-list","tag-miami-marlins","tag-miguel-amaya","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-shota-imanaga","tag-walk-off"],"yoast_head":"\nChicago Cubs handed a 8-7 walk-off loss by the Miami Marlins \u2014 but Ian Happ is nearing a return - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=56363\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chicago Cubs handed a 8-7 walk-off loss by the Miami Marlins \u2014 but Ian Happ is nearing a return - 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