CHICAGO — Colten Brewer’s frustration boiled over Saturday, and now he’ll be out for a while.
On Sunday, the Cubs placed Brewer, a right-handed relief pitcher, on the 60-day injured list due to a broken left hand that he sustained punching a dugout wall Saturday in the Cubs’ 7-0 to the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field.
Brewer came into the game in the third inning with the Cubs trailing, 2-0, when starter Kyle Hendricks left the game with a back issue. Brewer got just two outs before he was lifted, allowing three runs (one earned) on two hits, two walks and a hit batter.
“My intention wasn’t to break my hand,” Brewer told reporters Sunday, per an ESPN story posted before the Cubs and Angels concluded their three-game weekend series.
“I’ll get frustrated and make mistakes. That’s no excuse. There’s a lot I can prove out there, that I’m willing not to do stuff like that. Emotions get the best of us sometimes.”
Brewer, a 31-year-old, six-year MLB veteran, has made 16 relief appearances this season, his first with the Cubs. He has a 5.66 ERA, one save, one blown save, 22 strikeouts and nine walks.
“When those things happen, you know you screwed up,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters. “That was the conversation. Then there’s consequences for the mistakes you make. It’s an unfortunate mistake, and he let emotions get the best of him.
“It’s not who he is, but it’s a mistake that he made.”
For the corresponding move to placing Brewer on the IL, the Cubs up right-hander Hunter Bigge from Triple-A Iowa.