Cubs hope Swanson will return from injury soon, while it'll be more time for Madrigal
Those Cubs who started the All-Star break on the injured list were still on it when play resumed Friday.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson appears close to a return, maybe even this weekend. The plan Friday was to have him move around on the bruised left heel and see how he feels. The Cubs didn't do anything on the field before facing the Red Sox, neither batting nor infield practice.
"Hopefully soon," manager David Ross said before the game. "I don't know if I'm ready to say Sunday. I know he's going to push the envelope and be back as soon as he possibly can. I have a lot of good positive feedback from the break and him getting some treatment with the downtime. I'll probably have a better update tomorrow."
Nick Madrigal (right hamstring strain) is taking things slowly. It sounds like he's at least a week away, probably longer.
Reliever Nick Burdi, a Downers Grove South grad, is scheduled to throw a bullpen in Arizona. He's been out since having an appendectomy on May 21.
Canario returns to Triple A: The Cubs got some positive news from the minor leagues as outfielder Alexander Canario returned to Triple A Iowa on Friday. He provided an RBI single in his third at-bat against Columbus.
Acquired from San Francisco in the Kris Bryant trade, Canario delivered 37 home runs and 97 RBI last year between three different levels. Then while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, Canario landed awkwardly on first base, suffered a broken ankle and also a shoulder injury when he fell to the ground.
"He's just a great kid," Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said "He worked incredibly hard through the two really tough rehabs. For us, it's just a matter of getting him healthy and getting him back to Triple A and letting him go.
"Try not to evaluate him too much right now. Let him get going and get playing. Once he really gets comfortable out there, gets at-bats under him, he'll be right back to where he was."
Hoyer said Canario also found time to mentor a teammate during a 10-game rehab stint at Class A South Bend.
"I know Kevin Alcantara was on fire (.371) while (Canario) was there, and a lot of people credit kind of his mentorship," Hoyer said. "He really helped; he was a great teammate."
Hendricks throws twice: Kyle Hendricks became the first Cubs pitcher to start consecutive games since 2007, when Carlos Zambrano also started both games sandwiching the All-Star break. In 2001, Jon Lieber started consecutive contests surrounding the weeklong break after the Sept. 11 attacks. Going back to 1986, Scott Sanderson made two starts in a row, throwing just 1 inning in the first game due to an injury.
Hendricks allowed 4 Boston home runs in the first four innings Friday, marking the third time in his career that's happened.
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