The Cubs will start right-hander Trevor Cahill in Game 1 of Tuesday’s day-night doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers, manager Joe Maddon said Sunday.
Cahill will come off the disabled list to make his first start since April 26, 2015, when he was with the Atlanta Braves. The 28-year-old Cahill, who has a 3.07 ERA in 41 innings out of the Cubs’ bullpen, landed on the disabled list July 15 (retroactive to July 9) with patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
Over six minor league rehab games — all starts — with Triple-A Iowa, Cahill posted a 4.58 ERA with 12 walks, 25 strikeouts and three home runs allowed over 19 2/3 innings. His longest minor league outing lasted four innings, so Maddon said he’ll ride Cahill for as long as he can and figure out the rest after. Left-hander Mike Montgomery could be an option to pick up some innings if Cahill has an abbreviated outing Tuesday.
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Right-hander Hector Rondon is available Sunday after dealing with a triceps injury, so his return will help lengthen the Cubs’ bullpen for Tuesday’s doubleheader as well.
Maddon isn’t a fan of Tuesday’s setup, though, with Game 1 starting at 12:20 p.m. and Game 2 at 7:05 p.m. With the second-year Cubs manager focusing on rest for his team during August and September, a 13- or 14-hour day at Wrigley Field isn’t ideal.
Maddon acknowledged the "economics" of the day-night doubleheader but explained his displeasure when asked if he'd be in favor of Major League Baseball building in doubleheaders into the regular season schedule.
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“The day-night doubleheader is awful,” Maddon said. “I’m not going to lie, I’m not going to try to pander to anybody. It’s awful. It’s awful to be here all day, I’m always concerned about injury, it’s just a bad day. It’s too long. If you’re going to have a doubleheader, have a real doubleheader — one game, the next game starts a half-hour after the first game — and the players won’t mind that nearly as much.”