Tyler Chatwood will start the Cubs series finale against the Reds on Sunday, manager David Ross announced Saturday.
Chatwood returned from the injured list (mid-back strain) on Tuesday and struggled with his command against the Tigers. The right-hander pitched 1 1/3 innings, walking five while allowing three hits and two earned runs.
Tuesday was Chatwood’s first start since Aug. 6, when he was roughed up against the Royals (2 1/3 IP 11 hits, eight earned runs). He was good his first two outings, allowing a single earned run in 12 2/3 innings.
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“Tyler’s thrown the ball well and a bad outing is no concern to just take him out of the rotation,” Ross said. “I think him coming back and trying to find his sharpness — we need Chatty to be good.
“We’ll continue to assess as we move along.”
José Quintana also returned from the IL on Tuesday and pitched three solid innings before tiring in his fourth. His role going forward is to be determined. Cubs catcher Willson Contreras said Wednesday he personally thinks Quintana needs another outing or two before starting to build up his arm strength.
"He looked good to me, he looked really good," Contreras said. "It's just the process to build the arm strength again as a starter. The first week when [the season] started were all kind of short starts [by the Cubs rotation]. But they've been going a little longer, so that's something that they have to work on."