Kyle Schwarber (12) has been a hitting machine for the Cubs. (David Richard-USA) TODAY Sports
CHICAGO — One of the Chicago Cubs young guns is out as a critical series with the St. Louis Cardinals looms next week.
Rookie catcher/left fielder Kyle Schwarber is sidelined for the next three to five days as he deals with what’s described as a mild rib cage strain.
“We don’t anticipate (it’s) too bad,” said Cubs manager Joe Maddon prior to Friday’s series opener with the Arizona Diamondbacks. “We hope he’s going to be fine.”
Schwarber suffered the injury while working in batting cages prior to Wednesday’s game with Cincinnati and was promptly pulled from the lineup.
Maddon said the Cubs would wait a few days while Schwarber rests to see that resolves the strain.
Schwarber has hit 12 home runs since his recall from Triple-A Iowa on July 17, second-most in the National League since the All-Star break and tops among NL rookies.
His nine August blasts were tied with Minnesota’s Miguel Sano for most among all major league rookies.
The Cubs also reaped rewards this week from other top performances during that month.
Right-handed starter Jake Arrieta was a unanimous pick for NL Pitcher of the Month announced Thursday. He went 6-0 with a 0.43 ERA and pitched first career no-hitter on Aug. 30 against the Dodgers.
At 17-6, Arrieta is the major league’s winningest pitcher heading into a Saturday start against the Diamondbacks.
Third-baseman Kris Bryant was voted NL Rookie of the Month for August. In 28 games last month, he hit .330 and had seven home runs and 20 RBIs.
He had the league’s highest rookie slugging percentage (.620) and his .422 on-base percentage and 62 total bases also led big league rookies. Bryant was also NL Rookie of the month for May.
