Injured Cubs Reliever Gets Sharper At Iowa

Chicago Cubs pitcher Brad Boxberger continued his rehab assignment with an inning of relief with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs on Wednesday.

Boxberger was in Chicago on Monday to check with the medical team before continuing his rehab assignment. There is no timetable for his return.

Boxberger entered the game against Toledo in the fourth inning as part of a bullpen game for the Cubs.

He started the inning by striking out Toledo’s Andrew Lipcius. After allowing a single to Eddys Leonard, he got Ryan Kreidler to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Wednesday was his fifth game with the Iowa Cubs since he joined them for a rehab assignment on Aug. 20. After giving up four hits and three earned runs in his first 1.1 innings, he has now thrown 2.2 shutout innings and allowed just two hits.

Boxberger joined Iowa after two rehab appearances with the Cubs’ Arizona Complex League team. In two games with the ACL Cubs he pitched 1.1 innings, giving up three hits, two earned runs and striking out one. His second appearance was a scoreless, hitless inning of relief on Thursday.

Boxberger has been on the injured list since May 15 when the Cubs put him on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm strain. On July 4, the Cubs transferred him to the 60-day injured list, as he needed more time to build up after the long layoff.

The long-time reliever is in his first season with the Cubs after stints with San Diego, Tampa Bay, Arizona, Miami and Milwaukee. Before his injury he was 0-1 with a 5.22 ERA in 17 games with 13 strikeouts and nine walks.

For his career, Boxberger has 501 career appearances with a 31-38 record and a 3.51 ERA. He has 577 strikeouts and 231 walks.