ST. LOUIS — Cole Hamels will make his Chicago Cubs debut Wednesday night, with Tyler Chatwood heading to the bullpen.
“It’s all about getting (Chatwood) well, getting him back to pitching like he can because that’s going to benefit us for the next couple years,” said Manager Joe Maddon, who informed Chatwood of his demotion late Friday night.
Chatwood understood the decision.
“You never want that, but there’s some stuff to do I need to work out,” Chatwood said Saturday. “This will give me an opportunity to do that.
“Then hopefully when I start feeling good again, I’ll get back in the rotation.”
Left-hander Mike Montgomery will keep his spot and start Thursday night against the Padres.
Chatwood, in his first year of a three-year, $38 million contract, has walked 85 in 94 innings to go with a 4.98 ERA and is averaging less than five innings per start.
Chatwood admitted going to the bullpen will allow him to work on changes at a slower pace.
“It’s hard to do that in the middle of the year and try to get big-league hitters out, especially for a first-place team,” Chatwood said. “I need to go back to what got me here, what I signed here for and go back to being myself, and this will give me an opportunity to do that.
“I’ve been grinding all year. It hasn’t been that fun, grinding that hard. But luckily we’ve been winning games in my starts, so that eases it. I’m excited to getting back to know what I can be.”
FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE pitcher Tony Cloninger, perhaps best known for hitting two grand slams in a game, died at age 77.
Cloninger had worked as a consultant for the Boston Red Sox since 2002, and the team announced his death Saturday.
He went 113-97 during 12 seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Braves. The right-hander was 24-11 for Milwaukee in 1965, the club’s last season before moving to Atlanta.
On April 12, 1966, Cloninger threw the first pitch for the new Atlanta franchise. He started on Opening Day and tossed all 13 innings in a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh – a home run by Willie Stargell broke the tie.
It was later that season, with a bat, when Cloninger put himself into the record book by becoming the only pitcher to hit two grand slams in the same game. He drove in nine runs that day, getting three hits as the Braves routed San Francisco, 17-3.
Cloninger hit five of his 11 career home runs in 1966.
TRADE: The Milwaukee Brewers found the left-handed power hitter they sought, acquiring third baseman Mike Moustakas on Friday from the Kansas City Royals to complete a second significant trade in two days as the club makes a push for its first playoff appearance since 2011.
“We were looking for another big bat to add to the lineup and we got it,” Manager Craig Counsell said.
“We feel like we can put together a really tough lineup on a daily basis now.”
The Brewers sent outfielder Brett Phillips and pitcher Jorge Lopez to the Royals, who are in last place in the AL Central.
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