BOSTON — Alex Bregman didn’t want to be thinking about his facial fractures when he finally got back into game action.
He had been an inch away from a potential career-ending injury to his eye when he took a foul ball to his left cheek while standing near the on-deck circle Sunday in Cincinnati. Five days later, Bregman was back in the lineup as the Chicago Cubs designated hitter in Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.
“Didn’t think about it one time,” Bregman said of his face afterward. “All I was thinking about was what I normally go through when in the batter’s box and in the dugout. The mechanics were terrible today, so hopefully just fix those and get back to crushing it.”
Chicago Cubs will play regular-season finale in Tampa because of storm headed for Boston
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Bregman finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout in the Cubs’ 4-3 loss and didn’t start in their 2-0 defeat in Game 2 on Friday at Fenway Park. He had a special double-flapped helmet ready to put on had he reached base to further protect his face.
“My hands were going back and my body was sliding forward,” Bregman said of his at-bats. “I just need to correct that real quick and be back to killing.”
By getting swept by the Red Sox, the Cubs fell 1½ games behind the Padres for the top National League wild-card seed after the Padres lost to the Diamondbacks later Friday in San Diego. The Cubs, who clinched a playoff berth Thursday, are a half-game ahead of the Phillies, who lost Friday and are trying to hold off the Diamondbacks for the No. 3 wild card. The Cubs own the tiebreaker over the Padres and Phillies.
The wild-card series, which are Tuesday-Thursday in both leagues, are a best-of-three format, with the higher seed playing host for the entire series. The Cubs need some help to catch the Padres for the top wild card, which would give them the NL’s No. 4 seed and home field in the opening series. The Diamondbacks must sweep the Padres while the Cubs need to win Sunday’s finale, which has shifted to Tropicana Field. The team was scheduled to depart for Tampa, Fla., after the doubleheader.
Bregman had been itching to get into Thursday’s game, manager Craig Counsell said. Once they got all the information from the doctors Monday, the involved parties sat and talked, ultimately eying Friday as the day that made sense for Bregman to return if everything went well. Following clearance by doctors and having two very good days of work, everything aligned for Bregman to start in his return to Boston, where he spent the 2025 season.
“It’s incredible that we’re talking about that he’s going to be in the lineup,” Counsell said. “A testament to his toughness, number one, and his just desire to play baseball. … This is a unique situation, but he feels up to go, and then the doctors have said you can go.”
Bregman’s return isn’t without risk, which the Cubs talked discussed with the veteran, but both parties felt they’ve done the best they could to minimize them moving forward.
“There was a lot of unknowns, and it was a freak injury, it’s an injury that we don’t deal with very often, that you don’t experience very often,” Counsell said. “Alex’s best trait is the man loves baseball, and he’s super competitive, and he’s relentless in his pursuit to be a little bit better, and so that just rubs off on people, and he loves it, and he talks about it nonstop.”
The Cubs built a three-run lead early in Game 1, though a stiff wind prevented Tyrone Taylor’s RBI double in the first and Miguel Amaya’s two-run double in the second — both off the Green Monster in left field — from being home runs.
Right-hander Clay Holmes wasn’t as sharp as the Cubs needed him to be. He struggled again with walks, issuing three free passes in 4 1/3 innings. That contributed to three runs (two earned) on five hits, and he struck out three.
“It comes down to filling the zone up, and when I do that, good things happen,” Holmes said. “The pitch count stays down, and I rely on my strengths, but yeah, really, it’s just filling the zone up more, and it put us in a much better place.”
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Holmes has walked 15 batters in his last 19 2/3 innings spanning four starts. His walks are predominately coming against left-handed hitters.
“That’s why every single pitch matters,” Counsell said. “You get yourself in a bad count or you throw one close pitch that doesn’t quite nip the corner or whatever so that’s why every pitch is important to be competitive with.”
The offense again didn’t manage much during the windy, rainy conditions in Game 2. They failed to record an extra-base hit and only twice put a runner in scoring position, none after the fifth inning.
“We have all the conference in the world in this group, and we get to play in a dome on Sunday so, some neutral conditions,” Ian Happ said. “It’ll be good for some guys to get some knocks and kind of carry some momentum.”
Left-hander David Peterson again pitched well, a timely development ahead of the playoffs. He tossed five shutout innings and could figure into the Cubs’ wild-card pitching plans. Peterson has given up only three runs in his last 21 1/3 innings.
“For us, it’s to be able to make the decision for them as hard as possible,” Peterson said. “We have each other’s back. I’ve really enjoyed being a part of the rotation when I first got here and how it turned out after the deadline, how we’ve kind of shaped up going into playoffs, and so I think every guy has raised the bar and gotten ready for what’s next.”