Flexible Cubs beat Brewers, lose Contreras to injury

CHICAGO – What you saw from the Cubs during Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field is what you’re going to see the rest of the season.

Win or lose, the Cubs will be a collection of moving parts with players who don’t start every day needing to be ready.

And, unfortunately for the Cubs, injuries will continue to be a factor.

Amid all of the good things that happened for them Saturday, the Cubs lost catcher Willson Contreras to a hamstring injury as he broke from the batter’s box while hitting a flyout in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Contreras grabbed the back of his right leg and looked distraught as he headed to the clubhouse. Victor Caratini replaced Contreras and may have to carry the load for a while. The Cubs said Contreras will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity of the injury. It’s a good bet catcher Taylor Davis will be at Wrigley Field on Sunday from Triple-A Iowa.

Now for the positive side of the ledger. Left-hander Cole Hamels came off the injured list and pitched five scoreless innings, giving up four hits while walking none and striking out six.

Albert Almora, one of those players who will be in and out of the starting lineup, hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie after the Brewers scored against the Cubs’ bullpen in the sixth. Almora contributed a sacrifice fly in the eighth, when the Cubs added two insurance runs.

“It’s not about me, it’s about winning a World Series and doing anything I can do to help,” said Almora, who has 12 homers, including three go-ahead homers this season.

The sacrifice fly was just as important, if not as flashy, as Almora’s line drive homer to the left-field basket.

“Get a ball in the air,” he said. “Let the ball travel. Try not to get too big. That’s really about it. I was just trying to get a ball in the air deep enough to score [Anthony Rizzo], and luckily I did.”

Hamels had been on the injured list since suffering a strained left oblique June 28 at Cincinnati. The Cubs wanted 75 pitches out of him Saturday, and he gave them 74 over the five innings.

The Cubs have won both games of this weekend series to improve to 59-51. Hamels said he likes the new blood that’s been injected into the team, including outfielder Nicholas Castellanos and several relievers.

“To get these guys kind of in the rhythm of what Wrigley’s all about and being a home player in front of this type of crowd against a good team, everybody is just participating,” he said. “That was a huge team win because I think almost everybody in the lineup got to play. It’s going to be something good leading into tomorrow.”