CHICAGO -- As Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was weighing whether to try to play through a back issue that flared on Tuesday night, Kris Bryant did what he could to ease his teammate’s mind.
"I said, 'Hey, get out of this game,'" Bryant said after the Cubs' 6-3 win over the Nationals. "'Please don't do anything stupid. We need you for the long haul.'"
In a concerning moment for the Cubs, Rizzo left Tuesday’s victory before the fifth with what the team described as lower back tightness.
Following the game, manager David Ross said the first baseman was "day to day," noting that Rizzo tweaked his back while running out of the box after a groundout in the third inning.