CHICAGO — Former Chicago star Kris Bryant is looking forward to his highly anticipated return to Wrigley Field on Friday, but another former Cubs player won’t be joining him at Wrigley Field.
Left-hander José Quintana, who pitched for the Cubs from 2017-2020, was placed on the paternity list Friday ahead of the Giants’ three-game set in Chicago. San Francisco promoted Jay Jackson from Triple-A Sacramento to take Quintana’s roster spot, although Jackson never actually reported to Sacramento after being optioned on Tuesday.
Jackson remained with the Giants in Colorado and traveled with the team to Chicago in anticipation of rejoining the club during Quintana’s absence.
Quintana was one of the Giants’ top candidates to throw multiple innings in a bullpen game against the Cubs, but the club has a number of fresh arms capable of stretching beyond one inning including lefty José Álvarez and rookie Kervin Castro.
The Giants announced Friday that right-hander Dominic Leone would serve as the opener for Friday’s game after Leone performed well in the role on Sunday against the Dodgers. The Giants have had trouble keeping opponents off the board in the first inning of bullpen games over the last few seasons, but Leone recorded a 1-2-3 frame in a 6-4, series-clinching win over Los Angeles.
Leone also pitched the ninth inning on Monday in the Giants’ 10-5 victory over the Rockies as he became the first San Francisco pitcher to record the first three outs of a game and the final three outs of a game the next day in more than 30 years.
Bryant will bat fifth and play left field for San Francisco in his Wrigley Field homecoming.