Seiya Suzuki injury just created nightmare scenario for struggling Cubs

With their victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, for the first time in over a month, the Chicago Cubs have won a series. The Cubs have also won three consecutive games, flashing signs that long-awaited course correction to their season may finally be happening. If it is, the team will need to hope that Seiya Suzuki's injury on Saturday wasn't serious.

Suzuki left Saturday's game with right knee discomfort after trying to make a play on a soft hit fly ball to right field. Suzuki being injured is a concern in itself, but Bleacher Nation's Michael Cerami does add another layer to the fear. The knee Suzuki injured on Saturday is the same knee in which he suffered a PCL sprain during the World Baseball Classic in March.

The injury to Suzuki could not have come at a worse time for the Cubs, considering the 31-year-old outfielder was flashing signs of breaking out of the offensive slump that plagued him during the month of May.

Since the calendar flipped to June, Suzuki has been the Cubs' best hitter outside of Pete Crow-Armstrong. In 40 plate appearances, he's slashing .306/.375/.611 with a 174 wRC+. Specifically, it has been the return of Suzuki's power that has been encouraging, hitting three home runs this month. When Suzuki is right offensively, he's the type of bat that can carry an offense and it felt like the Cubs were in the early stages of experiencing his next heater.

To add insult to a potential injury, Suzuki's track record also suggests that if he due to miss time, there is going to be a cold spell once he returns. Given where the Cubs are in their schedule, they can't exactly afford that at the moment.

Matt Shaw the next man up for Cubs after Seiya Suzuki's injury?

There's also the question of potentially replacing Seiya Suzuki in the starting lineup. When Suzuki was first injured, it was Matt Shaw who primarily held that responsibility. Despite being activated off the IL last week, Craig Counsell hasn't exactly been eager to put Shaw in the lineup, however. Though, it was Shaw who replaced Suzuki in right field last night.

What about Michael Conforto? The allure that was Conforto's resurgence at the start of the season may finally be diminishing. It's a small sample size, but the veteran has one his in his last 16 plate appearances with eight strikeouts.

The Cubs are in a holding pattern for now until they know more on Suzuki's status. Hopefully, it proves to be nothing serious.

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