Chicago Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd has surgery on knee that he injured playing with his kids

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CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd had surgery Thursday to repair a partial meniscus tear that he suffered in his left knee while playing with his children.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he expected Boyd to miss about six weeks.

“It's kind of the minor meniscus surgery so we know he's going to miss a month, six weeks,” Counsell said ahead of his team's game against the Cincinnati Reds. “Probably closer to six weeks with getting it ramped back up. That's what we're hopeful for. Obviously, we'll see how it all goes and I think the important thing is how much time do we miss throwing. That's probably the biggest thing right here. The knee is going to recover pretty quickly, but how much throwing down time do we have to take?”

Boyd, 35, injured the knee on Wednesday. The left-hander joins starters Cade Horton, Justin Steele and Jordan Wicks on the injured list. Horton (elbow) is out for the season while Steele (elbow) is not expected back until the second half.

Counsell said he had yet to decide how to fill the the scheduled start for Boyd (2-1, 6.00 ERA) on Friday at the Texas Rangers. Javier Assad and Ben Brown are both potential options to enter the rotation.

“We're just trying to think about the innings puzzle moving forward here," Counsell said. "And then you're also just trying to consider what's next. You have to play that game, unfortunately. You always have to play that game: What do we do if something else happens? We just have to make sure we're covered there. ... I don't think we have anybody completely stretched out as a starter right now. So that's what I'm talking about, the puzzle. We're just going to have to put that together. We'll just see what we get there on that day and what that means.”

The Cubs recalled reliever Trent Thornton from Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday and made another bullpen swap Thursday, recalling Gavin Hollowell and designating Corbin Martin for assignment.

Martin allowed three runs in the ninth inning Wednesday night as the Cubs blew a 4-2 lead before coming back to beat the Reds 7-6 on a walk-off walk in the 10th — their third straight walk-off win, 14th straight win at home and eighth straight overall. Martin had a 10.80 ERA in seven appearances.

Thornton pitched a scoreless 10th to pick up the win in his debut with the Cubs.

Hollowell, 28, had a 2.25 ERA in six appearances at Iowa.

The Cubs close out a four-game series with the Reds on Thursday, with Shota Imanaga (3-2, 2.40) facing Rhett Lowder (3-2, 5.09).

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