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Apr 29, 2016 - 4:38 AM The Chicago Cubs already lost one of their bright young stars for the season. They hope an ankle injury to another isn't too serious.

It's uncertain if Kris Bryant will be available Friday when the Cubs look to continue their recent dominance over the visiting Atlanta Braves.

Bryant suffered a mild right ankle sprain running the bases in Thursday's 7-2 win over Milwaukee. He left the game and underwent an MRI as a precaution.

"I don't want to create conjecture," manager Joe Maddon told MLB's official website. "Let's just see what happens and look at the tests."

The reigning NL Rookie of the Year, Bryant is 10 for 23 with eight runs scored in six games. His injury comes three weeks to the day that 23-year-old slugger Kyle Schwarber tore two ligaments in his knee.

Schwarber's injury has not derailed the Cubs' hot start, but losing another key contributor for any extended period could prove costly even with the club's solid depth.

As Chicago (16-5) waits for word on the severity of Bryant's injury, it will continue to rely on some veterans to remain hot. Anthony Rizzo is batting .308 with 12 RBIs in seven games and Ben Zobrist is 7 for 18 with six RBIs in his last five.

"We're definitely a good team," Zobrist said. "It's good so far but we've got a lot to do."

With or without Bryant, the Cubs appear to have a good chance to win their fourth in a row while hosting an Atlanta team that owns the majors' worst record at 5-17.

Though the Braves snapped an eight-game skid with Thursday's 5-3 victory at Boston, they yielded 20 runs in the previous two contests and rank near the bottom of the majors in ERA (4.98) and walks allowed (87).

That might not bode well against the Cubs, who average 6.2 runs and lead baseball with 114 walks after drawing 11 on Thursday.

"Guys are all having great at-bats," Zobrist said. "If you have those good at-bats you're going to have a better chance of getting hits when they keep it in the zone."

Cubs hitters walked a modest 26 times but clubbed 13 homers while winning the final six games against the Braves last season.

Jon Lester (2-1, 1.98 ERA) allowed two hits and struck out seven in 7 1/3 innings of a 4-0 win at Atlanta in 2015. The left-hander has yielded one run in three of his four starts this season, most recently last Friday over seven innings of an 8-1 victory at Cincinnati.

Nick Markakis and Freddie Freeman combined for seven of Atlanta's 12 hits Thursday, but together are 2 for 15 with seven strikeouts over the past two seasons against Lester.

Markakis is 12 for 25 with five doubles and 10 RBIs in the last six road contests.

Teammate Aaron Blair takes the mound after he allowed three runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings of his major league debut in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the New York Mets.

"He came as advertised," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said of the right-hander, who went 3-0 with a 1.42 ERA for Triple-A Gwinnett this month.

"I thought he did good. I can't wait to see him pitch (Friday)."






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