What appeared to be a difficult afternoon for the Cubs was compounded when one of their relievers left the game with an apparent injury.

Trailing by 4 in the 4th inning, Ethan Roberts walked off the mound with a trainer after throwing 29 pitches in 1.1 innings of relief. Roberts had entered the game with 2 outs in the 2nd inning after Kyle Hendricks lasted just 1.2 innings (allowing 6 runs).

The team announced it was right ankle soreness for Roberts.

The Pirates scored a pair of runs in the 4th inning and 2 more in the 5th to build a 10-3 lead. The Cubs began their comeback from there, scoring 11 unanswered runs to pull off a thrilling 14-10 victory.

It’s a big win for the Cubs but a tough blow for Roberts, who entered Wednesday with a 2.08 ERA in 9 appearances. The 26-year-old had missed almost all of 2022 and 2023 with injuries — first a shoulder strain in 2022 and later that year suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament that required Tommy John surgery.

He had signed a minor-league deal with the Cubs in the offseason, returned to pitching this year and reached the majors in late June. Roberts had been primarily used in low-leverage situations, leading to just 13 innings in over a month of big-league action.

If Roberts has to go on the Il, the Cubs have 5 pitchers on the 40-man roster in the minor leagues: righties Michael Arias, Gavin Hollowell, Caleb Kilian, Jack Neely and Trey Wingenter.

Arias is in his first season at Triple-A and has a 5.22 ERA in 25 games, so he’s likely not an option. Hollowell and Wingenter were waiver claims this summer and could get called up if the Cubs want to get a look at them in the majors. Kilian would offer them length — he’s been starting with Iowa and Neely was just optioned on Tuesday for Daniel Palencia.