Ben Wells
April Showers Bring 9th Inning Luck to Brew Crew
Carlos Belonis drilled a one-out game-tying RBI double and Milan Post followed with a game-winning walk-off sacrifice fly, as the Brewers rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 9th to edge the Cubs 2-1 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning on Field #7 (AKA "Paul Molitor Field") at Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix, AZ.
Carlos Jimenez belted a two-out RBI double in the top of the 8th to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead, as the game was scoreless through seven innings of play.
RHP Joshua Torres got the start for the Brew Crew and tossed four innings of shutout ball, and five Cubs pitchers had pieced-together a combined two-hit shutout through eight innings, before the 9th inning revoltin' development.
In EXST Cubs roster news, RHP Ben Wells has been moved up to Hi-A Myrtle Beach.
Here is the abridged box score from today's game (Cubs players only):
Castro Tries His Rehab Luck at Riverview Park
Jeimer Candelario drove-in three runs with two sacrifice flies and a ground out and Gioskar Amaya reached base three times on a single, a walk, and a HBP, stole a base, and scored a run, as the Daytona Cubs defeated the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels Hi-A affiliate) 5-2, and five pitchers combined to toss a two-hitter as the Burlington Bees (LAA Lo-A affiliate) edged the Kane County Cougars 2-1, in Cactus League Minor League doubleheader action this afternoon at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ.
- Read more about Castro Tries His Rehab Luck at Riverview Park
- 12 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
The Curious Case of Benjamin Wells
By outrighting eight players and losing two more off waivers over the past couple of days, the Cubs are beginning to clear some space on their MLB Reserve List (40-man roster).
The Cubs MLB Reserve List now stands at 33 players, but three more players (RHP Matt Garza, 3B Ian Stewart, and RHP Arodys Vizcaino) are still on the 60-day Disabled List and they will need to be reinstated no later than the 5th day following the conclusion of the World Series. So the Cubs essentially have a 36-man MLB Reserve List right now.
Javier Baez Tries 3rd base at HoHoKam Park
The Mesa Solar Sox played their AFL home opener this afternoon at HoHoKam Park, but the Salt River Rafters drubbed the home team 11-3 thanks in no small part to four home runs.
Four Cubs saw action for the Solar Sox in today’s game:
Candy Triple Not So Sweet for Angels
Jeimer Candelario belted a two-out game-tying bases-loaded three-run triple off the RF fence and Rafael Lopez followed with an RBI double into the RF corner to drive-in the go-ahead run, as the Cubs rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 6th en route to a 5-4 victory over the Angels in Arizona Instructional League action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.
Giansanti a Ringer Ding-Dinger for AZL Cubs
Anthony Giansanti slugged a two-run double off the CF Batter's Eye to cap a three-run 1st inning and Ryan McNeil and three relievers combined to throw a shutout, as the AZL Cubs whitewashed the AZL Diamondbacks 3-0 in Game #1, and then Giansanti hammered a lead-off walk-off HR off the base of the scoreboard in the bottom of the 7th that gave the Cubs a 1-0 victory in Game #2, as the Cubs took both ends of a twilight-night doubleheader at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ this evening.
- Read more about Giansanti a Ringer Ding-Dinger for AZL Cubs
- 45 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Rockie Road for Cubs at Fitch Park
The EXST Cubs managed just four hits, as the EXST Rockies blanked the Cubs 7-0 in Opening Day Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Fitch Park Field #3 this afternoon in Mesa.
- Read more about Rockie Road for Cubs at Fitch Park
- 19 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Cubs Tie Up Loose Ends
The Cubs and Giants played to a 1-1 tie this morning at Indian School Park Field #2 in Scottsdale, in what was the Cubs final 2010 AZ Instructional League game.
The Cubs finished with a record of 7-9-4 in Instructional League play.
- Read more about Cubs Tie Up Loose Ends
- 10 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Cub Pitchers Mine Gold in Arizona Ball Fields
Five Cub pitchers combined to throw a two-hitter and Justin Bour drove-in two runs with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly, leading the Cubs to a 3-1 victory over the A’s Split Squad #2 in AZ Instructional League action at Papago Park Field #2 in Phoenix this afternoon.
Vitters Back in Game Action at Instructs
Xavier Batista smashed a solo HR and threw a runner out at the plate, leading the Cubs to a 5-3 victory over the Angels in AZ Instructional League action at Diablo Park Field #3 in Tempe this afternoon.
- Read more about Vitters Back in Game Action at Instructs
- 53 comments
- Log in or register to post comments
Recent comments
Arizona Phil (view)
Childersb3: Miguel Cruz walked six in 1.2 IP in his last start, so I guess he is improving. Wilme Mora also walked six in one of his appearances a week or two ago, and one or two others have walked five. I don't know what would be the most I have ever seen a pitcher throw in a game out here, because the manager / pitching coach usually gets the pitcher out of the game if it gets too ridiculous.
As for the attendance, probably about 20 of the 25 were early arrivals for the Savannah Bananas game who came over to Field # 1 to see what was going on, and once they saw all the bases on balls (12 walks by Cubs pitchers and four by Angels pitchers) they ran away screaming. I'm used to it so it didn't bother me that much.
Childersb3 (view)
Jed has added Teheran, Tyranski, Kissaki, and now Straily and Nico Zeglin today.
Zeglin is 24 yrs old. Pitched well at Long Beach St in '23 and well in some Indy Ball.
They also added Reilly and Viets in late ST.
Have to search for MiLB arm depth anywhere you can and at all times!!!
Childersb3 (view)
25 in Attendance!!!
Phil, is that a backfield record?
Also, 6 BBs for Cruz in 2 IP. What's the most walks you've seen in one EXT ST outing that you can recall?
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
He has a pulse. Apparently that’s the only requirement at this point.
crunch (view)
cubs sign dan straily...for some reason. minor league deal.
welcome back.
zac rosscup is down in mexico trying to make it happen...maybe they could throw him a contract, too. junior lake is his teammate. shore up a bunch of holes with some washups.
fullykräusened (view)
The great thing about going to live sports events is you don't know if you're going to see something historic. Today I went to the Cub game, after putting the liner back in my coat and fishing my Cubs knit hat out of the closet. I needed all that- my seats are in the upper deck, left, so the east wind was in my face. Both teams failed to capitalize on good situations, but both starters did a good job to accomplish this. So, we go to the bottom of the sixth inning. The Cubs tie it up, and then Pete Crow-Armstrong comes up. We all know he would still be in AAA if not for injuries, and future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander absolutely carved up the young fellow up in his first two plate appearances. So this time he hits a fly ball. The wind was blowing in and had suppressed several strong fly balls- including a rocket off Altuve's bat that Canario hauled in (does anybody else remind me of Jorge Soler?) , but the ball kept carrying and carrying. 107mph, legit angle and carry. The crowd went nuts, the dugout went nuts. Maybe, just maybe, I saw the first homer from a long-term Cub.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Which was my original premise. They won the trades but lost their souls. They no longer employ the Cardinal way which had been so successful for so long.
crunch (view)
STL traded away a lot of minor league talent that went on to do nothing in the arenado + goldschmidt trades. neither guy blocked any of their minor league talent in the pipeline, too. that's ideal places to add talent.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
Natural cycle of baseball. Pitching makes adjustments in approach to counter a hot young rookie. Now it’s time for Busch and his coaches to counter those adjustments. Busch is very good and will figure it out, I think sooner than later.
TarzanJoeWallis (view)
In 2020, the pandemic year and the year before they acquired Arenado, the Cardinals finished second and were a playoff team. Of the 12 batters with 100 plate appearances, 8 of them were home grown. Every member of the starting rotation (if you include Wainwright) and all but one of the significant relievers were home grown. While there have been a relative handful of very good trades interspersed which have been mentioned, player development had been their predominant pattern for decades - ever since I became an aware fan in the ‘70’s
The Arenado deal was not a deal made out of dire need or desperation. It was a splashy, headline making deal for a perennial playoff team intended to be the one piece that brought the Cardinals from a very good team to a World Series contender. They have continued to wheel and deal and have been in a slide ever since. I stand by my supposition that that deal marked a notable turning point within the organization. They broke what had been a very successful formula for a very long time.