Xavier Batista

Xavier Batista ripped a single, an RBI triple, and a solo home run to stake the Cubs to a 2-1 lead through five innings, but the Rockies scored two in the 6th and two more in the 7th and then held-on to edge the Cubs 5-4 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa, AZ.

Roberto Lopez laced a double into the LF corner to knock-in the tying run, and Drew Heid hit a sacrifice fly to RF to drive-in the winning run, as the Angels scored six runs in the bottom of the 9th and edged the Cubs 9-8 in AZ instructional League action at Diablo Park Field #3 in Tempe this afternoon.  

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.

Xavier Batista rapped out three singles and an RBI double and scored four runs, and his teammates took advantage of six errors, as the AZL Cubs defeated the AZL Dodgers 11-5 in Arizona League action at HoHoKam Park in Mesa tonight.

Jesus Morelli extended his hitting streak to 17 games with two doubles, Arismendy Alcantara tripled, singled, and scored a run, Xavier Batista doubled, tripled, and scored a run, and Vismeldy Bieneme reached base three times, scored one run, and drove-in another, as the EXST Cubs defeated the EXST Giants 4-2 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Indian School Park Field #4 in Scottsdale this morning.

Morelli has hit 437/485/621 over the course of his 17-game hit streak that goes back to May 5th, and with two more hits today, Morelli is hitting 384/452/603 with a team-leading 12 doubles in 23 EXST games since being sent down from Peoria on April 23rd. He has hit safely in 22 out of the 23 games he has played at Extended Spring Training, and he has reached base safely in all 23 games (he walked in the one game he went hitless). 

Rafael Disla, Cody Shields, and Xavier Batista ripped RBI triples in a five-run Cub 7th, leading the EXST Cubs to an 8-3 victory over the EXST A’s in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Fitch Park Field #3 this morning in Mesa.

21-year old Cuban Defector RHP Juan Yasser Serrano got the start for the Cubs and went three innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk, while striking out two. This was Serrano’s third appearance in the last week, and his pitch count has been increased each time out (one inning - 13 pitches last Saturday, two innings - 23 pitches this past Tuesday, and now three innings - 40 pitches today), as it appears that the Cubs are making an effort to get him through Extended Spring Training as quickly as possible. Serrano received a reported $250K bonus (essentially equivalent to "4th round money") when he was signed by the Cubs this past March.

The EXST Giants swept the EXST Cubs in a Cactus League Extended Spring Training split-squad doubleheader played at Indian School Park in Scottsdale this morning, winning 6-2 on Field #1 and 3-2 on Field #2. The game on Field #1 was terminated after seven innings of play, and the game on Field #2 was stopped after the Cubs took their turn (and failed to score) in the top of the 8th. And as usual, the games were played simultaneously.

Sergio Burruel cracked a three-run double, Alvaro Ramirez drilled a two-run triple, and Xavier Batista and Arismendy Alcantara smashed solo home runs, but the Angels took advantage of nine walks to score 11 runs over the last three innings and overcome a four-run deficit in the bottom of the 8th and another four-run deficit in the bottom of the 9th, as the EXST Cubs and EXST Angels played to a 12-12 tie in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Diablo Park Field #3 in Tempe this morning. The game was halted by mutual agreement between the two teams with one out in the bottom of the 9th after the Angels tied the game on a 420-ft+ three-run home run off the top of the Batter’s Eye in CF.

Xavier Batista and Blair Springfield each had two hits, a run scored, and an RBI, but the EXST Angels rallied for five runs in the bottom of the 8th to edge the EXST Cubs 7-6 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Diablo Park in Tempe this morning.

Rebel Ridling (appendectomy with complications) once again was a DH, getting five Plate Appearances in the first seven innings. He roped a liner into the LF corner in his first AB (but only managed to get to 1st base), then was called out on strikes in his second PA, before grounding out three times in a row (1-3, 5-3, 5-3) to complete his day at the plate. While he seems to be swinging the bat OK, he also seems to be running a bit gingerly.

Xavier Batista and Blair Springfield drove-in two runs a piece in a four-run Cubs 2nd, and Matt Spencer whacked a home run over the RF fence leading-off the bottom of the 3rd, as the EXST Cubs held-on to defeat the EXST A's 6-5 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this morning.