Alexis Hernandez (RBI single), Wally Soto (RBI triple), and Raino Coran (two-run HR) stroked consecutive two-out run scoring hits in the bottom of the 6th inning, and Carlos Garcia hurled three innings of no run / no hit ball to pick up the win in relief, as the Cubs rallied from a 3-0 deficit and edged the Brewers 4-3 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training game action Saturday morning at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ.
Chicago native Donovan McIntyre belted a grand slam to put the Giants up 4-2 in the 2nd inning and Eliam Sandoval, Javier Castillo, and Estanlin Cassiani cracked solo home runs later in the game to provide a cushion, as the Giants used the long ball to defeat the Cubs 11-6 in a Cactus League Extended Spring Training game played Friday morning at the San Francisco Giants Papago Park Complex in Phoenix, AZ.
Wally Soto slugged a two-run HR and Ed Howard, Anderson Suriel, and Christopher Paciolla laced RBI doubles for the Cubs in a losing cause.
The Cubs get a quick rematch against the Marlins, who swept them on the road to end the month of April. This time, the Cubs are reinforced by designated hitter and first baseman Matt Mervis, who is likely to make his MLB debut, and catcher Miguel Amaya, who debuted on May 4 collecting his first MLB RBI on a sac fly but still in search of his first time reaching base safely. See below for the matchups in this weekend series at Wrigley.
Game 32, Friday, May 5, 1:20 pm central
MIA: RHP Edward Cabrera (2-2, 4.67 ERA)
CHC: LHP Justin Steele (4-0, 1.49 ERA)
SP Lorenzo Encarnacion and RP Junior Cerda each hurled three innings of shutout ball, and Jefferson Pena, Cristofer Torin, and Ruben Santana ripped RBI singles, helping the Diamondbacks Red Squad defeat the Cubs 4-1 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training game action Thursday morning on Whirlwind Field at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, east of Scottsdale,AZ.
Christopher Paciolla hammered an oppo-field RBI double (near-HR) off the RF fence to account for the lone Cub run.
Here is the abridged box score from the game (Cubs players only):
SP DJ Herz hurled four innings of no run / no hit ball with six strikeouts and combined with three relievers on a two-hit shutout, Ismael Mena singled, doubled, stole two bases, and scored a run, and Brayan Altuve (RBI double) and Yeison Santana (RBI single) collected run scoring hits, as the Cubs blanked the Rockies 4-0 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training game action Tuesday morning at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ.
James Triantos lined a double off the LF fence, stole 3rd base, and scored on a balk in the bottom of the 1st inning, Christian Olivo drilled a double into the LF corner leading off the bottom of the 3rd and scored on a Brayan Altuve line-drive RBI single, and Jefferson Rojas clobbered a two-run HR that landed at the top of the berm in LF in the bottom of the 7th, leading the Cubs to a 4-1 victory over the Diamondbacks Black squad in Cactus League Extended Spring Training game action Monday morning at Sloan Park In Mesa, AZ.
The Cubs suffered a three-game sweep in Miami to end the month of April, lowering their 2023 record to 14-13. Cody Bellinger continued his recent showing of power by hitting his 7th homerun of the season. Patrick Wisdom homered in the series as well to push his 2023 total to 10. Nico Hoerner has stretched his on-base streak 25 games, having reached base safely in every game except for his 0-4 with no walks on April Fools Day. The Cubs have had a strong showing in offense, starting pitching, and defense.
Johan Benitez drilled a two-run triple to cap a four-run 2nd, and Jean Walters (RBI double) and Juan Aparicio (RBI single) stroked run scoring hits to highlight a two-run 3rd, as the Diamondbacks Black squad defeated the Cubs 6-4 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training game action Saturday morning on Whirlwind Field at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, east of Scottsdale, AZ.
Ismael Mena smacked an inside-the-park HR for the Cubs in a losing cause (CF failed to make a diving catch on a line-drive and the ball rolled to the CF wall).
Yeison Santana belted a triple into the right-centerfield alley and scored in the 5th, Ed Howard smashed a line-drive triple off the LF fence and scored on the 6th, Jairo Diaz smacked a two-run triple to right in the 8th, and SP Jackson Ferris and RP Gleiber Morales each hurled three innings of shutout ball, as the Cubs defeated the Diamondbacks Red Squad 5-1 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training game action Friday afternoon at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ.
The Cubs take their first 2023 road trip to the east coast. There, they will meet the 13-13 Marlins for a three-game series. Call-ups from Iowa Velasque and Killian get their early season auditions, with Velasquez already having made a notable first few appearances. Bellinger returns from paternity leave, hopeful to resume his recent power surge. See below for matchups.
Game 25, Friday, April 28, 5:40 pm central
CHC: RHP Marcus Stroman (2-2, 2.17 ERA)
MIA: LHP Jesus Luzardo (2-1, 3.62 ERA)
Game 26, Saturday, April 29, 3:05 pm central
Recent comments
Dolorous Jon Lester 09/28/2023 - 09:54 pm (view)
I hear you on that. I don’t have a ton of faith in the organization in a lot of respects, but I do genuinely believe they make a concerted effort to get players with a good head on their shoulders. MLB has a way of humbling even the most inflated egos, as it’s humbling him now. Given the organizational philosophy, I do think he’s the type to adjust and work on things rather than just continue on with exactly the same thing.
That said, I think he’s a MLB caliber prospect obviously. I think great defense, fast baserunner in the show is his floor. I said earlier I see his floor as Peter Bourjos, nothing I’ve seen has caused me to change that. Bourjos was perfectly fine but I think we’d all be kinda disappointed if that’s what he turns into. He does have a much higher ceiling we can still dream on.
crunch 09/28/2023 - 09:07 am (view)
one thing people aren't too open about is his ego. it's huge. hopefully it doesn't get in his way.
that said, i've not heard that his ego has caused any teammate issues and with people that have "strong egos" that's a big deal. having a big ego isn't necessarily a terrible thing if you're still coachable and it doesn't make your workplace toxic.
i honestly think the PCA we see now is the PCA we're getting...only with less instances of being asked to bunt. he's a better hitter than his numbers, obviously. i dunno what he will change with his approach at the plate, though.
hopefully his game will mature, especially learning when to let one fall in front of him and when to not to try to make a miracle throw. he takes pride in his defense, and he should, but a highlight reel shouldn't be an every-game goal.
Dolorous Jon Lester 09/28/2023 - 09:35 am (view)
I agree. Of course he has the offseason to work on things and he’s super young, but at the moment I don’t see an MLB level player in April 2024. Hopefully he takes this experience and gets more figured out and can come up and contribute sometime next year. There’s a lot of talent there but he doesn’t look ready for this level yet.
Charlie 09/28/2023 - 09:44 am (view)
I'll be curious to see him at a time when the team isn't desperate for every little edge. What would he look like debuting for a team that already sealed their fate for the season? I think he'd still be struggling at the plate, but his other tools might show up.
Dolorous Jon Lester 09/28/2023 - 09:09 am (view)
Yup. Unless he plays a key role in a World Series run or pulls an Addison Russell or something, that Will unfortunately be his lasting Cub memory.
Brant Brown was a solid player. No one remembers how important he was to the ‘98 miracle team.
Dolorous Jon Lester 09/28/2023 - 09:07 am (view)
He looks terribly overmatched at the moment in almost every way.
Charlie 09/28/2023 - 09:55 am (view)
He appears to be playing with desperation at this point.
crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:12 pm (view)
i know this 2023 ATL team is one of the best teams of all time, like easy top 5 by any metric...but these 2 losses stung.
crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:50 pm (view)
PCA with -another- overly aggressive play he didn't make that punishes the team.
crunch 09/27/2023 - 09:38 pm (view)
"here's a helmet that fits." - cubs staff
"naw." - PCA