Marcus Mastrobuoni

RHSP Pierce Johnson (on AAA Iowa 7-day DL since May 5th retro to 5/3 with a lat strain) hurled three innings (30 pitches - 83% strikes) of one-hit shutout ball with five strikeouts, Jose Paniagua belted an RBI double and two singles and scored a run, and Marcus Mastrobuoni hammered a triple and a single and scored two runs, leading the Cubs to a 7-2 victory over the Rockies at Sloan Park, and LHSP Manny Rondon (acquired from LAA last July for C Rafael Lopez) tossed four innings of one-hit shutout ball with ten strikeouts, Chris Pieters (ex-LHP) ripped two two-run doubles (four RBI total), and Andruw Monasterio drilled an RBI single, walked twice, and scored two runs, helping the Cubs defeat the Rockies 5-2 on Field #1 at the Riverview Park Baseball Complex, in Cactus League Extended Spring Training split-squad doubleheader action this morning in Mesa, AZ. 

Alex Castellanos (ex-LAD) slugged a solo HR for the Rockies at Sloan Park. 

Here are the abridged box scores from the two games (Cubs players only) 

Jose Paniagua belted a solo home run, singled twice, walked, and scored three runs, Isaac Paredes doubled twice, singled, drove-in two runs, and scored three more, Marcus Mastrobuoni belted an RBI triple and a single, walked, and scored three runs, Yeiler Peguero drilled an RBI single and a two-run double, Vimael Machin collected three singles, a walk, and an RBI, Roberto Garcia ripped two doubles, scored a run, and drove-in another, and four pitchers combined to fan 17 opposing batters, helping the Cubs demolish the Brewers 15-4 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning on Field #7 (AKA "Paul Molitor Field") at the Maryvale Baseball Park Complex in Phoenix, AZ.  

Nicolas Pierre (RBI triple), Gilbert Lara (RBI double), and Yeraldy Martinez (RBI single) contributed run-scoring hits to highlight a four-run 3rd that gave the Brew Crew a short-lived 4-1 lead, before the Cubs scored the final 14 runs of the game.  

Jazz Chisholm (2015 IFA - Bahamas - $200K bonus) drilled two triples and an RBI single and scored a run and RHSP Pierce Romero tossed three innings of shutout ball, as the Diamondbacks edged the Cubs 3-2 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action Saturday morning on Ramada Field at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Resort east of Scottsdale, AZ.

Marcus Mastrobuoni doubled twice, walked, and scored a run and Kevonte Mitchell singled twice, stole a base, and scored a run for the Cubs in a losing cause. 

Mitchell also turned-in the Defensive Play of the Game, an inning-ending run-saving diving catch on the warning track in right-centerfield in the top of the 3rd. He also started an 8-6-2 relay that cut-down a runner at home who was attempting to score from 2nd base on a double off the CF Batter's Eye (the runner went back to 2nd base to tag up before realizing that the ball was carrying over Mitchell's head, thanks to a nice catch-fake by one-time HS hoops star Mitchell). 

On the negative side, Mitchell was thrown out 7-5 attempting to advance from 1st to 3rd on a line-drive single to LF with two outs in the top of the 1st, thus making the third out of the inning at 3rd base.

So I guess you have to take the good with the bad.  

EXST Cubs RBI leader Isaac Paredes (2015 IFA - Mexico - $800K bonus) started his second consecutive game at 3B (he also played there in the intrasquad game on Thursday). It's very likely that he will eventually move to 3B (one scout who has been following the EXST Cubs projects Paredes as a catcher!), so the process to move him from SS to 3B may already have started. Paredes (who just turned 17 in February) is a VERY slow runner, but he has plus-HR & XBH power, he doesn't strike out a lot for a power-hitter (10% K-rate), and he has soft hands and a strong arm at SS (committing only one error so far in 15 Cactus League EXST games).   

Here is the abridged box score from the game (Cubs players only): 

Jonathan Sierra (two-run home run), Alberto Mineo (RBI triple), Kwang-Min Kwon (RBI single), and Roberto Caro (RBI triple) contributed run-scoring hits to highlight a five-run 2nd, Jose Paniagua clubbed his team-leading 4th HR in the 6th, Edgar Rondon drilled two doubles, walked, and scored a run, and Marcus Mastrobuoni doubled, singled , and scored a run, leading the Cubs to a 7-3 win over the Giants on Field #2, and Chase Compton belted a solo HR and an RBI single, Richard Amion Jr rifled an RBI single and walked twice, and RHP Hengerber Medina and four relievers combined to toss a four-hit shutout, as the Giants blanked the Cubs 3-0 on Field #1, in Cactus League Extended Spring Training split-squad doubleheader action this morning at Indian School Park in Scottsdale, AZ.  

Both games were called by mutual-consent after 7-1/2 innings of play. 

Now 17, Jonathan Sierra (2015 IFA - Dominican Republic- $2.5M bonus) was invited to AZ Instructs as a 16-year old last September, and he made a favorable impression, even drawing comparisons to a (very) young Darryl Strawberry (lanky teenaged LH hitting & throwing corner OF with potential to mash). But Sierra has struggled at Extended Spring Training so far, hitting just 152/243/303 (16% K-rate - 11% walk-rate) in 13 Cactus League EXST games (37 PA), and his second-inning home run today (which was his 1st Cactus League EXST HR) broke an 0-13 skid that goes back ten days. So while his future is bright, he will likely be assigned to one of the Cubs DSL squads (DSL Cubs #1 or DSL Cubs #2) in the coming days.     

Here are the abridged box scores from the games (Cubs players only): 

Mikey Edie (two RBI singles), Beicker Mendoza (RBI double), Zack Bowers (RBI double), and Julio Pena (go-ahead two-run single) contributed run-scoring hits to help the Giants rally and defeat the Cubs 7-5 on Field #1, and Marcus Mastrobuoni belted a solo home run with two outs in the top of the 6th to tie the game (and break-up a no-hitter), and what proved to be the winning run scored in the top of the 7th without the benefit of a hit (lead-off walk, WP, GO, and an E-6), as the Cubs (held to just the one hit) edged the Giants 2-1 on Field #2, in Cactus League Extended Spring Training split-squad doubleheader action this morning at Indian School Park in Scottsdale, AZ. 

Both games were called by mutual consent after 7-1/2 innings of play. 

Stephen Bruno (RBI single), Chris Pieters (two-run triple), and Abraham Rodriguez (RBI single) collected run-scoring hits to highlight a four-run third inning for the Cubs in a losing cause on Field #1, and RHSP Melvin Adon hurled four innings of no-run/no-hit ball for the Giants in their loss on Field #2.

RHRP Aaron Crow (April 2015 TJS) was shut-down after waming up (unknown if related to the TJS rehab). 

Cubs Latin American Field Coordinator Dave Keller and Cubs Minor League Pitching Coordinator Jim Brower are in town this week, and both were at today's EXST games in Scottsdale. Keller is helping to decide which of the Cubs Latin American players at EXST will stay in Arizona and play in the AZL and which will be sent to the DSL (the DSL begins play in three weeks), and Brower is evaluating the Cubs pitchers at EXST to determine which ones are candidates to be moved up to a full-season affiliate, which ones will be assigned to Eugene, which ones will remain in Arizona and play in the AZL, and which will be sent to the DSL. 

In EXST Cubs roster news, RHSP Jeremy Null has been moved-up to Myrtle Beach. Null was left behind at Extended Spring Training because he was slowed a bit with arm fatigue during Minor League Camp and could not get stretched-out in time for the start of the Carolina League regular season, but he got his pitch count up to 75 in an EXST intrasquad game in Mesa last week and so he is ready to roll.  

Here are the abridged box scores from the two games (Cubs players only), followed by the updated Cubs Extended Spring Training roster: 

Isaac Paredes hammered a solo home run, Kevonte Mitchell blasted a two-run HR, and Robert Garcia (two-run single), Yeiler Peguero (RBI double), and Marcus Mastrobuoni (RBI double) contributed run-scoring hits, leading the Cubs to a 7-2 victory over the Angels at Sloan Park, and Jose Paniagua slugged a two-run HR, Tyler Pearson smacked a solo HR, and Jesus Castillo and three relievers combined to hurl a three-hit shutout, helping the Cubs blank the Angels 3-0 on Field #1 at the Riverview Baseball Complex, in Cactus League Extended Spring Training split-squad doubleheader action this morning in Mesa, AZ.   

Jabari Henry belted a solo HR in a losing cause for the Angels at Sloan Park.

Kelly Dugan and Marcus Mastrobuoni belted two-run doubles and Shane Victorino, Kevonte Mitchell, and Jesse Hodges contributed RBI singles to highlight an eight-run 7th inning uprising, as the Cubs rallied from an 8-2 deficit to surprise the Angels 10-8 in Cactus League Extended Spring Training game action this morning at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ.  

Jared Foster hammered an RBI triple, singled, walked, stole a base, and scored two runs to help the Angels build their 8-2 lead.   

The Cubs stole three more bases today, for a total of twenty SB in their last six games (only one CS). 

John Arguello has a game recap and photos from the game at Cubs Den

link 

And here is the abridged box score from the game (Cubs players only):

Robert Garcia (two singles, a double, and a home run) reached base four times, scored three runs, and drove-in three more, Wladimir Galindo and Joey Martarano collected three hits a piece and drove-in three runs between them (Martarano with a sharply-hit opposite-field RBI ground single to right through the 3.5 hole in the top of the 1st inning to get things started, and Galindo with a line-drive two-run single drilled to center to cap a five-run 3rd), and 13 of the first 15 Cubs batters reached base (although two were thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double and another was CS), helping the AZL Cubs take an 8-4 lead through three innings en route to a 10-4 victory over the AZL Athletics in Arizona League action last night at Fitch Park Field #4 in Mesa, AZ.