Victor Caratini

Tyler Durna singled twice, doubled, scored a run, knocked-in a run with a sacrifice fly, and stole a base, D. J. Artis reached base three times (a single and two walks) and scored a run, Dalton Hurd smacked an RBI triple and a single and scored a run, Josue Huma ripped a two-run triple, and SP Cam Sanders tossed three innings of no run/no hit ball, leading the South Bend Cubs (Lo-A affiliate of the Cubs) to a 4-1 victory over the Asheville Tourists (Colorado Rockies Lo-A affiliate) on Field #5, and Aramis Ademan belted a HR leading off the bottom of the 1st inning, singled, walked and scored, Miguel Amaya roped an RBI double into the LF corner and scored, Jimmy Herron drilled an RBI single, reached base on an HBP, and stole a base, and Jon Lester hurled six innings (87 pitches) of two-run ball (five hits, two walks, seven strikeouts, and a wild pitch) and combined with Bryan Hudson to fan 13, as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Cubs Hi-A affiliate) edged the Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies Hi-A affiliate) 3-2 on Field #6, in Cactus League Minor League Spring Training game action Monday afternoon at the Riverview Baseball Complex on John Arguello Way in Mesa, AZ. 

The rest of the Cubs MLB squad had the day off, but Victor Caratini came over to the Riverview backfields to catch Lester, and he had one AB in each of the first six innings (while he and Lester were in the game), going 1-5 with a double and a walk.  

In Cubs Minor League Camp news, OF Jamie Galazin (Cubs 2018 22nd round draft pick - St. John's) is being converted to a RHP. He was drafted by the Cubs as an outfielder, but he did pitch a bit in college (10 games), so he is at least somewhat familiar with the pitching thing. Whether Galazin will be used strictly as a pitcher or possibly as the now popular "two-way player" remains to be seen, but in either case he will be remaining at Extended Spring Training while he proceeds forward with the mound conversion.  

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

As things stand right now...

Jake Hannemann crushed a three-run homer, Juan Paniagua and Matt Rose each smacked a two-run HR, Victor Caratini drilled an RBI single, doubled, walked, and scored a run, Ryan Dent singled twice, walked, scored twice, and collected an RBI, Chesny Young drove-in three runs with a FC and a two-run single, and SP Preston Morrison hurled four innings of shutout ball, as the Tennessee Smokies (Cubs AA affiliate) crushed the Modesto Nuts (Colorado Rockies Hi-A affiliate) 13-5 on Field #6, and Sam Hilliard tripled, singled twice, and scored two runs, Brian Mundell slugged a solo HR and singled and scored, and Jonathan Piron belted an RBI triple, singled, walked, and stole a base, helping the Asheville Tourists (Rockies low-A affiliate) edge the South Bend Cubs (Lo-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs) 9-8 on Field #3, in Cactus League Minor League doubleheader action Sunday afternoon at the Riverview Baseball Complex in Mesa, AZ.

P. J. Higgins blasted a two-run HR for South Bend in a losing cause on Field #3, and Ryan Stephens contributed a solo HR and a two-run single in a losing cause for Modesto on Field #6. 

LHSP Justin Steele had a rough outing for South Bend, surrendering seven runs on 11 hits (including two doubles, a triple, and a home run) and a walk in five innings of work. 

As usual, several players were temporarily moved-up from a lower level just for the day. 

The game on Field #6 was unusual in that the Cubs AA squad played the Rockies Hi-A squad. Normally AAA plays AAA, AA plays AA, etc, but the members of last season's Myrtle Beach Pelicans received their 2015 Carolina League Champion rings in a ceremony prior to the games, and because most of the 2015 Pelicans are presently assigned to the AA Tennessee squad at Minor League Camp, the Cubs Hi-A group was dispatched to Salt River Fields to play the Rockies AA squad in place of the Smokies, leaving the Cubs AA group behind at Riverview to collect their rings and destroy the Rockies Hi-A group.

John Arguello at Cubs Den has some great pictures and game reports from Saturday's games at Riveview Park. 

link  

And here are the abridged box scores from the two games played at Riverview on Sunday (Cubs players only): 

Narciso Crook bounced a game-tying RBI double down the LF line with one out in the bottom of the 9th and then circled the bases as LF Shawon Dunston Jr over-ran the ball for a walk-off two-base error, as the Reds rallied to edge the Angels/Cubs co-op squad 9-8 in AZ Advanced Instructional League action this morning at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, AZ.

Victor Caratini (Cubs) belted an RBI triple and an RBI double and scored two runs, Bo Way (Angels) stroked a two-run double and a single and score a run, Zach Houchins (Angels) rifled a two-run single, reached base on an HBP, and scored a run, and Michael Strentz (Angels) ripped an RBI double and a single, walked, and scored a run, leading the Angels/Cubs co-op squad to a 10-2 drubbing of the Rangers in AZ Advanced Instructional League game action this afternoon on Nolan Ryan Field at the Surprise Recreation Campus in Surprise, AZ. 

Victor Caratini (Cubs) ripped an opposite-field two-out triple into the rightfield corner, Dan Vogelbach (Cubs) followed with an RBI double down the RF line to knock-in Caratini, and Andrew Daniel (Angels) drove-in Vogelbach from 2nd with an RBI ground single to center to open the scoring in the bottom of the 1st inning, and Cubs top pitching prospect RHP Duane Underwood Jr hurled four innings of no run/no hit ball with five strikeouts and combined with four Cub relievers to toss a three hitter, as the Angels/Cubs co-op squad defeated the Royals 4-1 in AZ Advanced Instructional League action this afternoon on Field #1 at the Riverview Baseball Complex in Mesa, AZ. 

Victor Caratini (Cubs) and Shawon Dunston Jr (Cubs) ripped run-scoring singles and Wade Wass (Angels) contributed an RBI double, leading the Angels/Cubs co-op squad to a 4-2 victory over the Royals in Arizona Advanced Instructional League play this afternoon on Field #2 at the Papago Sports Complex in Phoenix, AZ. 

John Andreoli and Ryan Dent slugged solo home runs and Rubi Silva drilled a two-run single, leading the Iowa Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Tennessee Smokies in a five-inning Spring Training minor league intrasquad game played on Field #1 at Mesa CubTown at Riverview Park this morning. 

Victor Caratini belted a two-run double and drew a walk and Kevin Brown singled, doubled, and scored a run for the Smokies. 

Jon Lester got the start for the I-Cubs, and threw 84 pitches (62 strikes) while facing 20 hitters. He allowed eight hits (two doubles, a triple, and five singles) and no walks (but two wild pitches), and he struck out four (two looking and two swinging), with a 1/6 GO/FO. Lester threw 81 pitches through four innings and and it looked like his day might be over, but then he went back out to the mound and faced one batter (Jeffrey Baez) in the top of the 5th, who rifled a triple on an 0-2 pitch. At that point, Lester was relieved.  

Lester looked VERY hittable today as the young Smokies hitters consistently squared his offerings up and made lots of hard contact. If the Cubs want to get Lester another minor league start before he faces MLB hitters, they could put him on the 15-day DL retroactive to last Friday (nine days prior to MLB Opening Day being the furthest back a DL stint can be backdated during Spring Training), and maybe have him start a minor league game this coming Sunday (the last day of Cactus League Minor League Spring Training games), and then he would be eligible to be reinstated from the DL on Saturday April 11th. (NOTE: MLB Cactus League and Grapefruit League Spring Training games are considered "official" games, so players on the DL cannot play in these games, and a DL stint cannot be backdated past the last time the player appeared in an official MLB Spring Training game; but pitching or playing in a minor league Spring Training game or in an intrasquad game does not affect DL eligiblity as far as backdating the DL stint is concerned, and a player on the DL can play in a minor league Spring Training game and/or in an intrasquad game without restriction). 

Despite being sent down by the Cubs on Monday, Javy Baez, Kris Bryant, and Addison Russell have yet to take the field at Minor League Camp. None of the three played in the Futures Game last night at Sloan Park (and the Cubs sure could have used them, too), none of the three participated in work-outs (fielding practice, baserunning drills, and BP) with the Iowa squad this morning, and none of the three played in the Lester intrasquad game (and they were not on the bench, either). So it's very possible that Baez, Bryant, and Russell are still with the big club, despite being technically on the Iowa roster.   

The game was called with two outs in the top of the 5th inning. 

Here is the box score from this morning's intrasquad game: 

Victor Caratini blasted a two-run home run, doubled, singled twice, walked, and scored four runs, Jordan Hankins knocked-in four runs with three run-scoring singles, Kevonte Mitchell singled twice and doubled, scored twice, and drove-in a run, Chesny Young laced a bases-loaded three-run triple and a single, and Johan Matos belted a solo home run and singled, in an AZ Instructional League Cubs intrasquad game played this morning at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ.

The game was played at "Cubs Park" (home to the AZL Cubs and the Mesa Solar Sox of the AFL, and the Chicago Cubs during Spring Training in March).

Collecting 17 hits (including three doubles, a triple, and a home run), Team Gonzalez evened-up the "Cubs World Series" at two games a piece with a 15-5 drubbing of Team Johnson. 

Eloy Jimenez left the game after being hit on the left arm by an Erick Leal fastball. 

Several of the Cubs young sluggers competed in the annual Cubs Instructs Home Run Derby on Field #2 prior to the game, and Billy McKinney edged out Scott Frazier to take home the title. 

Frazier is a pitcher, but the 6'7 fireballer was a two-way player (pitcher/outfielder) in HS, and he showed that he still knows how to swing the lumber, clubbing several prodigious shots onto the street beyond the LF fence ("Cubs Way') during the course of the contest. He then threw a 1-2-3 7th inning in the game that followed. 

Here is the box score from today's game: