CI Recap (3/7/18) – Cubs 11, Indians 6: No Rain Delay Necessary

In a rematch of the 2016 World Series (that the Cubs won, in case you forgot), Jose Quintana squared off against Trevor Bauer (who took losses in Games 2 and 5). Bauer allowed 8 runs in 3.1 innings of work as he struggled with command. Quintana was able to consistently hit his spots and looked fairly sharp on his short day of work. (Box score)

Shae Simmons made an early exit in his outing with right shoulder tightness. Hopefully there’s nothing serious about this.

Why the Cubs Won

Aside from a grand slam off the bat of Yan Gomes, Cubs pitching limited the Indians offense to a couple solo shots. The Cubs offense was productive with men in scoring position, going 6-for-13 in those situations.

Key Moment

Albert Almora Jr. destroyed a baseball for a three-run homer off the aforementioned Bauer.

Stats that (Don’t) Matter

• Mike Freeman continued his great spring by going 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, and a run driven in.
• Kyle Schwarber and Efren Navarro both went yard, each for the first time this spring.
• Dillon Maples struck out three in a perfect 6th inning. His slider was looking phenomenal.

Bottom Line

While it may be spring training, the Cubs are looking pretty good. More importantly, they’re having a ton of fun, which is something we didn’t see as much last spring.

On Deck

Tyler Chatwood and the Cubs head back to Sloan to face Jordan Lyles and the Padres at 2:05pm CT. There will not be a television broadcast, but you can listen to the audio broadcast on Cubs.com.