A Tip of the Recap March 28th

The Cubs split their squad today and split their games as well. They lost to the Reds by a score of 9-5, but beat the Rockies 18-4.

The Good

Dexter Fowler went 2 for 4 with his first spring HR and 2 runs scored and is hitting .237.

Javier Baez had 2 singles and only struck out once while hitting 9th in the lineup. He is still hitting just .188, but over the last week he has had more positive AB’s than not, so that is a good sign.

Jake Arrieta got the start against the Rockies and was dominant on the mound and at the plate. He threw 4 scoreless innings with 3 hits, 0 walks and 5 K’s. At the dish he went 2 for 3 with a double and a 3-run HR while hitting 8th.

David Ross caught Arrieta and was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs to bring his spring average up to .320.

Kris Bryant did Kris Bryant things again today going 4 for 5 with 1 double, 3 singles and 3 runs scored to bring his average up to .459.

Chris Coghlan was 1 for 2, but did reach via the walk 2 more times as well and stole his 2nd base of the spring.

Willson Contreras, Addison Russell, and Ryan Sweeney each contributed 2 RBI.

Drake Britton had a scoreless inning of relief and he may have a chance of breaking camp with the team after the Cubs released Felix Doubront today.

Joe Ortiz also has his hat in the ring for left-handed reliever and threw another scoreless inning to bring his spring ERA to 0.96.

Zac Rosscup who has an outside chance of making the team as the left-handed reliever threw a perfect inning with 2 Ks.

The Bad

The Cubs struck out 27 more times today between the two games, including 3 each by Matt Szczur, Arismendy Alcantara and Junior Lake.

Frank Batista got hit hard, but seems like he may have been taking one for the team because he stayed in the game for 3 innings and gave up 4 runs (all earned) on 6 hits.

The Ugly

Gonzalez German got the start against the Reds and couldn’t make it out of the first inning, giving up 4 runs (all earned) on 4 hits and 3 walks.

Things are starting to get a little worrisome with regards to Jason Motte. He only lasted 1/3 of an inning today and gave up 3 runs (all earned), 1 hit (a HR) and 2 walks to bring his spring ERA to 14.21.

On Deck

The Cubs are in action tomorrow against the Royals at 3:05 PM (CST) and will be televised on WGN in the Chicagoland area. Edwin Jackson gets the start and hopefully will have the directions for the away game, but he will look to make a much better start after last week’s debacle.