CI Recap (3/1/18) – Cubs 2, Rockies 2: Yu Day Delayed, Happ Goes Yard Again
The much anticipated debut of Yu Darvish was delayed a few days by a stomach bug, but the other Cubs pitchers were sharp Thursday. Meanwhile, Ian Happ’s power surge continued as he hit his third homer of the spring. (Box score)
Why the Cubs Tied
Daniel Camarena, a lefty pitcher in from minor league camp, allowed a two-run homer to Sam Hillard in the 8th inning to tie the score at 2-2.
Key Moment
Happ came to bat in the bottom of the 3rd with a man on first base. Batting right-handed against lefty Sam Howard, Happ crushed a low pitch deep to left field for a two-run bomb. His third round-tripper of the spring gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead.
Stats That (Don’t) Matter
- Other than Happ, the Chicago offense was almost non-existent on Thursday. Singles by Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini were the only other hits in the game.
- Alec Mills, filling in for Darvish, struck out three and allowed only one man to reach in two innings. Mills will provide important rotation depth at Iowa this season, so it’s nice to see him succeed during the spring.
- Brian Duensing bounced back impressively from his rough first appearance. He fanned two batters in a 1-2-3 inning of work.
Bottom Line
We were all denied Darvish Day until this coming Tuesday against the Dodgers, but we got to see Mills. So I guess that’s something. Hey what do you want from me? It was a tie game.
On Deck
The Cubs head to Tempe to face the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim or whatever they are called now. Barring any tummy issues, Jose Quintana will make his first start of the preseason. The game can be seen on MLB Network on delay or MLB.tv live and an audio feed is on cubs.com.
