Results tagged ‘ Brent Lillibridge ’
Minor Matters – May 17, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)
At The Plate – After battling back from an early 4-0 hole the Iowa Cubs found themselves leading heading into the late innings, that’s when things fell apart in 9-8 loss to Tucson. Hits were all over the place in this one as the Cubs pounded out eighteen hits, and scored eight runs, they left 11 men on base as well. Logan Watkins was 1-for-4 with a walk, his third home run of the season, an RBI, and a run scored. Brett Jackson had a breakout game going 4-for-5 with a double, and a run, he’s now hitting .265 on the season. Josh Vitters had a solid game as well going 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Darnell McDonald, Brent Lillibridge, and J.C. Boscan each had two hits in the loss.
On The Mound – Guillermo Moscoso got the start for the Cubs, and pitched in and out of trouble having one costly inning. Moscoso went five innings giving up four runs, two earned, on nine hits while striking out eight. Esmailin Caridad was sub par to say the least, he worked two-thirds of an inning giving up three runs on four hits to take the loss. Casey Coleman was roughed up a bit as well, he worked 2.1 innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking one. Hisanori Takahashi worked a scoreless ninth inning to give the Cubs a shot to no avail.
At The Plate – The Smokies jumped on top of the Lookouts with four runs in the second and couldn’t add on the rest of the way, even still they were able to hang on for a 4-3 win. Matt Szczur continues to find ways get on base for the Smokies as their lead-off man, he was 2-for-5 in this one, and he is now hitting .294 on the season. Ronald Torreyes provided the production for the Smokies, he was 1-for-5 with two RBI’s in the win. Christian Villanueva had a huge game, he was 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored.
On The Mound – Kyle Hendricks has been so very good this year, and he was again in this one, he worked seven innings giving up three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out three to earn his third win of the season. Tony Zych did a solid job out of the pen going one scoreless inning while striking out one. Zach Rosscup was good as usual working a scoreless ninth inning for his first save of the season, he walked one and struck out the side.
At The Plate – Daytona owned game one, and it was nice to see them put together a team game and get a win given their recent struggles. As you will read, this day was owned by Jorge Soler and Dustin Geiger, maybe May 17 shall be known as Soler Geiger day moving forward. Soler was a monster in game one, he was 4-for-4 with his sixth home run of the season, and three runs scored. He scored three times because Dustin Geiger was hitting behind him, and he didn’t want Soler to have all the glory. Geiger was outstanding, he was also 4-for-4 with three doubles, a triple (slugging madness!), and four RBI’s. That was it, those two guys won the game for the D-Cubs.
On The Mound - Yeiper Castillo was all Daytona needed on the mound. He spun a gem, going the distance (7 innings for DH’s), he worked seven innings giving up one run on four hits while walking one and striking out two. He improved his record to 1-0 on the season, and lowered his ERA to 2.33, very impressive.
At The Plate – Daytona owned game one, and battled for a character win in game two to sweep the double-header. Javier Baez was 2-for-5 with a walk, a triple, and three runs scored, he also had three errors, bring his 2013 total to seventeen. Jorge Soler was a beast in game two as well, he went 3-for-6 with a double, and a run scored, he was 7-for-10 in the double-header and is now hitting .297 on the season. Back to the other hero of the day Dustin Geiger, he was 3-for-4 in game two with a double, two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored. He was 7-for-8 in the double-header with four doubles, and a triple, he is hitting .331 on the season. Taiwan Easterling was 2-for-6 with a triple, a double, and two RBI’s in the win.
On The Mound – Tough to have a second game of a double header go twelve innings, if not for the bullpen in game two the D-Cubs would have been in trouble, they came through big time. Eduardo Figueroa got the start and was roughed up, he worked three innings giving up four runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one. The bullpen took over and worked a combined nine scoreless innings giving up four hits while walking two and striking out six. Austin Reed worked two of those innings, walking one and striking out two. Sheldon McDonlad was outstanding working four innings giving up two hits while walking one and striking out one. Frank Del Valle worked the final three innings to earn his first win of the season, he gave up two hits while striking out three.
At The Plate - The Cougars fought hard in this one against the best team in the league only to fall short in twelve innings. Bijan Rademacher continues to hit, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .350 on the season. Jeimer Candelario was 2-for-5 with a double, and a run scored, he also made his twelfth error of the season. Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-5 with two singles in the loss.
On The Mound – Dillon Maples had a solid outing, and again, finished the day healthy, which is the most important thing right now. Maples worked five innings giving up two runs on two hits while walking one and striking out five. Lendy Castillo took over and was solid as well, he worked five innings giving up on run on five hits while walking three and striking out four. Nathan Dorris struggled with his command, which is rare, he suffered the loss as a result. Dorris worked 1.1 innings giving up one run on two hits while walking two and striking out two.
Minor Matters – May 16, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)
At The Plate - Iowa didn’t really have a lot going offensively, but they didn’t need it as the one run they scored in the second inning was enough for the win. Brent Lillibridge was 1-for-3 with a walk in the win. Dave Sappelt, Brian Bogusevic, and Josh Vitters all had base hits in this one. Donnie Muphy had the biggest one, a run scoring single in the second, he finished the night 1-for-2 with said RBI.
On The Mound – Matt Garza is just about ready to return to the Cubs and he showed it tonight. Garza was brilliant going six scoreless innings giving up two hits while striking out six, he threw 75 pitches, 53 for strikes. Brooks Raley took it from there as he worked three scoreless inning out of the pen for his first save of the year, he gave up two hits while walking one and striking out three.
At The Plate – The Smokies broke through with two runs in the sixth inning to break a 4-4 tie, and eventually win 6-4, the win pushes them one game over .500 on the season. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-4 with a double and a runs scored in the win. Ty Wright had a huge night for the Smokies going 2-for-4 with two home runs, four RBI’s, and two runs scored, Wright came into this one with no home runs on the season. Jonathan Mota was 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Rafael Lopez was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
On The Mound – Matt Loosen never really found his command in this one as he worked four innings giving up four runs on three hits while walking six(!), and striking out five. Then the bullpen took over for the Smokies and won the game. A.J. Morris was perfect going three scoreless innings while striking out three to get his second win of the season. Marcus Hatley worked a scoreless eighth inning giving up one hit. Frank Batista worked a scoreless ninth to earn his fifth save of the season while striking out one.
At The Plate – The Daytona bats finally woke up, unfortunately that wasn’t enough to win tonight as they drop another disappointing one to Charlotte. Daytona scored seven times but left a lot out there as they were only 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Dustin Geiger is putting together a solid season and had another good night going 3-for-5 with his fourth home run of the season, a double, an RBI, and two runs scored, he is now hitting .298 on the season. Ben Carhart was 1-for-4 with a walk, and two runs scored in the loss. Huge night for Chadd Krist, he went 3-for-3 with a walk, two doubles, and five RBI’s, not bad for his second game with Daytona.
On The Mound – Probably the worst outing you will ever see P.J. Francescon have, he had nothing. Francescon went five innings giving up ten runs, eight earned, on nine hits while walking five and striking out three, his record fell to 3-3 on the season. Jeffrey Lorick was decent out of the pen going 1.2 innings giving up one run, unearned, on one hit while walking one and striking out one. David Cales was okay out of the pen going 1.1 innings giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one. Hunter Cervenka worked a scoreless inning giving up one hit, he has a sparkling 1.62 ERA on the season.
At The Plate – Game one was all Cougars, they didn’t break it open until late but they only needed one as they beat the Chiefs in game one 5-0. Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored from the lead-off spot. Gioskar Amaya had a big game going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI’s, and a run scored. Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-4 with a double, and an RBI in the win. Willson Contreras is locked in right now, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, he is now hitting .307 on the season. Marco Hernandez was perfect in game one going 3-for-3 with a double, and two runs scored.
On The Mound - Brian Smith was awesome for the Cougars, in fact he was almost perfect. Smith worked four scoreless, and hit-less innings while walking two and striking out two. Eddie Orozco took over and was very good, he worked two scoreless innings giving up one hit while striking out one to earn his second win of the season. Jeffry Antigua came on to close this one out, he worked a scoreless inning while striking out one.
At The Plate – The Chiefs got payback in game two as they routed the Cougars 8-2, the Cougars could only manage three hits in this one. What’s worse is they committed six errors in seven innings, that usually doesn’t end well. Jeimer Candelario was one of the few Cougars who had a strong game two at the plate, he was 2-for-3 with two doubles, he also committed three errors. Marco Hernandez proved to be the only offense for the Cougars going 1-for-3 with his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, a run scored, and you guessed it, an error.
On The Mound – As you could imagine the Cougars pitching didn’t get a lot of help from their defense. Michael Heesch got the start and took the loss, he worked three innings giving up six runs, two earned, on four hits while walking two. Steve Perakslis was solid out of the pen working three scoreless innings giving up three hits while striking out two. Bijan Rademacher, the Cougars starting right fielder, worked one inning giving up two runs, unearned, on two hits while walking one.
Minor Matters – April 30, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)
At The Plate – Iowa jumped on Round Rock early in this one taking a 6-0 lead by the fourth inning en route to cruising to a 7-2 victory. Brent Lillibridge was 2-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored. Brian Bogusevic continues to have a great 2013 as he went 3-for-4 with two double, a triple, an RBI, and two runs scored, he’s now hitting .420 on the season. Brad Nelson had another big day going 2-for-2 with two walks, a home run, two RBI’s, and two runs scored. Edwin Maysonet was 1-for-4 with a double, and three RBI’s.
On The Mound – Guillermo Moscoso made his first start for Iowa this season and it was successful. Moscoso went five innings giving up one run on three hits while walking one and striking out six. Yoanner Negrin was solid out of the pen going two innings giving up one run on three hits while striking out three. Casey Coleman, and Rafael Dolis each had a scoreless appearance out of the pen to shut the door on this one.
At The Plate – Monster effort from the Cougars at the plate tonight and they needed every bit of it. The Cougars pounded out nineteen hits, and thirteen runs, including nine over the final three innings en route to a 13-9 win. Pin-Chieh Chen got things started out of the lead-off spot going 4-for-6 with a double, three RBI’s and one run scored. Daniel Vogelbach continues to mash the ball of late as he homered for the third straight game and finished the night 4-for-6 with two RBI’s and a run scored. Rock Shoulders continues to hit as well going 2-for-5 with two doubles, a walk, am RBI, and three runs scored, he’s hitting .370 on the season. Willson Contreras was 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, an RBI, and three runs scored. Yaniel Cabezas was 3-for-6 with two RBI’s in the win, the Cougars were an amazing 8-for-22 with RISP, they could have scored even more runs in this one.
On The Mound – Lendy Castillo got the start and was beat up right out of the gate as he was only able to go four innings giving up seven runs on ten hits while walking one and striking out one. The bullpen did a tremendous job in this one given how it started. Justin Amlung went three innings giving up one run on one hit while walking one and striking out two. Nathan Dorris was fantastic going two innings giving up one run, unearned, on two hits while striking out four to earn his first save of the season.
At The Plate – Busy night for the Cubs on offense as they pounded out nine hits and scored eleven runs to rout Palm Beach. Timothy Saunders was 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and three runs scored out of the lead-off spot. Zeke DeVoss was 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and three runs scored. Javier Baez was 1-for-5 with a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored, he also made his twelfth error of the season. Jorge Soler was 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Ben Carhart was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .300 on the season.
On The Mound – Zach Cates was about as good as you can get, he went six scoreless and hit-less innings while walking three and striking out seven to earn his third win of the season. David Cales worked a scoreless inning in relief giving up two hits while walking one and striking out one. Starling Peralta struggles going 1.2 innings giving up four runs on two hits while walking two and striking out two. Frank Del Valle closed the door getting the final out of the game but did give up a hit and a walk before doing so.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Minor Matters – April 28, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)
At The Plate – Offensive explosion from the Cubs in this one as they pounded out thirteen hits, four of those being home runs, and scored ten runs in defeating Omaha 10-6. Logan Watkins was 2-for-6 with a triple, a stolen base, and a run scored. Brett Jackson was 1-for-3 but blasted his first home run of the season, he also walked, had three RBI’s and a run scored. Brent Lillibridge continues to be king of AAA, going 3-for-4 with a home run, a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored. Brian Bogusevic was just as good as he went 3-for-4 with a walk, a home run, three RBI’s, and a run scored. Ryan Sweeney hit his sixth home run of the season, he ended the day 1-for-4 with a walk, two RBI’s and a run scored.
On The Mound – Some good, some okay from the Cubs on this day, but they didn’t need much with that kind of offense backing them. Brooks Raley got the start and his third win of the season going six innings giving up four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out one. Hisanori Takahashi, and Zach Putnam each worked a scoreless inning in relief. Rafael Dolis worked one inning giving up two runs on two hits while striking out one.
At The Plate – Plenty of offense to go around in this one for Daytona as they scored seven times on eleven hits to down the Cardinals 7-4. Timothy Saunders was 2-for-5 with an RBI, two stolen bases, and two runs scored. Javier Baez is locked in right now, he went 2-for-4 with a home runs, two RBI’s and a run scored, he’s now hitting .263 on the season. Dustin Geiger had a rather patient day at the plate going 1-for-1 with three walks. Ben Carhart has been on fire of late, he went 3-for-4 with three RBI’s in the victory.
On The Mound – P.J. Francescon had a solid outing on Sunday and earned his second win of the season. Francescon worked six innings giving up two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out five. Austin Reed finally had a scoreless outing, he working one inning giving up on hit while walking one and striking out two. Frank Del Valle was finally touched up a bit, he worked two innings giving up two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out three, his ERA now sits at 2.53 on the season.
NOTES: The weather continues to suck, both Kane County and Tennessee were postponed due to inclement weather. On the bright side that means there are SIX games scheduled today, hopefully they all get in.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Minor Matters – April 25, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Reports)
At The Plate – A huge first inning from Iowa was all they needed as they scored six times en route to a 9-3 victory over Omaha. Brent Lillibridge had an outstanding game going 4-for-5 with a walk, and two RBI’s. Ryan Sweeney was also 4-for-5, he was a lot more productive though. Sweeney had a walk, a home run, a triple, four RBI’s, and two runs scored in the win. Darnell McDonald was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Edwin Maysonet was 2-for-4 with a walk, a triple, and an RBI.
On The Mound – Barret Loux got the start and struggled with command, and was wild in the strike zone but managed to pitch around trouble. He was able to go 4.2 innings giving up three runs on eight hits while walking four and striking out three. Esmailin Caridad did a fine job out of the bullpen and earned the win going 2.1 scoreless innings while walking two and striking out three. Cory Wade and Rafael Dolis struggled but managed to each have a scoreless appearance. Dolis worked 1.1 innings to earn his first save of the season while walking two and striking out two.
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At The Plate – The Smokies are playing good baseball, and if not for a few blown saves recently could be on a real impressive winning streak. It was the Ronald Torreyes show for the Smokies, he was 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, a triple, and a run scored from the lead-off spot. Only three other Smokies registered hits in this one, but it was enough. Rafael Lopez and Jae-Hoon Ha recorded the RBI’s with Ha going 1-for-4, and Lopez going 1-for-3 with a double.
On The Mound – Dallas Beeler is dealing right now, and last night was no exception. Beeler went seven scoreless innings giving up seven hits while walking one and striking out two. Zach Rosscup found some trouble out of the pen but was able to hold the lead, he gave up one run on one hit while walking one in one inning of work. Brian Schlitter worked a stress free ninth inning for his first save of the season, he has yet to give up an earned run this year.
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At The Plate – Daytona jumped out early in this one and never looked back as they pounded out twelve hits and scored five runs to beat the Flying Tigers…Flying Tigers! 5-3. Every player in the Daytona starting lineup had at least one hit. Javier Baez is slowly but surely turning around his slow start, he was 2-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season with an RBI, and a run scored. Timothy Saunders was 1-for-4 with a big triple, and two RBI’s in the win. Chad Noble was 2-for-3 with his first home run of the season, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. Anthony Giansanti stayed hot since his return going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
On The Mound – Zach Cates got the start and the win as he pitched a solid game. Cates worked five scoreless innings giving up four hits while walking one and striking out four. Yeiper Castillo did a solid job out of the pen tossing a scoreless inning. Austin Reed continues to get beat up, he gave up three runs on three hits while walking three in one inning of work. David Cales was outstanding to earn his first save of the year, he went two scoreless innings while walking two and striking out four.
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At The Plate - A late rally wasn’t enough for the Cougars as they fell to the Tin Caps 6-4 after trailing 6-1 in the third inning. The Cougars approach was fantastic in this one, they just couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it. They had eight hits, walked five times, and only struck out four times, unfortunately they came up just short. Rock Shoulders continues to hit, he was 1-for-3 with a walk, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .406 on the season. Marco Hernandez was also 1-for-3 with a walk in the loss. Bijan Rademacher was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored, he’s now hitting .314 on the season.
On The Mound – Lendy Castillo ran into trouble in one inning and that was enough for him to suffer his first loss of the season. Castillo worked six innings giving up six runs, five earned, on eight hits while walking none and striking out three. Both Justin Amlung and Steve Perakslis worked scoreless innings out of the pen to keep the Cougars in this one.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Minor Matters – April 21, 2013 (Cubs Minor League Recaps)
At The Plate – Not much happening for the Cubs offense in this one as they lost a 1-0 heart breaker to the Redbirds. The Cubs could only manage six hits, all singles in the loss. Brent Lillibridge was 1-for-4, as was Ryan Sweeney, and Donnie Murphy. Darnell McDonald, Brian Bogusevic, and J.C. Boscan were each 1-for-3 in the loss.
On The Mound – The Cubs pitching did all they could and then some in this one, but still couldn’t get a victory. Drew Carpenter got the start and was solid despite having some command issues. Carpenter worked 5.2 scoreless innings giving up two hits while walking five and striking out six. Hisanori Takahashi worked 1.1 scoreless innings with a strikeout. Yoanner Negrin finally gave up a run, unfortunately that’s all it took to lose this one. Negrin went 1.2 innings, he gave up one run on two hits while walking one and striking out two, his ERA “sky-rocketed” to 0.79 on the season.
At The Plate – The Smokies looked to be well on their way to another win after a four run second inning, then they weren’t. Matt Szczur had another solid day going 1-for-4 with two walks, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Rubi Silva was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, a run scored, a caught stealing, and an outfield assist, busy day. Anthony Giansanti finally has returned to action and had a solid day going 2-for-2 with a walk, a double, and a run scored.
On The Mound – A mixed bag from the Smokies pitchers, and a very costly error by Ronald Torreyes didn’t help. Alberto Cabrera got the start and was average going 5.1 innings giving up four runs on five hits while walking four and striking out one. Marcus Hatley was solid out of the pen going 1.2 scoreless innings while giving up one hit and striking out one. Kevin Rhoderick continues to struggle, he worked an inning giving up two runs on four hits whiles striking out one. Trey McNutt was outstanding, going two scoreless innings while striking out one. Tony Zych was the hard luck loser, he worked an inning and gave up three runs, all unearned, on one hit while walking one.
At The Plate – Not a lot to cheer about in this one as the D-Cubs did their best Major League Cubs impersonation in this one. Daytona could only manage two hits in this one, singles by Timothy Saunders and Jorge Soler. They did manage to earn three walks, but were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position.
On The Mound – Not much better here for the D-Cubs. Ryan Searle got the start and got roughed up again. Searle went four innings giving up five runs on six hits while walking two and striking out four. Austin Reed wasn’t much better out of the pen going two innings giving up four runs, two unearned, on six hits while striking out two. David Cales worked two scoreless innings giving up one hit and striking out three, the lone bright spot of the day.
At The Plate - Crazy ballgame yesterday as the Cougars built a 4-0 lead going into the 6th inning, then things got weird. The Chiefs scored six times in the top of the 6th to take a 6-4 lead, then the Cougars scored three times in the bottom half to go back in front and that’s how it ended. Pin-Chieh Chen got a chance to lead-off in this one and delivered going 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI’s, and a run scored. Rock Shoulders, or the guy who rarely makes an out, was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, he’s hitting .424 on the season, yikes. Chadd Krist was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and a run scored. Trey Martin finally busted out with the bat, and made a tremendous catch in CF as well, he was 3-for-4 with a stolen base, an RBI, a double, and two runs scored. Fun fact, Daniel Vogelbach had a stolen base today, the guy is rather athletic for his size.
On The Mound – Kane County only used two pitchers in this one, rather rare given the fact that six runs were given up, but I guess that’s what happens when it’s all in one inning. Felix Pena got the start at went 5.2 innings giving up five runs on five hits while walking two and striking out two. Ian Dickson got the win coming out of the pen going 3.1 innings giving up on run on four hits while striking out three.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Roster Move Extravaganza (Barney, Ransom, Gregg, Loe, Lillibridge, Takahashi, Dolis, oh my)
The Cubs look much different heading into this Rangers series than they did during the off day yesterday, as they announced a flurry of moves. I mentioned on Sunday that the Cubs signed Kevin Gregg and claimed Kameron Loe from the Mariners, well both pitchers have been added to the major league roster. Also being 
added to the major league roster is Darwin Barney who is coming off the DL tonight. That wasn’t the only addition, the Cubs also claimed infielder Cody Ransom, with all the players being added to the active roster, a few had to go, and that’s what happened. The Cubs DFA’d Brent Lillibridge, and Hisanori Takahashi, and optioned Rafael Dolis back to Iowa. The Cubs will have ten days to trade, waive or release Lillibridge and Takahashi. My guess is that Lillibridge will end up in Iowa as long as he isn’t claimed by another team, and Takahashi will no longer be a member of the Cubs. Busy day for the Cubs and the game hasn’t even started yet, such is life with an under-performing club. Barney, Gregg, and Loe are on the roster for tonight’s game, Ransom will most likely be ready to go tomorrow.
Thanks for reading,
- George
Cubs Can’t Get Out of Their Own Way in Loss to Giants
I suppose this one sums up the Cubs season to this point, some good, some bad, some really bad, and a loss. The Cubs looked like they were going to cruise in this one as they built a 5-0 lead in the third inning, but as quickly as they built it, they lost it. The turning point seemed to be the 4th and 5th innings. Scott Feldman was working a lot of deep counts so he wasn’t exactly cruising, but he was effective. One the ropes again in the fifth Feldman looked to get an inning ending ground out but Castro booted it which allowed a run to score and the inning to continue. Angel Pagan followed with a ground ball to the right side which should have been the end of the inning but a 
combo of Feldman getting over to first slowly and Brent Lillibridge being Brent Lillibridge resulted in no out and the inning continued, again. When it was all said and done it was a 5-4 Cubs lead heading to the 5th, that’s where the wheels came off again. The Giants plated three runs in the 5th to take a 7-5 lead, the Cubs crept closer in the eighth and threatened in the ninth only to come up short in another mind numbing loss that was seemingly there for the taking.
At The Plate – Early on it seemed like the Cubs were going to break out in a big way as they scored five times through three innings, but as it happens so often, the offense stopped, and could only score one more time over the last six innings. All eight position players had at least one hit in the Cubs lineup, with three guys having multi-hit games. Starlin Castro was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored, he’s now hitting .275 on the season. Nate Schierholtz tried his best to make his former employer regret letting him go as he was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Welington Castillo continued to destroy the ball as he was 2-for-4 with a run scored, Brent Lillibridge and Anthony Rizzo each had two RBI’s, with Rizzo’s coming on a two-run home run in the third.
On The Mound - Scott Feldman was good and average I would say in this one. He had solid command of his two-seam fastball, but after getting ahead early in counts he couldn’t put anyone away, the defense behind him didn’t help either. Feldman could only last 4.1 innings giving up six runs, two earned, on seven hits while walking three and striking out three to fall to 0-2 on the season. The turning point in my opinion was the ineffectiveness of Hisanori Takahashi out of the pen. Takahashi went 1.2 innings giving up one run on two hits while walking two, and striking out two. One of those walks was to opposing pitcher Ryan Vogelsong with the bases loaded to tie the game at five. Michael Bowden, Shawn Camp, and James Russell all had scoreless appearances.
Up Next - The weather might be slightly better tomorrow, meaning that thing they call the sun might actually show its face, yes the sun has a face. But temps are only supposed to be in the low 40′s again and there is a chance for afternoon showers. Once things get started it will be Carlos Villanueva against Matt Cain.
Game Highlights:
Anthony Rizzo’s two-run homer
Lillibridge’s two-run single
Thanks for reading,
- George
Rusin Shuts Down Dodgers in Win
Chris Rusin was outstanding Thursday afternoon, which is nothing new this Spring as he has been nothing short of brilliant. The lefty is slated to start the 2013 season in the Iowa rotation, and if he has continued success like this don’t be surprised if he is back at Wrigley sooner than later, either starting or coming out of the pen.
Brent Lillibridge made a triumphant return to the lineup going 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Welington Castillo got the start behind the plate and was 1-for-2 with a triple, two RBI’s and a run scored. Luis Valbuena (1), Brian Bogusevic (2), Dave Sappelt (1), and Darnell McDonald (1) had the rest of the runs knocked in.
As I mentioned, Chris Rusin was awesome. Rusin tossed five nearly perfect innings, giving up no runs on one hit while walking one, and striking out one. Raley improved to 2-0 on the Spring with a 0.69 ERA, he has worked thirteen innings this spring and has given up one run. Drew Carpenter, Jaye Chapman, and Blake Parker all had scoreless appearances in the victory.
Split squad action tomorrow as half the team will face the White Sox on the road, and the other half will face off against Team Japan. Travis Wood will make the start against Team Japan, and Scott Feldman will work against the White Sox.
Thanks for reading,
- George
