My schedule is completely messed up, and I feel like I’m writing this in the middle of the night, even though the Cubs/A’s tilt just ended.
Today the Cubs took down the A’s at HoHoKam, largely thanks to 12 not-so-powerful hits (eight singles, four doubles).
Scott Feldman made his debut, allowing four base runners in his two innings of work (a couple walks, a couple hits). Not ideal, but it was his first outing.
Feldman was followed by the man who’ll likely follow him in the rotation in April. Travis Wood made his second appearance on the Spring, giving up just two hits and one earned run in his two innings of work. He also struck out one. Wood remains on pace to open the season at the back of the rotation, assuming Scott Baker is on the DL (and especially if Matt Garza is on the DL, too). Wood’s only real competitor for that number five job to open the year is Carlos Villanueva.
After Wood, Carlos Marmol, Kyuji Fujikawa, Hector Rondon, and Zach Putnam each threw a scoreless frame. Jensen Lewis gave up three hits and an earned run in his inning of work, though he did strike out two. He’s clearly got good stuff, but the ability to consistently harness appears to be what has kept him from being a bullpen fixture over the past few years.
In the outfield, each of Dave Sappelt and Darnell McDonald had a double (McDonald added a single), and Brian Bogusevic came in late and singled. As far as fifth outfielder options go, the Cubs really do have some nice ones.
On the prospect front, Jorge Soler went 1-3 and pegged a runner advancing to third from first on a single. The throw from right field was described as a bullet, with oohs and aahs aplenty.
Junior Lake had two hits, including a double, and Javier Baez had a single in three plate appearances.
Scott Hairston has the early ugly line on the Spring: three at bats, three strikeouts. He was probably just trying out a new swing.
Brett Jackson replaced Hairston late, and took the Cubs’ only walk on the day.
Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here.
Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.
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