The Cubs lost under the lights tonight 7-3 to the Diamondbacks, but I’m sure folks there had a lovely time nevertheless. Spring baseball is just swell. And, hey, the winning pitcher? Old friend and cult hero Brian Matusz.
Kyle Hendricks gave up a couple runs, which will prevent him from heading into the regular season with the unbearable weight of a fake scoreless streak on his back. Whew. (I joke, but even as Hendricks said after the game, it’s a good thing to get in trouble in spring without all of your pitches or locations working, because you have to practice dealing with it.)
The Cubs got a couple dingers from Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell, which gave the team the lead in the middle innings, though it did not last. That was just about it as far as offense went for the Cubs, who got their other run on a Jon Jay triple followed by a Kris Bryant single.
[adinserter block=”1″]
Miguel Montero threw out a runner attempting to steal, which is good to see.
Wade Davis, Pedro Strop, and Carl Edwards Jr. pitched in this one, with it being Edwards’ night to give up runs. AAA Iowa rotation hopeful Seth Frankoff pitched the final two innings, giving up three earned runs on five hits and a walk.
Meanwhile, Hector Rondon pitched tonight for Venezuela in their game against the United States, and his appearance was extremely exciting … for the wrong reasons. Well, for Venezuela, anyway. Rondon gave up five hits, including two homers, didn’t finish his inning of work, and coughed up the lead in the 8th inning. Sure, he was, by definition, facing a loaded lineup, but it was about as bad as the outing could have gone. Meaningful? Meaningless? We’ll discuss a bit tomorrow morning, but it reminded me a lot of Rondon’s spring last year: plenty of velocity, poor location, team tees off.
Mills, in particular, was really good. Granted, he was facing A-ball players who are just getting going, but they – God bless them – looked utterly helpless. If there was a single good swing on him, I didn’t see it. Kelly was a little less dominant, with some loud contact here and there.
Within a FIVE-MINUTE SPAN, multiple reports dropped all communicating more or less the same thing: the Yankees and Padres have hit a wall in their long-reported and long-active Juan Soto trade talks. The trio of reports: https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1730714790102806825 https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1730715967234179146 https://twitter.com/martinonyc/status/1730716683709419917 https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1730716395976151309...
In addition to Jeff Passan this morning listing the likely final teams on Shohei Ohtani as the Cubs, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Angels - with the Giants an unknown - you can add two more who seem to be hearing...
While we wait for Shohei Ohtani to make his decision, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto to sign shortly thereafter, perhaps the Cubs could surprise the industry and sign ... left-handed starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery? That's new. The rumor in question isn't quite...
Shohei Ohtani continues to be the central focus of much of the baseball world - it certainly takes up 95% of my brain - but he is not the only top free agent out there this offseason. I keep thinking...
The peppermint cookie fudge ice cream at Trader Joe's. My god. If you like those flavor combos, I could not possibly recommend this ice cream more furiously. I will be stocking up the freezer. A very interesting way to look...
I gotta tell you, this one is catching me by surprise. While we've long known the Cubs have been interested in signing 25-year-old Japanese Ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the momentum sure seemed to swing away from them lately (especially now that...
The Winter Meetings were never NECESSARILY going to be the Shohei Ohtani cut-off, but it sure has seemed like a logical dividing line. It's big and splashy, which MLB would love, but it's also a time when involved teams (and...
Even as I read that headline, I realize that it kinda depends on your definition of the word "imminent." For me, I think of that - in a baseball transaction context - as something that's truly just about to go...
It's the Holiday season, which means it's time to do some shopping! It's a great time to be a Chicago Cubs fan, so why not get the North Sider in your life what they really want for the Holidays: Cubs...
A few weeks ago, I shared some thoughts on why the "concerns" about Cody Bellinger's free agency - the injury history, the down years, the poor batted ball metrics - either were, or were not, real and significant concerns going...
The Pennsylvania Quakers (5-3) hit the court against the La Salle Explorers (5-2) as only 1-point favorites on Saturday, December 2, 2023 at 4:45 PM ET on Peacock. The matchup has an over/under set at 144.5 points.Pennsylvania vs. La Salle...
The No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-1) are 3.5-point favorites as they look to build on a three-game win streak when they visit the USC Trojans (5-2) on Saturday, December 2, 2023 at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The game airs at...
The Purdue Boilermakers (7-1, 0-1 Big Ten) aim to build on a five-game home win streak when they host the Iowa Hawkeyes (5-2, 0-0 Big Ten) on December 4, 2023.Purdue lost its previous game to Northwestern, 92-88 in OT, on...
MAAC action on Sunday will see the the Niagara Purple Eagles (1-4, 0-1 MAAC) host the Quinnipiac Bobcats (5-2, 0-1 MAAC) at Gallagher Center, starting at 2:00 PM ET.Niagara lost its most recent game to Saint Peter's, 72-67, on Friday....
The Alabama Crimson Tide (5-2) square off against the Arkansas State Red Wolves (2-6) on December 4, 2023.In its most recent game, Alabama lost to Clemson on Tuesday, 85-77. Its top scorer was Mark Sears with 23 points. In its...
The Rider Broncs (1-6, 0-1 MAAC) will try to break a six-game losing streak when they host the Fairfield Stags (1-6, 0-1 MAAC) on December 3, 2023. The Stags have lost four games in a row.In its most recent game,...
The Maine Black Bears (5-4) take on the Brown Bears (2-7) on December 3, 2023.On Wednesday, in its last game, Maine beat Holy Cross 72-57. With 26 points, Kellen Tynes was its leading scorer. Brown dropped its previous game to...
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits (4-4) will try to extend a three-game winning streak when they host the Kent State Golden Flashes (5-3) on December 5, 2023 at Frost Arena.On Friday, in its last game, South Dakota State beat Towson...
The Marist Red Foxes (4-2, 1-0 MAAC) host the Manhattan Jaspers (4-3, 1-0 MAAC) in MAAC action at McCann Center, tipping off at 2:00 PM ET on Sunday, December 3, 2023.On Wednesday, in its last game, Marist topped Iona 68-64....
The Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) will look to extend a three-game home winning streak when they square off against the DePaul Blue Demons (1-6) on December 6, 2023 at Reed Arena.Texas A&M lost its most recent game to Virginia, 59-47,...
The Cubs lost under the lights tonight 7-3 to the Diamondbacks, but I’m sure folks there had a lovely time nevertheless. Spring baseball is just swell. And, hey, the winning pitcher? Old friend and cult hero Brian Matusz.
