Craig Kimbrel’s second Iowa Cubs outing had the same level of success as his first – a scoreless frame – but required more pitches, and didn’t seem as overpowering as his first.
Second straight scoreless outing for RHP Craig Kimbrel with the @IowaCubs to begin his career with the Cubs organization. Three groundouts and a double from Kyle Tucker. 19 pitches, 12 strikes. Fastball 93-95. More 95's than 93's as outing went along.
— Alex Cohen (@voiceofcohen) June 22, 2019
Kimbrel scoreless inning. Gives up one hard hit double.
FB 93-95
CV 82-83
Not much command tonight. Off with both pitches.— Michael Ernst (@mj_ernst) June 22, 2019
It’s certainly not anything that would concern you, because (1) sometimes you’re just a little off, (2) the adrenaline just isn’t the same for a minor league 7th inning, and (3) he’s still ramping up. I’ll admit, the 93 mph thing is throwing me a little, since he is essentially never that low, but it’s hard to know precisely what’s what in a minor league appearance like this.
Now we wait to see whether Kimbrel goes tonight, which would set him up for a debut with the big league team this coming week. Don’t freak out if he doesn’t go again tonight, because the Cubs have been extra cautious throughout this process.
https://twitter.com/IowaCubs/status/1142261179844370432