Cubs stay hot and take down Team Canada |
MESA - It doesn't matter who the Cubs play right now as they continue to win games in an impressive manner. Granted, Wednesday may not have counted against the Cactus League standings, but the Cubs still played a game and took on Team Canada in an exhibition showcase.
With Justin Steele and Keegan Thompson highlighting the pitching side of things, it was once again the Cubs offense that got the party started before closing out in style as the Cubs took out the Canadian National team 11-7. Steele wasn't as sharp this time around as he was in his first outing, but he was taking on a National Team, so you have to cut him some slack. Steele went 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on two hits while walking two and striking two. Thompson took over from there and allowed one run in just over an inning before the Cubs bullpen finished things. The weirdest part about playing International teams in the spring is that there is a good chance that some of your players will face off against you. That was the case here as Jared Young and Owen Caissie suited up for Team Canada, with Young doing some first-inning damage off Steele with an RBI double that put Canada in front 2-0. That came after a pair of walks to Freddie Freeman and Tyler O'Neill, but Steele managed to get out of the inning without further damage. Looking to respond in the bottom of the first, the Cubs mounted a two-out rally with Ian Happ picking up a single ahead of the Trey Mancini walk. However, nothing came from it, and the Cubs remained off the board. Two-out magic continued to be the spark the Cubs needed in the second, with Edwin Rios extending the inning with a walk before Tucker Barnhardt tied things up with the two-run smash. Canada wasted little team grabbing the lead back with Jacob Robson leading off the third with a solo shot. Steele was pulled two batters later as his day came to an end. Coming away with two out hits was an issue last season last year, but the Cubs thrived at that on Wednesday. After Mancini worked another two-out walk in the third, Cody Bellinger cashed in with an RBI single to bring things back to even 3-3. The back-and-forth affair continued into the fourth inning, with Abraham Toro connecting for a one-out double off of Thompson and them coming home to score on the Otto Lopez single to make things 4-3. That was the last time the Cubs would trail as their offense took a while to settle in, but it started to get going in a big way. With the back end of the bullpen taking over in the fifth, it was Michael Rucker and Mark Leiter Jr up first as they tossed scoreless outings to keep the Cubs close. That proved pivotal as Bellinger unloaded for his first Belli-bomb of the spring to lead off the sixth, and the Cubs were back to even yet again, 4-4. Cody Bellinger - Chicago Cubs (1)* pic.twitter.com/hTHPhbVc3z
Another scoreless frame from Brendon Little sent the game to the bottom of the seventh as Little continues to pitch well this spring. In the bottom of the seventh, the Cubs grabbed the lead for good, with Sergio Alcantara starting things off with a single. Alcantara would advance to second on a wild pitch later in the inning before stealing third a couple of pitches later. Alcantara would complete his trip around the bases as a passed ball with Brennen Davis at the plate allowed him to score to put the Cubs in front 5-4. Following that run, Kevin Alcantara and Nelson Maldonado connected for consecutive singles, with Alcantara racing home on the Maldonado single. Another wild pitch later in the frame allowed Maldonado to score as the Cubs were suddenly in front 7-4. With Manuel Rodriguez on to pitch the eighth, Canada had a chance to make things interesting as Damiano Palmegiani and Denzel Clarke started things off with singles. Nothing would come from that as Rodriguez retired the next three hitters, including a strikeout of Kellin Deglan to end the threat. Looking for more insurance runs in the eighth, the Cubs put the game away early as four more runs came to score. The Dom Nunez RBI triple proved to be the winning run which was a crucial hit in the inning. Nunez would later score on another wild pitch before Sergio Alcantara worked a walk ahead of the Davis single to put runners on the corners. A pair of sacrifice flies from Kevin Alcantara and Pete Crow-Armstrong later, and the Cubs had a convincing 11-4 lead with just three outs to go in the game. Called on to finish things would be the hard-throwing Ben Leeper, who has gotten off to a great start this spring. This was not one of Leeper's better outings, as Lopez started the inning with a single ahead of the Dasan Brown walk to put two on. With Canada down to their last out, Leeper was on the verge of getting out of the inning, only to have Palmegiani connect for the three-run shot to close the gap to 11-7. That would be as close as Canada would get as Clarke lined out to Davis to end the game. The Cubs pounded out 11 hits in the game, with Nunez, Bellinger, and Maldonado picking up two. Barnhardt and Bellinger led the way with two RBIs as the Cubs offense continues to have great production from the top down. Chicago is back for more Cactus League action on Thursday when they face off against the Cincinnati Reds.
