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AZ Instructional League
Cubs Pitchers No Match for A's Fast Break Offense
Oakland A's 2012 1st round draft pick (#11 overall) Addison Russell walked, tripled, and belted a two-run home run, Vicmal de la Cruz clobbered a solo home run and an RBI double, Reynaldo Mateo blasted a two-run HR, and Matt Olson singled twice and drove-in two runs, as the Athletics out-slugged the Cubs 13-8 in Arizona Instructional League action this afternoon at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.
Meanwhile, Jesse Hodges hammered a two-run home run and a double, Jorge Soler drilled a two-run triple, Marco Hernandez roped an opposite-field two run double, and Tim Saunders doubled, walked, stole a base, and drove-in a run, to help propel the Cub offense.
Candy Triple Not So Sweet for Angels
Jeimer Candelario belted a two-out game-tying bases-loaded three-run triple off the RF fence and Rafael Lopez followed with an RBI double into the RF corner to drive-in the go-ahead run, as the Cubs rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 6th en route to a 5-4 victory over the Angels in Arizona Instructional League action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.
Cubs Can't Solve Socratic Problem (Speed)
Socrates Brito rifled a line-drive into the RF corner and then raced around the bases for a two-run inside-the-park home run, and Ben Eckels threw three innings of one-hit ball and combined with four relievers to toss a shutout, as the Diamondbacks blanked the Cubs 2-0 in Arizona Instructional League action this afternoon at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.
Cubs Triple Their Pleasure & Defeat A's at Fitch Park
Bijan Rademacher roped a two-run triple, walked twice, and scored three runs, and NWL batting champion Stephen Bruno drove-in three runs with a two-run triple and an RBI FC, propelling the Cubs to a 10-7 victory over Athletics in Arizona Instructional League action this morning at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.
Soler & Vogelbach Supply Cub Power at Papago Park
Jorge Soler and Dan Vogelbach blasted home runs, Chadd Krist singled, doubled, walked, and scored a run, Gioskar Amaya singled, walked, stole a base, scored a run, and drove-in another, and Nathan Dorris collected his second save in successive games by throwing three innings of one-hit shutout ball, leading the Cubs to a 6-1 victory over the Athletics in Arizona Instructional League action this afternoon at Papago Park Baseball Complex Field #2 (AKA “Connie Mack Field”) in Phoenix.
Vogelbomb Sinks Snakes at Salt River Fields
Dan Vogelbach crushed a towering three-run home run over the right-centerfield fence in the top of the 6th to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead, and a two-run Diamondback rally in the bottom of the 9th fell just a bit short as Nathan Dorris struck out Justin Bianco looking on a 3-2 pitch with the potential tying and winning runs on base, earning the Cubs a 5-4 victory in Arizona Instructional League action at Whirlwind Field at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Resort east of Scottsdale this morning.
In addition to Vogelbach’s Big Fly, Shawon Dunston Jr drilled a double and an RBI single, stole a base, and recorded an outfield assist, and RHP Pierce Johnson threw three innings of one-hit ball.
D'backs Rally for Three in 8th to Edge Cubs
Ronnie Freeman lined a two-out opposite-field RBI single to right to score B. J. Lopez with the go-ahead run, as the Diamondbacks rallied for three runs in the 8th and edged the Cubs 6-5 in Arizona Instructional League action this afternoon at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.
Soler Energy Is The Cubs Way of the Future
Jorge Soler laced a three-run bases-loaded bases-clearing double down the LF line with two outs in the bottom of the 4th to break-open a close game, and the Cubs went on to defeat the Athletics 7-4 in Arizona Instructional League action this afternoon at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa.
Soler also walked twice and scored a run.
Jacob Rogers singled twice, walked, scored a run, and drove-in another, and Gioskar Amaya ripped an RBI single and walked twice, to aid the Cub offense
Brewers Pitching Magnifico at Maryvale
Mitch Haniger belted a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the 4th to break a scoreless tie, and four pitchers combined to toss a four-hit shutout, as the Brewers blanked the Cubs 3-0 in Arizona Instructional League action this afternoon at Maryvale Baseball Park Field #7 (AKA “Paul Molitor Field”) in Phoenix.
The Cubs Way a Path to Victory at Indian School Park
Jorge Soler and Chadd Krist blasted solo home runs, and Marco Hernandez ripped a double and an RBI single, scored a run, and stole a base, leading the Cubs to an 8-3 victory over the Giants in Arizona Instructional League action this afternoon at Indian School Park Field #2 in Scottsdale.
Recent comments
Arizona Phil (view)
Prior to the Cactus League game at Papago Park, three Cubs pitchers threw "live" BP on Field 1 at the Cubs Sloan Park complex, including RHRP Ethan Roberts (June 2022 TJS) and Cubs 2023 2nd round draft pick RHP Jaxon Wiggins (February 2023 TJS).
Wiggins last threw "live" BP three weeks ago before being shut down for a couple of weeks, and this was the first time Roberts has thrown to hitters in almost two years.
JAXON WIGGINS:
ONE INNING:
25 pitches (11 strikes)
no batted balls in play
two walks (Suriel and J. Diaz)
three strikeouts (Carico, Lubo, and Escobar - all three swinging)
six swing & miss
two fouls
three called strikes
14 called balls
one WP
ETHAN ROBERTS:
ONE INNING
15 pitches (7 strikes)
two batted balls in play (G-3 by Carico and L-9 by Suriel)
two walks (Lubo and Carico)
no strikeouts
no swing & miss
two fouls
three called strikes
eight called balls
one WP
Mat Peters was bumped by Justin Steele from his scheduled game work at Giants, so he threw two innings of "live" BP with Wiggins & Roberts.
MAT PETERS:
TWO INNINGS
44 pitches (23 strikes)
five batted balls in play (F-7, L-7, F-7, G-6, G-3)
three walks
two strikeouts (both Lubo and both looking)
six swing & miss
three fouls
nine called strikes
21 called balls
three WP
crunch (view)
wall stole a HR from busch...double. nice to see him destroy a curve ball.
upon further viewing, that might not have been a homer in too many parks...it had a lot of hang time, though.
CTSteve (view)
I’m at the game—woot!
If the streak breaks, it’s not my fault.
Cubster (view)
Brewers lose Wade Miley to Tommy John surgery.
crunch (view)
25 games played with a -85 run differential. insane.
Cubster (view)
White Sox DFA Bailey Horn. I'm thinking the Cubs would love to get him back although they probably won't have a decent chance of claiming him without another swap.
WSox also call up former Cub Rafael Ortega (and additionally Tommy Pham). They are hurting and having a gawd awful April.
Childersb3 (view)
White Sox DFA'd Bailey Horn.
He wasn't producing good results in Charlotte (AAA).
But Jed might bring him back with that open 40man spot. Then try the "sneak him thru waivers" gambit.
Cubster (view)
Oh my, now I will have nightmares of me sitting in the bowels of the Wrigley security detention cell.
Cubster (view)
One more thing...
One of the reasons I come to this site...
...in addition to Arizona Phil, who is, as we all know, a treasure trove of well-written fresh information, honest evaluation, and sneaky-subtle humor regarding the entire Cub organization...
... is CubbyBlue and Tim's fantastic and timely visual takes on the Cubs (to be fair, he does have a much broader Chicago-flavored brush well beyond the Cubs). Thanks for so many memorable images. I am fortunate to own (one of my prize possessions) a print that I framed (55/200) of "The Last Out" with KB's shit-eating grin as he fields the series winning out of the 2016 WS.
https://images.app.goo.gl/WvFQs6P5UvuhgVqS8
Tim, will you visit me if I do the text security thingy and description: Tim S? Or will I find myself in a Cub detention cell.
i.e. "or send a text message to 773-839-**** with the keyword "Friendly" and include your seat location and a description of your issue.
CubbyBlue (view)
Incredible moment. Huge part of the fun of working there is when something magic like that happens, and you get to interact with baseball fans.