MESA, Ariz. – Manager David Ross said he was expecting right-hander Jake Arrieta to be near the top of his rotation this season and Arrieta looked like that guy in his latest outing against Cleveland. The 35-year old right-hander allowed one run on four hits in his four innings of work, striking out five and not allowing a walk.
“I thought the ball had some real depth to it,” Ross said. “That’s the really sharp sinkers. The first pitch of the game was a ball, but you could really tell the difference. [He had] more depth than run on the two-seamer. That cutter/slider had real depth to it, especially early on. I thought he kind of maybe fatigued or got a little lacks there at the end where it flattened out.
“But the breaking ball looked great. He was throwing it for strikes, he was throwing it for chase. [He] tried a couple of changeups. Some of those hits were on changeups still trying to get the depth on that. But overall, I thought that was a really nice outing for him and there were some really positive looks at a lot of the pitches.”
Alzolay makes start in intrasquad B-game
Right-hander Adbert Alzolay threw three scoreless innings in an intrasquad B-game at Sloan Park on Friday, facing 13 hitters and allowing two hits. Alzolay struck out five and walked just one batter during his outing.
Alzolay is competing to be the Cubs’ fifth starter this season.
“I’ve been feeling really, really good each day,” Alzolay said. “I feel that my body is getting into a better rhythm facing more haters, especially more lefties. That’s exactly what I wanted was to face more lefties, because like my slider, I was just leaving the slider on home plate with the lefties. But today, I feel that I made a pretty good adjustment getting my slider to the back foot to the lefties.
“I’ve been feeling pretty good. My arm is in rhythm, my body is in rhythm. Just slowing the game down is a big part for me. Sometimes when I get into a situation, I try to rush. I think my last game against Kansas City, I did a pretty good job when everything happened, the [error], I feel like I did a very good job at slowing the game down there and just focusing on the next hitter.”
Cubs trim spring roster to 38
The Cubs made a handful of roster moves on Friday, optioning left-handers Justin Steele and Kyle Ryan and right-hander James Norwood to Triple-A Iowa and left-hander Brailyn Marquez to Double-A Tennessee.
They also reassigned right-hander Joe Biagini, outfielders Michael Hermosillo, Nick Martini, Ian Miller and catcher Jose Lobaton to minor-league camp.
The Cubs’ spring roster now stands at 38 with two weeks until the regular season starts.
