SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Cubs starter Jose Quintana faced just seven batters in two scoreless innings of work in his spring debut Friday against the Diamondbacks, but the most impressive part of his work was how effective his changeup was in get-ahead counts during the Cubs’ 10-2 Cactus League game at Salt River Fields.
Three times he started off batters, and he used it three more times in 1-1 counts, playing it against a 93 mph fastball.
“I felt good with how I threw the changeup today,” said Quintana who has had the pitch for years but whose confidence in using it has ebbed and flowed.
“I need to use one more pitch,” he said of his renewed effort this year. “It’s hard to pitch with two pitches, three times through the lineup. And I’ve got it so I want to use it more.”
Strike force
Tyler Chatwood, who lost his rotation spot last year over historically bad control, pitched three scoreless innings without walk, allowing just three hits and producing a 2-to-1 strike-to-ball ratio in the 45-pitch outing.
“I tell you, man, we harness this stuff and it could be very helpful,” manager Joe Maddon said. “It is really high-end movement vs. righties and lefties.”
Late-inning arrivals
Carl Edwards Jr. made his spring debut a week into the schedule as Maddon backed up the start of spring games for his most heavily used relievers from a year ago.
He needed just nine innings to get through a 1-2-3 inning, including a strikeout. Pedro Strop and Steve Cishek are scheduled for first action in the next few days.
No spring chickens
One full spring turn through the rotation, the projected starters combined to allow just one earned run on five hits, with five strikeouts and five walks, in 9 1/3 innings.
(Four of the walks and the run belong to Yu Darvish).
On deck: Brewers at Cubs, Sloan Park, Mesa, Arizona, 2:05 p.m. Saturday, Ch. 9, 670-AM, Zach Davies vs. Jon Lester.
