Brewers 4, Cubs 3
Sixth sense: Four of the Cubs’ five hits in the game came during a three-run sixth inning at Sloan Park, including Robel Garcia’s leadoff triple and Kyle Schwarber’s two-run double. Only two other Cubs reached base in the other eight innings as they fell to 3-5 in Cactus League play.
Yu nasty: Yu Darvish made an eye-opening first start of the spring, throwing six different pitches for strikes, including a fastball that reached 98 mph multiple times, over two innings, and an 82-mph knuckle curve he threw to Logan Morrison after one of those 98 fastballs for inning-ending strikeout in the first. After giving up a first-pitch homer on a fastball leading off the game, Darvish retired six of the seven other batters he faced, including three strikeouts without a walk.
What was he working on? “Playing baseball. It was the first game so just making sure my routine was right, and the timing.”
Eye on fifth-starter battle: Already a long-shot candidate for the final rotation job, rookie Adbert Alzolay has struggled in two starts, including a three-batter sequence with two out in Saturday’s third that went walk, single and Morrison homer. He has given up three walks, five hits and five earned runs in three innings this spring.
Pen notes: Duane Underwood, the former second-round draft pick who is out of options, bounced back from a rough outing to pitch a 1-2-3 sixth. Right-hander Rowan Wick, last year’s rookie success story, also bounced back from an ugly first outing with a scoreless fifth that included a strikeout.
Warming trend? Kyle Schwarber was 1-for-9 with four strikeouts in three games before a two-hit Saturday against the Brewers that also included a fourth-inning single to right.
On deck: Mariners at Cubs, Mesa, 2:05 p.m., Sunday, MSN, 670-AM, Kendall Graveman vs. Jon Lester.
