Cubs 3, Reds 2: Brennen Davis injured, Cubs win on wild pitch

MESA, Arizona — It happened in the second inning of the Cubs’ 3-2 win over the Reds Monday afternoon.

Cubs top prospect Brennen Davis was hit by a pitch, one batter after Michael Hermosillo was also hit by Reds starter Graham Ashcraft. The ball hit Davis on the right knee. He stayed in the game, but after reaching second base on a groundout, he was removed for a pinch runner. Here’s what happened:

And here’s what we know now:

Probably nothing serious and of course, in a meaningless spring exhibition there’s no reason to take any chances with Davis. If he misses a few days of camp it shouldn’t be a big deal. He’s going to start the season at Triple-A Iowa anyway. Their season starts April 8, and I don’t see any reason he shouldn’t be ready.

Still, that was not fun to watch.

There were some good performances by Cubs that were, though. Keegan Thompson, who is also likely going to start the year at Iowa (since he has options), threw two solid innings to start the game. He was helped out by this strikeout-throw out double play [VIDEO].

Nice pitch for the called K and nice tag by Sergio Alcántara.

The Cubs did take a 1-0 lead in the inning in which Davis got hit by the pitch. An RBI groundout by Alcántara scored the run [VIDEO].

That was a nice play by Reds second baseman Alejo Lopez, otherwise that’s an RBI single.

The Reds tied the game off Jonathan Holder in the fifth, but the Cubs also got the third out of the inning on the play that scored the run. Nice tag here by Dixon Machado [VIDEO].

The Reds took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on this monster home run by Mike Moustakas [VIDEO].

The Cubs then got two really nice scoreless innings from Eric Yardley. Yardley’s an interesting reliever, as he throws sidearm/nearly submarine. That’s a look that most hitters don’t see and it can be very effective. Yardley had good years in 2019 (Padres) and 2020 (Brewers), but was bad last year. This could be a good under-the-radar pickup.

The Cubs then had their winning rally in the eighth. Donnie Dewees led off with a triple and an automatic double by John Hicks tied the game [VIDEO].

Hicks was wild-pitched to third during Jared Young’s at-bat. Young then walked. Chase Strumpf attempted a squeeze, but Hicks was thrown out at the plate. This put runners on first and second, and Darius Hill worked a walk.

Then Reds reliever James Marinan threw his second wild pitch of the inning and Young scored the lead run [VIDEO].

Erich Uelmen, who was the Cubs’ fourth round pick in 2017 out of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, picked up the save. After allowing a leadoff single, he struck out the next three batters.

Let’s just hope Davis is all right.

Attendance watch: 9,292 paid to see this game at Sloan Park on one of those days the local travel bureaus save to show visitors, absolutely perfect weather. Total attendance for three dates at Sloan so far is 28,867, or 9,622 per date.

Tuesday, the Cubs travel to Peoria to face the Mariners. Kyle Hendricks will make his second start of the spring against new Mariner Robbie Ray. Marquee Sports Network will carry the game using the Mariners’ TV feed, which will also be on MLB.TV as a “Free Game of the Day.” (Previous schedules had this game on MLB Network, but the national channel switched to a different game.) Game time Tuesday is 3:10 p.m. CT.