Bleed Cubbie Blue - Cubs vs. Rockies Monday game threadsA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2018-03-05T18:00:02-06:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/168147312018-03-05T18:00:02-06:002018-03-05T18:00:02-06:00Cubs 5, Rockies 4: Court is now in session
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<figcaption>In case you were wondering what Ryan Court looks like, here he is | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs got a ninth-inning homer from Ryan Court and defeated the Rockies.</p> <p id="Twi1RI"><strong>SCOTTSDALE, Arizona</strong> — <span>Ryan Court</span> isn’t going to make the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a>’ 25-man roster. In fact, he’s 29 years old and has played just 124 games above Double-A.</p>
<p id="KTqDkE">But Court is making a case for him to become the Cubs’ emergency injury backup infielder at Triple-A Iowa. His ninth-inning homer broke a tie and gave the Cubs a <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2018_03_05_chnmlb_colmlb_1">5-4 win over the Rockies</a> at Talking Stick in front of a much smaller crowd than Sunday’s at the same ballpark (9,294 on a gorgeous Monday with temperatures in the 70s).</p>
<p id="5VGLN1">Court, who has played everywhere in the infield this spring as Joe Maddon and the coaches get a look at him, is hitting .462/.563/1.077 (1.639 OPS). He’s 6-for-13 with two doubles, two home runs, two walks and a stolen base.</p>
<p id="8HILrP">Yes, I am well aware those numbers don’t mean much. And yes, I am also well aware that Court is doing all this mashing against mostly minor-league pitching.</p>
<p id="wfc9GG">But at 29, maybe he’s the guy who can come to the big-league Cubs for a week or two if needed if anyone’s injured. Court is a Chicago-area native (Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville) and he played college ball at Illinois State. He was a 23rd-round pick of the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> in 2011 and spent some time in the <a href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Red Sox</a> organization (after Theo left). It would be a nice story if he could get a big-league cuppa coffee.</p>
<p id="iKdBud">The rest of the Cubs did well today, too. <span>Ian Happ</span> continued his hot hitting, going 3-for-4 with a single, double and his fourth home run of the spring. Happ is hitting .471/.500/1.294 (1.794 OPS) — 8-for-17 with the four homers, seven RBI and two doubles. As ever, take these numbers with the appropriate amount of caution. Happ’s home run went a long, long way:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ian Happ is mashing today... <br>109.5 MPH Double <br>108.9 MPH HR, 432ft HR <a href="https://t.co/ptm56ojEGL">pic.twitter.com/ptm56ojEGL</a></p>— Daren Willman (@darenw) <a href="https://twitter.com/darenw/status/970773508853764097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2018</a>
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<p id="Mo8NL4"><span>Kyle Hendricks</span> threw three innings which I thought were pretty good overall. He did serve up a two-run homer to <span>Charlie Blackmon</span> in the first, but overall wound up with four strikeouts, three called, which means his changeup is probably working fairly close to where he wants it to be for the beginning of the season. He should get at least four more spring starts before his first outing against the <a href="https://www.fishstripes.com/">Marlins</a> in regular season game 2.</p>
<p id="BdTqIZ">The other Cubs homer Monday was hit by <span>Anthony Rizzo</span>, his second of the spring, and it didn’t have great distance, but look at the height of the arc:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Cubs</a> Anthony RIzzo's dinger in the 3rd. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StatcastST?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StatcastST</a> <a href="https://t.co/Zs7SNG2Ngv">pic.twitter.com/Zs7SNG2Ngv</a></p>— Daren Willman (@darenw) <a href="https://twitter.com/darenw/status/970767986645766145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 5, 2018</a>
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<p id="hBil2U"><span>Kyle Schwarber</span> had his first extra-base hit of the spring, an opposite-field double which was nice to see.</p>
<p id="j7X3sB">Cubs relievers did a pretty good job all day, save for <span>Eddie Butler</span>, who was touched up for two runs in his inning of work. <span>Brian Duensing</span>, the only reliever Monday who will be on the 25-man roster, allowed a double to <span>Trevor Story</span> in an otherwise scoreless frame.</p>
<p id="cppde5"><span>Justin Hancock</span>, who the Cubs picked up from the <a href="https://www.gaslampball.com/">Padres</a> for <span>Matt Szczur</span> last spring, made his Cubs spring debut by posting a scoreless inning. He allowed a leadoff single, but non-roster catcher <span>Ali Solis</span> caught the runner trying to steal. Solis, who played 58 games at Iowa last year, will likely be Victor Caratini’s backup there again in 2018. He’s pretty good defensively and Joe Maddon knows him from the 2014 season, which he spent in the <a href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Rays</a> organization. He also has the best beard in camp:</p>
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<cite>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</cite>
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<p id="CZ5NeO">Tuesday is the long-awaited Cubs debut of <span>Yu Darvish</span>, who will be facing his former Dodger teammates at Sloan Park. Wilmer Font will go for the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>. Game time is 2:05 p.m. CT, and the game is audio-only, via <a href="http://cubs.com">cubs.com</a>.</p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/5/17083092/cubs-rockies-recap-ryan-court-ian-happ-mlb-scoresAl Yellon2018-03-05T15:30:02-06:002018-03-05T15:30:02-06:00Overflow thread: Cubs vs. Rockies, Monday 3/5, 2:10 CT
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<figcaption>Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="qPyBsC">——</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/5/17050686/overflow-thread-cubs-vs-rockies-monday-3-5-2-10-ctAl Yellon2018-03-05T14:00:02-06:002018-03-05T14:00:02-06:00First pitch thread: Cubs vs. Rockies, Monday 3/5, 2:10 CT
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<figcaption>Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p id="qPyBsC">Go get ‘em, Kyle.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/5/17050682/first-pitch-thread-cubs-vs-rockies-monday-3-5-2-10-ctAl Yellon2018-03-05T12:00:02-06:002018-03-05T12:00:02-06:00Cubs vs. Rockies at Talking Stick preview, Monday 3/5, 2:10 CT
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<figcaption>Ian Happ will lead off today | Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Cubs visit Talking Stick for the second straight day.</p> <p id="CaUdsX"><strong>SCOTTSDALE, Arizona</strong> — We have seen every Cubs reliever this spring except for <span>Brandon Morrow</span> and <span>Pedro Strop</span>. Morrow, we are told, will throw in Tuesday’s game against his former team, the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>.</p>
<p id="i9o6Eh"><a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/pedro-strops-slow-start-with-calf-injury-puts-him-right-on-time-for-cubs-plan/">Here’s why we haven’t seen Pedro</a>:</p>
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<p id="zfQXD1">Cubs reliever <strong>Pedro Strop</strong>, one of the Cubs’ top setup men, isn’t concerned about being ready for the start of the season after much of his spring work has been delayed by a sore left calf.</p>
<p id="cQtPyv">“I only need three innings [in games],” he said. “Maybe four.”</p>
<p id="CstXJW">If he’s exaggerating, it’s not by much. The Cubs don’t plan to burden the top relievers with a lot of work this spring, anticipating another deep October run.</p>
<p id="QZ8e3A">“I’m almost there,” Strop said. “It was just soreness, and it’s already gone. It’s going to be soon [that I pitch in a game]. We’re just being careful, and we’ve got time, so we’re trying not to rush it.</p>
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<p id="0EmzEl">So, not to worry. Opening Day in Miami is still 24 days away. There’s plenty of time.</p>
<p id="YyfPR1">Here are today’s particulars.</p>
<p id="NIhSkF"><a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> lineup:</p>
<blockquote><p id="GerhRs">Happ CT, Bryant 3B, Rizzo 1B, Russell DH, Schwarber LF, Caratini C, La Stella 2B, Zagunis RF, Freeman SS</p></blockquote>
<p id="qjtsCq"><a href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> lineup:</p>
<blockquote><p id="T9uMqG">Desmond DH, LeMahieu 2B, Blackmon CF, Arenado 3B, Story SS, Iannetta C, McMahon 1B, Patterson RF, Tapia LF</p></blockquote>
<p id="B29vTD"><span>Kyle Hendricks</span> will start for the Cubs. Cubs relievers today: <span>Brian Duensing</span>, <span>Eddie Butler</span>, <span>Luke Farrell</span>, <span>Anthony Bass</span>, <span>Oscar De La Cruz</span>, David Garner and <span>Justin Hancock</span>.</p>
<p id="gxx2Sf">Hancock has not appeared in a spring game yet. He was acquired last year from the <a href="https://www.gaslampball.com/">Padres</a> in the <span>Matt Szczur</span> trade and pitched in 33 games in the organization in 2017, 16 at Tennessee and 17 at Iowa.</p>
<p id="oEOB3k"><span>Tyler Anderson</span> gets the call for the Rockies. Other Rockies pitchers scheduled: <span>Yency Almonte</span>, <span>Mike Dunn</span>, <span>Bryan Shaw</span> and <span>Adam Ottavino</span>.</p>
<p id="6vzhRF">Today’s game is on <a href="http://cubs.com">cubs.com</a> with Len Kasper and Mick Gillispie.</p>
<p id="XAtl65"><a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2018_03_05_chnmlb_colmlb_1">MLB.com Gameday</a></p>
<p id="MNoeEF"><em>Please note that during spring training, Gameday doesn't usually go pitch-by-pitch as it does during the regular season -- usually, it will update after each at-bat.</em></p>
<p id="duh5N2"><a href="https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/2018/03/05">Here is the complete MLB.com Mediacenter for today.</a></p>
<p id="77FG6H">Please visit our SB Nation <a href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a> site <a href="http://www.purplerow.com/">Purple Row</a>. If you do go there to interact with Rockies fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.</p>
<p id="fnbMtI">For spring-training games, we'll have a first-pitch thread at five minutes to game time and one overflow thread, 90 minutes after game time (because I know how you all like overflow threads!). For today, that will be 2 p.m. CT and 3:30 p.m. CT.</p>
<p id="eDrZXV">These threads will <em>not</em> post individually onto the front page; instead, you can find links to them in the box marked <a href="http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/chicago-cubs-game-threads">"Chicago Cubs Game Threads"</a> at the <em>bottom</em> of the front page. There will also be a StoryStream on the front page with all the game thread links, as well as the recap after the game is over. The pitcher boxes and regular-season stats will return on Opening Day.</p>
<p id="v4b9TG">Discuss amongst yourselves.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2018/3/5/17050668/cubs-rockies-talking-stick-preview-mondayAl Yellon