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CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs starter Edwin Jackson is supposed to be a mainstay.

He was the first major free-agent signing in the Theo Epstein era, someone who wasn’t just brought in as a stop-gap. He’s here for the long haul, supposedly to help lead the Cubs into a winning era, if not this year then very soon.

“It’s been a pretty disappointing month from my standpoint -- to myself, to the teammates, to the organization and to the fans, but it’s a test of character,” Jackson said after getting pounded for eight runs in a 13-7 loss to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. “It’s one of those times where you can crumble and fold or fight and bounce back. And I definitely have not been one to be known to fold.”

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Chicago Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija picked up a no-decision in his team’s 5-3 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night after throwing 101 pitches in five innings of work.

Being the consummate professional, he refused to let a cut on his pitching hand from his previous start prevent him from pitching. That said, his high pitch counts that have contributed to early exits lately are troubling to the pitcher.

“You have to take it start by start,” he said. “The circumstances I was under after my last start, I didn’t throw that much in between outings and it caused me to be a little off. I am not going to use that as an excuse. It is my day to pitch and I need to go out and do what I am supposed to do.”

Making it past six innings in only one of his last five outings is not what is expected of a No. 1 starter. But what is even more maddening for the pitcher is the fact he has been dominant in many of his appearances.

Samardzija struck out 47 batters in April, which is second on the Cubs’ all-time list to teammate Matt Garza’s 51 in 2011. Samardzija has only one win in a month where he at times had been unhittable.

“We are just dealing with that pitch count and we can’t seem to get by that one inning,” manager Dale Sveum said. “We just got to the point where we were one pitch away from him going out and getting maybe two more innings. He just unraveled with the walks. Walks are always going to kill your starts.”

Cut finger aside, Samardzija has walked seven men in 11 innings over his last two starts. Getting back to using the fastball is something the young starter is hoping to establish in his next outing.

“You can’t go out there with the fastball I have and thumb your way through seven innings,” he said. “I was working with what I had today. I had a good fastball today, although the location wasn’t great. Sometimes when you don’t have everything (all pitches ) it turns out to be a positive.”

CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs starter Scott Baker started the long road back to the major leagues with some light throwing on Tuesday.

Baker was rehabbing from Tommy John elbow ligament surgery in spring training when he re-injured his arm in mid-March, straining a muscle near his elbow. After undergoing an MRI and consulting with the Cubs orthopedic specialist, Dr. Stephen Gryzlo, it was determined that Baker should stop all throwing for at least a month.

Baker played catch from 45 feet Tuesday in his first activity since the muscle strain, but there is no timetable for his return.

Baker, who had the elbow replacement surgery on April 17, 2012, signed a one-year $5.5 million contact with the Cubs on Nov. 13, 2012. He has a lifetime record of 63-48 with a 4.15 ERA.

ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers talks with Cubs pitcher Carlos Villanueva about his nice start to the season.



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CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs broke a four-game losing streak Tuesday, getting a late-inning rally and solid if not spectacular work by their newly configured bullpen in a 6-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Pinch hitter Scott Hairston's eighth-inning sacrifice fly, gave beleaguered former closer Carlos Marmol his first win of the season. Marmol, who was demoted after blowing a save in Atlanta on Saturday, was relegated to middle relief in his last two outings.

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CHICAGO – Barring any hiccups in the rehab process, Chicago Cubs starter Matt Garza is likely to return to the team in early to mid-May, according to Cubs manager Dale Sveum.

“He has been throwing on flat ground and long toss,” Sveum said. “Everything has been going well, so a couple of bullpens and he will go out and pitch a couple innings.”

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CHICAGO -- Chicago Cubs starter Edwin Jackson had to battle the elements as well as the Milwaukee Brewers Monday in his Wrigley Field debut.

With winds gusting upwards of 30 mph, Jackson watched the game get away from him in the first inning when Brewers first baseman Martin Maldonado's wind-aided triple went soaring over the head of Cubs right fielder Nate Schierholtz.

“I felt like I put myself in a position to be a pitch away (in the first inning) and I didn’t execute that pitch,” Jackson said. “I had (Jonathan) Lucroy 2-2 and I didn’t put him away. That allowed them to get back into the game. I have to do a better job of executing pitches when I get myself in a position to get myself out of a jam.”

Jackson trailed by five runs after two innings, but gutted his way through four more innings without allowing a run in the eventual 7-4 loss.

“I told (Jackson), ‘Just don’t think about what happened. Just don’t let them score anymore off of you,’” said catcher Welington Castillo, who hit a two-run home run, his first of the season, in the second inning. “I told him to let your ability come through and take care of it.”

Although Jackson, who signed a four-year $52 million contract in the offseason, lost his second game of the season and has an ERA close to six in 11 innings of work, he didn’t really pitch poorly in either ballgame.

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ATLANTA -- Injured Chicago Cubs starter Matt Garza is confident he can make a return to the rotation next month after re-joining the team in Atlanta on Thursday night.

“I’m pushing for early May and pushing hard too,” Garza said Friday before the Cubs played the Braves.

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MESA, Ariz. -- One of the major question marks for the Chicago Cubs as they begin a new season is whether opening day starter Jeff Samardzija can be a leader of a rotation that has a lot to prove in 2013.

The 28-year-old pitcher will get that opportunity with both Scott Baker and Matt Garza on the disabled list for at least the first month of the baseball season.

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MESA, Ariz. -- The Chicago Cubs will start the 2013 season with a rotation that does not have a pitcher with a winning lifetime record.

In fact, with Matt Garza and Scott Baker out for at least the first month, the starters all have career ERAs that are north of 4.00.

But the projection for this staff is not all doom and gloom. Jeff Samardzija and Travis Wood appear to be just coming into their own as middle-to-top-of-the-rotation starters. Pitching coach Chris Bosio has imparted some mechanical magic and pitching logic to both young hurlers. Carlos Villanueva, Scott Feldman and Edwin Jackson will fill out the early rotation, all joining the team as free agents this offseason.

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PHOENIX -- Taking baby steps.

That’s what Chicago Cubs pitcher Scott Baker is doing as his spring training essentially started on Sunday when he threw competitively for the first time since spring a year ago.

“Results are one thing, but getting back out there and pitching in front of fans is something I hadn’t done yet,” Baker said after throwing just a third of an inning against the Oakland Athletics. “It was exciting to do that today.”

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PHOENIX -- What initially looked like a deep, if not spectacular, starting rotation for the Chicago Cubs appears questionable at best with two weeks left until opening day.

Freak injuries and slow starts for some of the staff have depleted a once-decent inventory of starters that the Cubs front office put together during the winter. Plan A had newcomers Edwin Jackson, Scott Feldman, Scott Baker and Carlos Villanueva joining a returning core group led by Jeff Samardzija, Travis Wood and Matt Garza.

Certainly it was reasonable to assume that Baker and Garza might take longer to find their grooves this spring. Both pitchers were coming off of elbow problems -- in Baker’s case, ligament replacement surgery and in Garza’s, extensive elbow rehab.

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MESA, Ariz. -- Chicago Cubs closer Carlos Marmol is tuning out the trade talk as he gets ready for the season.

“I can’t worry about that,” Marmol said on Friday. “The boss guy makes the decision. The only thing I have to worry about is be ready every time they give me the ball.”

ESPNChicago.com’s Bruce Levine reported earlier in the week that teams, including the Detroit Tigers, are looking at Marmol. Marmol has a 4.91 ERA this spring after walking two hitters and throwing a wild pitch in his latest outing on Thursday.

“I like the way I threw the ball (Thursday),” he said. “It was coming out of my hands good. I feel great. Everything is good.”

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MESA, Ariz. -- Jeff Samardzija got the good news Sunday that he’ll be the Chicago Cubs’ opening day starter on April 1 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“I am excited,” Samardzija said. “The best thing as an athlete is to work hard and see positive gains from it. That (helps) you continue to work hard and keep improving. You get a little taste of success and you want to keep it going.”

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MESA, Ariz. -- Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza will start the 2013 season on the disabled list after experiencing recurring pain in his left side, the team announced Sunday.

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