The good: Ryan Dempster continued his strong spring with six solid innings against the Dodgers. Infielder Jeff Baker’s homer tied the game in the ninth inning. Struggling second baseman Blake DeWitt finally had a positive development. His triple to centerfield broke a long, unproductive slump.
The bad: The Cubs’ offense only managed four singles aside from DeWitt’s triple and Baker’s home run. Right-hander Jeff Samardzija, stellar in his previous outing, took the loss after allowing a run in the bottom of the 10th.
Outside the box: Cubs GM Jim Hendry and Mike Quade will sit down for a second consecutive day of roster meetings on Wednesday. A roster pair down could come Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.
Up next: Right-hander Carlos Silva will make his case for the fifth starter spot. He will oppose Oakland lefty Gio Gonzalez in Mesa.
Bruce Levine | email
Chicago baseball beat reporter
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Bruce Levine
Bruce Levine has covered sports in Chicago for over 28 years and hosts "Talkin' Baseball," heard Saturday mornings on ESPN 1000.
Doug Padilla
Doug covers the Chicago Cubs for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN Radio 1000.
ESPNCHICAGO.COM CUBS ON TWITTER
UPCOMING GAMES
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 15-29 | 9-15 | 6-14 | L9 | |
| PIT | 20-24 | 11-10 | 9-14 | L2 |
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 15-29 | 9-15 | 6-14 | L9 | |
| PIT | 20-24 | 11-10 | 9-14 | L2 |
| W-L | HM | AW | STK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHC | 15-29 | 9-15 | 6-14 | L9 | |
| PIT | 20-24 | 11-10 | 9-14 | L2 |
TEAM LEADERS
| WINS LEADER | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Paul Maholm
|
|||||||||||
| OTHER LEADERS | ||||||||||||
| BA | S. Castro | .313 | ||||||||||
| HR | B. LaHair | 10 | ||||||||||
| RBI | S. Castro | 25 | ||||||||||
| R | D. DeJesus | 25 | ||||||||||
| OPS | B. LaHair | 1.020 | ||||||||||
| ERA | R. Dempster | 2.28 | ||||||||||
| SO | J. Samardzija | 57 | ||||||||||
You must be signed in to post a comment