Cubs still unbeaten with spring win over D-backs

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 6 hours ago

MESA—It's hard to believe we are almost a week into Spring Training games, and the Chicago Cubs are still unbeaten in Cactus League play. While records don't matter at this point in the season, overall results do, and the results have been impressive thus far. From the pitching to the entire offensive approach, this team is dialed in, which is a breath of fresh air after what they showed down the stretch in 2024.

Throughout this winning streak, the Cubs have handled most of their opponents and been backed by a relentless offense that seems to deliver in clutch situations. Tuesday was the first time this Spring that the Cubs' offense was kept in check for most of the game before coming to life late.

Looking to extend their winning streak to six against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, the Cubs found themselves trailing by multiple runs for the first time since the Cactus League opener. They didn't have a hit through three innings and were kept off the scoreboard until the fifth inning. They rallied for four runs across their final three innings to secure the 4-2 victory.

Making his first start of the Spring was Jameson Taillon, who is looking to build off a strong 2024 season. Taillon will play a massive role in the team's overall success this season as he will not only be in the middle of the rotation but will also be asked to give them a ton of innings. Taillon got off to a great start by retiring the first five hitters he faced before allowing a solo blast to Geraldo Perdermo to put the Diamondbacks in front 1-0.

That was the only run Taillon would allow in his outing as he struck out two in his two innings before turning things over to Ryan Brasier and the rest of the Cubs arms. Whether it be Joe Mantiply, AJ Puk, Kevin Ginkel, or Justin Martinez, that one run seemed like it would be enough as the Cubs were held scoreless through four innings and hitless.

Still holding a 1-0 lead in the fifth, the Diamondbacks offense got back to work as Cody Poteet walked Perdermo start things off before the Ildemaro Vargas single put a pair of runners on and no outs. Connor Kaiser extended the Diamondback's lead to 2-0 with an RBI groundout, but that was it, as Poteet managed to escape the fifth without further damage.

Not only did the Diamondbacks waste an opportunity to pile on during the fifth inning, but it was also the final run they would score as Porter Hodge, Eli Morgan, and Phil Bickford combined to toss three hitless innings to close out the game, which gave the Cubs offense a chance. That chance came in the bottom of the fifth as the Cubs played long ball against Kyle Nelson to tie things up 2-2.

That all started with Carson Kelly leading things off with a solo shot to begin the bottom of the fifth, while Vidal Brujan tied things up two batters later with a solo shot of his own. The Cubs kept the pressure on later in the inning as an Ian Happ single and Kyle Tucker put a pair of runners on, but they were unable to cash in with the big hit.

Sometimes, all it takes is one inning for an offense to get going, and with Pete Crow-Armstrong picking up a one-out single in the bottom of the sixth, it was the offense that was set up to take the lead. PCA is one of the many keys to the Cubs overall success this season as his speed and ability to put the ball in play are a lethal combo.

On this day, his speed came into play as he would steal a second before racing home on an error on the same play that put the Cubs in front for good 3-2. Sti,ll holding a one-run lead in the eighth, the Cubs offense was looking to deliver some insurance as Moises Ballesteros started things off with a leadoff single.

Ballesteros would eventually reach third on another error by the Diamondbacks before coming home on the Reese McGuire grounder to extend the lead to 4-2. Bickford slammed the door shut from there as he retired the side in order in the ninth, including striking out former Chicago Cub Trey Mancini to end the game and pushing the Cubs to 6-0 this Spring.

This was only the second time this Spring that the Cubs were held to single-digit hits, as they had a spring low of seven hits in the win. All seven hits came from seven different players, as their balanced offensive attack continues to give teams fits.