Fly the T: Cubs battle back for draw against Reds |
MESA - There are many strange things that happen during Spring Training, and one of those is ties. For the better part of three games, the Cubs offense was lifeless as they were shut out in back-to-back games and then were held scoreless through seven more innings against the Cincinnati Reds.
That was until the Kids came through to lead the comeback, which was sparked by a fourth-run eighth inning. Throw in two more runs in the ninth, including the game-tying double from Pete Crow-Armstrong, and the Cubs rallied from six down to tie things up 6-6 with Matt Shaw at the plate. Looking for a chance to play hero, Shaw was unable to come through as he struck out to end the ninth as the two teams settled for the tie. In what could be a very heated rivalry this season with the Reds talking some smack to begin the Spring, it was a matchup of two former aces on the mound as Frankie Montas took on Kyle Hendricks for their first Spring starts. For the most part, both pitchers did what they were supposed to do in their two innings of work, but Hendricks allowed a second-inning run that put the Cubs behind again, 1-0. That came in the second inning as Will Benson legged out a one-out triple to set the Reds offense up before coming home on the Nick Martini sacrifice fly. For as much as the Cubs offense has struggled recently, the pitching has been much better, as that was the lone run for most of this game. Following the outing from Hendricks, Craig Counsell used Adbert Alzolay and Julian Merryweather for the first time as they are looking to build off an incredible 2023 season. Both are expected to anchor the back of the pen again this season, and after going six up six down, they appear to be ready to deliver again. The same can be said about Connor Phillips, who matched those pitch for pitch to keep the Cubs off the board through four. Both bullpens continued to deliver across the next two innings, with Carl Edwards Jr and Jose Cuas delivering a scoreless fifth and sixth while Tony Santilan and Zach Maxwell did the same. Still holding their 1-0 lead in the seventh, the Reds offense finally broke through again, and this time it came against Mark Leiter Jr. Also making his first appearance of the spring, Leiter Jr had the best year of his career in 2023 and will once again be called on a ton. Tuesday wasn't one of his better outings, which will be something to watch as spring continues. Jacob Hurtubise led the top half of the seventh off with a walk before swiping second to put himself in scoring position. That proved costly for the Cubs as Benson doubled him home to make things 2-0 before he came around to score on the Daniel Vellojin single to push that lead to 3-0. Leiter Jr finished that inning without any further damage, but the damage was done with the Cubs trailing 3-0. Looking for their first run in three games, a leadoff double by Crow-Armstrong to begin the seventh was a great start, but he would be left stranded. That allowed the Reds to extend their lead against Sam McWilliams in the eighth, as he didn't look good on Tuesday. With Edwin Arroyo using a one-out double to set the offense up, the walk to Erik Gonzalez put a pair of runners on base. That was followed by a Hurtubise single, and another run scored to make things 4-0. The Reds lead would grow to 6-0 shortly after as a sacrifice fly and Conner Capel double kept the line moving and had the Cubs searching for answers. It may have taken eight innings for the Cubs to score, but better late than never, as their patient approach at the plate paid off. What started with a leadoff hit by pitch to Brennen Davis was followed by a pair of walks by Bryce Windham and Luiz Vazquez as the Cubs had the bases loaded with no outs. That set the stage for one of the biggest stars from the Arizona Fall League as James Triantos came through with the clutch hit the team has been searching for as his RBI single made things 6-2. Another walk by Christian Franklin loaded the bases once again, but after the Crow-Armstrong double play, the Cubs had two outs and were in danger of wasting another scoring chance. That was until Matt Shaw came through with an RBI triple as two more runs came across to score to pull the Cubs within 6-4. .@Cubs 2023 first-round pick Matt Shaw with a 2-run triple! pic.twitter.com/sjVTF8fFxL That was the momentum swing the Cubs were looking for, as a scoreless ninth from Blake Weiman put the Cubs in control of their destiny with three outs to go. Looking to go to work against Jake Gazzo, Davis started the inning off with a bang as his opposite field double set the Cubs offense up with no outs. That was followed by a blood single from Windham as the Cubs had runners on the corners with no outs. Like in the eighth, it was the bottom of the order that got things rolling, and after the Vazquez sacrifice fly made things 6-5, that was the case again. Trailing by one and down to their final out, Franklin kept the inning alive as his single put runners on first and second and had Crow-Armstrong coming to the dish. Looking to play hero for the first time in his Cubs career, PCA swung and missed at the first two pitches he saw before dropping down to flare one out to left. Despite the diving attempt in left, Crow-Armstrong would see his ball hit the ground as the Cubs battled back to tie things up 6-6. Chicago had a chance to win with Shaw at the plate, but his strikeout ended the inning and the game as the Cubs battled back to secure the draw. Chicago had seven hits in the game, with Crow-Armstrong leading the way with two hits and an RBI. Shaw and Triantos added two RBIs, with Vazquez adding another as their offense finally got back on track.
