Giants 4, Cubs 8, Brennen Davis makes his point
You are aware that injuries occurred. Over the course of the previous two seasons, Davis appeared in just 124 games and batted just.192/.298/.303 with 10 home homers.
At the age of 24, Davis lost his spot on MLB top prospect lists after being passed over by multiple players on the Cubs prospect list and lacking any MLB experience.
Therefore, this spring represents one of his final opportunities to prove to the brass that he still has what it takes to play in Major League Baseball.
That Saturday afternoon against the Giants, he certainly did. With two singles and a home run, Davis contributed to the Cubs’ 8–4 victory over San Francisco. Matt Mervis singled and Jorge Alfaro was hit by a pitch in the second inning. Miles Mastrobuoni placed runners on first and third after forcing a play, and Mastrobuoni then swiped second.
Drew Smyly tossed two shutout innings in his pitching debut. He had some command issues and gave two walks, but I felt that plate umpire Alfonso Marquez gave him a bad call on a couple of very nice-looking breaking balls. Ben Brown also issued one walk in two innings of relief without giving up any runs. Luke Little tossed a scoreless fifth and struck out one, showing promise as a valuable member of this year’s bullpen.
In 29 games during his brief stint in Myrtle Beach in 2023, Bateman batted.298/.431/.327 with 11 stolen bases. It’s likely that he will return there this year.
In the last innings, two more Cubs scored home runs. With a man on base, veteran MLB player David Bote went deep in the eighth inning. Chase Strumpf, the Cubs’ second-round pick in 2019 out of UCLA, hasn’t had many opportunities to play in the major leagues, so he homered in the ninth to wrap up the scoring for the team. Regretfully, I am unable to provide you with a video of these.
That concludes the Cubs’ noteworthy performances in this game. Following 13 strikeouts on Friday, Cubs pitchers struck out just four and walked six. In the ninth inning during garbage time, three Giants runs were scored off of a couple of minor leaguers.
All in all, though, the boys in blue had a good day (yes, even with their new, hideous clothes). It remains to be seen if Davis can fit into the Cubs’ 26-man roster. He did, however, seem good in the practice match today.
The Cubs will host the Padres at Sloan Park on Sunday. For the Cubs, Javier Assad will get the start, while Randy Vasquez will start for San Diego. The Marquee Sports Network will provide TV coverage of the game, which begins at 2:05 p.m. CT.