CUBS 4, ROCKIES 2

Bryant hits first homer

Third baseman Kris Bryant hasn’t had the early success of Joc Pederson, Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo or even Nico Hoerner, but he had his best swing of the spring in the Cubs’ 4-2 win over the Rockies.

Bryant crushed Jairo Siaz’s fastball to the back of the berm in left field for his first home run.

“KB is still seeing the ball really well as I’ve talked to him,” manager David Ross said before the game. “I talked to him at length [Friday], and he’s happy with the way he’s seeing the ball. He’s taking his walks, and he’s looking to drive the ball a little bit more. There’s a lot of guys that would tell you that.

“What I tell these guys, I encourage all of them to take risks [during spring training]. If there’s something on your mind, this is a time to try and work on it. So there’s going to be sporadic performance in that. There’s going to be some things that really work out. There’s going to be some things that you’re going to throw in the trash, and that’s the great thing about spring training. That’s why it’s exhibition and we let these guys work on things, because [stats don’t] matter.”

Kimbrel’s step forward

Right-hander Craig Kimbrel has been working to correct some mechanical issues over the last week. MLB’s active saves leader struggled in his first three spring-training appearances, which resulted in nine earned runs over 2²/³ innings.

Kimbrel had a slight improvement in his next outing. In the Cubs’ victory Saturday, he flashed the dominance the team hopes is consistent in 2021.

The closer pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning with two strikeouts coming via his breaking ball, which was very effective. Kimbrel’s fastball sat around 97 mph during the inning and touched 98 mph.

On deck

Reds at Cubs, 3:05 p.m. Sunday, Mesa, Marquee, 670-AM, Tyler Mahle vs. Alec Mills.

— Russell Dorsey