Jake allows no runs in debut
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jake Arrieta has been working during the first three weeks of camp and finally was able to see the results of that work in the game Sunday against the Diamondbacks.
Things started slowly for Arrieta during his spring debut, and after some loud contact, he was able to retire the side in the first inning without any damage. The 34-year-old righthander would follow that with a quick 1-2-3 inning in the second.
Arrieta allowed one hit and one walk. His sinker sat between 90-92 mph.
“I was looking forward to my first time [starting] for a while,” Arrieta said. “I felt like I didn’t need another [live] BP session to kind of smooth some things out. That’s what this process is for. I look forward to continuing to work through my delivery mechanics over the next three weeks or so. The adjustment is so tiny and a lot of people might watch the video and say, ‘Well, it looks almost identical.’ But if the hands break a bit too late or too early, it can kind of throw off the whole thing.
“So getting out there today in that environment on the road against another team, starting off with two guys on base in the first and being able to get the job done. These are all situations that are going to rise during the season. So it’s nice to get them out of the way in spring training.”
Kimbrel working back into form
The Cubs have taken things slowly with closer Craig Kimbrel this spring, which was the plan. Kimbrel, the leader in career saves (348) among active pitchers, showed some rust during his first outing, allowing four runs on four hits Friday against the Indians.
“You always want the best for everybody,” manager David Ross said. “And it didn’t work out just how he wanted it to go, or I guess any of us really ever wanted to go. What I look for, easy 95 [mph], wasn’t a lot of effort behind the first couple pitches. The ball was carrying in a true fashion. I thought the breaking ball was still a little lazy at times, but then I went back to the video this morning and it was pretty sharp. There were some really good ones in there, too.
“It just looked like a little bit of rust. He felt good. [The] ball was coming out good. [He] didn’t look like he was laboring at all. A lot of those balls — a couple soft liners or the fly balls that fell — if that’s 96 or 97 [mph], it’s above the barrel [and] probably more of a pop-up than a ball that reaches the gap or [goes] where they can’t get to it.”