CBSSports.com wire reports
April 19, 2011

CHICAGO — San Diego Padres reliever Mike Adams is one out away from a virtual perfect game.

The right-hander has retired 26 consecutive batters over a span of nine games. He has retired 27 of 28 on the year.

The lone blemish on his record is a solo home run off the bat of St. Louis Cardinals star Matt Holliday, which came on opening day.

“That was a good pitch, too,” Padres manager Bud Black recalled. “Great pitch, down and away.”

Adams and the Padres got an unexpected day off when Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs was postponed because of inclement weather. The forecast called for heavy rain and wind chills in the 20s.

The game will be made up as a part of a day-night doubleheader on Wednesday. The first game will start at 1:20 p.m. and the second game will begin at 6:05 p.m.

Adams is one of four Padres pitchers who has allowed just one earned run on the year, with Luke Gregerson, Chad Qualls and closer Heath Bell being the other three.

While Black is thrilled with the performance of his bullpen early in the season, he sees something special in Adams.

“Mike has a great ability to continue to improve his arsenal, yet maintain his strengths,” Black said. “He has everything you look for in a late-inning relief pitcher.”

Now if Black could just figure out his hitters.

Dustin Moseley is the quintessential victim of the Padres offense this year, as he has lost all three of his starts, but hasn’t been charged with more than two earned runs in any of them. He is 0-3 with a 1.83 ERA and the Padres have been shut out in all three starts.

“It can be a frustration with certain pitchers,” Black said. “But in our case with Moseley … he can handle it, he’s mentally tough.”

Moseley will pitch the first game of the day-night doubleheader. He was set to start Tuesday night.

Aaron Harang, 3-0 this year thanks to a little run support, will pitch the nightcap.

Cubs slugger Carlos Pena is getting a firsthand look at the unique weather at Wrigley Field, and while the conditions may not be conducive to his style, he said he’s not daunted.

With winds blowing in at 10-15 mph Monday, Pena came up in the bottom of the ninth inning in a scoreless game and crunched a ball to left field that would have left any park on a normal day.

Instead of becoming Pena’s first home run of the season, the ball hit a wall of air and fell into Ryan Ludwick’s glove, short of the warning track, sending the game into extra innings. The Cubs beat the Padres 1-0 in the 10th.

“I killed that ball. I crushed it,” Pena said Tuesday. “Wind can be very devastating. I know I hit two balls that should have been home runs [Monday].”

Pena is hitting just .214 through the first 16 games with his new ballclub, but isn’t letting the numbers get to him.

“I’ve hit the ball well enough to have a few [home runs], three or four,” he said. “I know I’m swinging the bat pretty well even though the numbers don’t say so. I have to be wise. I can’t let that stuff affect my confidence.”

Pena hit .196 with 28 homers last season with Tampa Bay after averaging 39 home runs in his previous three years.

With gusting winds and abnormally cold temperatures, Cubs manager Mike Quade said the wet conditions made it too tough.

“You don’t want to play in weather like this,” he said. “Wind and cold are fine. If we didn’t have the rain, it would have just been another cool night.”

The biggest problem with the inclement weather isn’t actually the weather, according to Quade, it’s the opponent.

“It’s just unfortunate that there’s a West Coast club here,” he said of the Padres, who only visit Wrigley once this year. “Common [days off] are real ugly.”

Matt Garza will pitch the first game for the Cubs. James Russell, who was supposed to pitch Tuesday, will take the second game.

Quade set it up that way in hopes that Garza will eat up innings to take some pressure off the bullpen in the second game.

“We’re in about the best shape we can be in to deal with this,” Quade said of his eight-man bullpen. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

Notes

Cubs RHP Andrew Cashner (shoulder) and RHP Randy Wells (forearm) will both start throwing programs Friday and be reevaluated at the end of the homestand, the team announced Tuesday. There is still not timetable for either pitcher’s rehab schedule or for their return.

HOUSTON (AP)—James Russell(notes) might want to forget his first career start.

The Chicago Cubs left-hander, who got the start in place of injured Andrew Cashner(notes), lasted 1 2-3 innings and gave up five runs as the Houston Astros jumped to an early lead in an 11-2 victory over the Cubs on Tuesday night.

Four of his five runs were earned, but Russell (1-1) said the first two batters of the game were the key.

The Astros caught Russell off guard with bunt singles by Michael Bourn(notes) and Angel Sanchez(notes) to lead off the first and continued the onslaught with RBI singles by Hunter Pence(notes) and Bill Hall(notes) en route to a 3-0 first-inning lead.

“I don’t think they could have thrown two more perfect bunts out there,” Russell said. “We have the scouting report. We know against lefties Bourn likes to bunt. He beat our defense the first one out there, and we weren’t able to get it.”

The second inning wasn’t much better as Humberto Quintero(notes) led off with a double and Brett Myers(notes) followed with a single. Bourn reached on an RBI groundout and scored on another Pence RBI-single that chased Russell just 55 pitches into the start.

“It started off kind of early, and I got some unlucky breaks,” Russell said. “There were some seeing-eye singles and some bleeders mixed in there. I felt pretty good overall, but unfortunately, a couple mishaps didn’t go my way.”

Pence had four RBIs, Sanchez tied a career high with four hits and Bourn scored a career-high four runs for an outstanding punch at the top of Houston’s lineup. Quintero tied a career high with three hits and fell a home run shy of the cycle.

Cubs manager Mike Quade said the disappointing outing for Russell doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t start again, but he agreed that the two bunt singles started things off badly.

“Of all things, two good bunts to start things off, and he never could get on track,” Quade said. “He’s such a valuable part of this club that we will take a look and see what we think. He threw strikes and did OK, but he was hit hard.”

Quade gave reliever Jeff Samardzija(notes) credit for going three innings on a night the Cubs had to use five pitchers.

“I thought Samardzija threw the ball well, and we needed those three innings badly,” Quade said. “I thought he was better tonight. We got through it, and all those guys in the bullpen, it was ugly, but we got through it.”

The rest of the night belonged to Myers (1-0), who kept the Cubs at bay for seven innings, giving up one run and eight hits with five strikeouts.

“He pitched well tonight,” Quade said. “He’s tough. He throws a fastball, curveball, he cuts some balls and mixes in the slider. He changes speed really well. He seems like he’s found a home here. When his curveball is on, he’s real good, and I think he threw some good ones tonight.”

Tyler Colvin(notes) had a solo homer to right field that made it 7-1 in the seventh inning. Marlon Byrd(notes) went 3 for 3 with a double for the Cubs. He also robbed Bill Hall of a hit with a nifty leaping catch just in front of the bullpen in right field in the fifth inning.

Byrd was impressed with Myers.

“He made a couple mistakes, but he was locating well all night,” Byrd said. “It’s one of those things where good pitching beats good hitting all the time. He made pitches when he had to. We would get guys on, and he would locate his pitches. There’s not much you can do about that.”

NOTES: Chicago OF Kosuke Fukudome(notes) was out of the lineup for the second straight day on Tuesday after straining his hamstring making a catch on Sunday. He is listed as day to day with the injury and the Cubs are hoping he will be able to play by Friday. … Chicago signed veteran pitcher Doug Davis(notes) to a minor league deal on Tuesday. Davis went 1-4 in eight starts for Milwaukee last season, but missed most of the year with injuries. Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Davis will be in extended spring training for a couple of weeks and they hope to have him at Triple-A Iowa before the end of the month.

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) – Pinch-hitter Blake DeWitt capped a five-run eighth inning with a two-run double, as the Chicago Cubs rallied past the Chicago Cubs, 5-3, in the middle installment of a three-game series at Wrigley Field.

Starlin Castro went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored for the Cubs, who lost, 6-3, in the season opener on Friday. Alfonso Soriano drove in a run and scored.

Carlos Zambrano went six-plus innings in the start, allowing three runs on five hits. He also had four strikeouts and three walks before leaving in the seventh with cramping in his right hand.

“I thought he threw the ball well. He did a good job,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said of Zambrano. “I thought he handled himself well.”

Sean Marshall (1-0) tossed a perfect eighth to pick up the win. Carlos Marmol struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.

Garrett Jones hit a solo homer for the Pirates, who got an RBI apiece from Pedro Alvarez and Neil Walker.

Paul Maholm, who endured his worst season in the majors last year with a 9-15 record and 5.10 ERA, pitched 6 2/3 scoreless frames. The left-hander gave up five hits to go with three strikeouts and two walks.

Holding a 3-0 lead, the Pirates brought in Evan Meek (0-1) from the bullpen to begin the home eighth. Meek was exactly what Chicago needed after being shut down by Maholm and Jose Veras.

Pinch-hitter Kosuke Fukudome walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Castro’s double to right. Marlon Byrd then hit a routine grounder to first, but Lyle Overbay misplayed the ball, allowing Castro to score to make it a 3-2 game.

Geovany Soto singled two batters later to put men on first and second with one out. Following the second out of the inning, Soriano hit an RBI single to center. Chris Resop took over on the mound for Meek, but his luck was no different. He walked Tyler Colvin to load the bases and gave up the two-run double to DeWitt.

Marmol did his job in the ninth to give Chicago its first victory of the season.

“It’s nice to come back and win a game. A lot of people contributed today,” Quade said.

Pittsburgh got on the board in the first inning. Jose Tabata and Overbay walked around a pair of outs. Alvarez then singled to right to score Tabata, but Zambrano got Ryan Doumit to ground out to limit the damage.

The Pirates tacked on another run in the third, when Tabata led off with an infield single and Walker followed with a double to center. Andrew McCutchen then walked, but Pittsburgh couldn’t capitalize for more runs.

The last batter Zambrano faced was Jones, who led off the seventh with a homer to right for a 3-0 game. While pitching to Ronny Cedeno, Zambrano was forced to leave.

Game Notes

Pittsburgh won 10 of its 15 games versus Chicago last year, taking five of nine in the Windy City…Zambrano had an interesting 2010 season. After a wildly inconsistent first couple of months, Zambrano had a dugout blowup at U.S. Cellular Field which led to a suspension, anger management classes and a demotion to the bullpen. The Venezuelan right-hander returned to the rotation with success, though, going 8-0 over his final 11 starts with a 1.41 ERA. He ended the year 11-6 with a 3.33 ERA…The Cubs went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.

The Sports Network

 

Published Saturday, March 26, 2011 9:30 PM

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Andrew Cashner has a starting role with the Chicago Cubs, leaving Carlos Silva in limbo.

Hours after landing a spot in the rotation, Cashner had a rough first inning before settling down to help Chicago beat the Texas Rangers 6-5 on Saturday.

Before the game, the Cubs announced that Cashner will be the team’s fifth starter, leaving Silva without a spot on the 25-man roster when the season begins.

Chicago general manager Jim Hendry said Silva would be offered a minor league assignment, but the veteran right-hander said there was “no chance” he would report to Triple-A Iowa.

“That’s not on my mind right now,” Silva told reporters at the team’s Mesa training complex. “Not at all. That’s like I’m an insurance player. I guess that’s what they want.”

If the Cubs can’t trade Silva and he elects to be released rather than report to the minors, Chicago would be on the hook for his $11.5 million salary this season.

Silva was 1-2 with a 10.90 ERA in five appearances this spring after going 10-6 with a 4.22 ERA in 21 starts last year in his first season with the Cubs. He also accepted blame for a brief scuffle in the dugout with teammate Aramis Ramirez early in spring training.

Texas starter C.J. Wilson left after two innings with a tight left hamstring, but threw another two dozen pitches in the bullpen and said he wouldn’t miss any time.

“I was just a little tight after sprinting yesterday and it never really loosened up,” Wilson said. “After we had that really, really long inning I was unable to keep it going.”

Wilson allowed three runs, two earned, and four hits in his final spring outing. He’s scheduled to start for the Rangers in their opener against Boston on April 1.

“We didn’t want to take a chance on him,” Texas manager Ron Washington said.

Washington and Rangers officials will meet Saturday to sort out the bullpen and a rotation in flux following right-hander Tommy Hunter’s hamstring injury.

Mitch Moreland homered and Neftali Feliz threw a scoreless ninth inning for the Rangers.

Kerry Wood pitched a perfect seventh and Jeff Samardzija tossed two innings of one-hit ball for Chicago.

Cashner allowed five runs and five hits in the first inning, also committing an error, but threw the ball well the rest of the way. The 24-year-old right-hander gave up two hits and faced one batter more than the minimum in his last four innings, retiring his final seven batters.

Cashner got Endy Chavez to ground out to start the game but allowed the next four batters to reach including Moreland, who hit his fourth home run of the spring.

From that point on, though, Cashner was in charge.

“I just got the ball up that inning,” said Cashner, who has a 4.41 ERA in five appearances. “I came out a little amped up, hung a curveball and my fastball wouldn’t stay down.”

NOTES: Rangers LHP Arthur Rhodes was given a cortisone shot in his left wrist Friday to try and alleviate tendinitis in the joint. … Rangers CF Julio Borbon was a late scratch with tightness in his left elbow, one day after he was benched in the second inning of a game against Colorado for what Washington said was a “teachable moment.” Borbon said Washington didn’t see him coming up the stairs to enter the on-deck circle, leading to his removal from the game. … The Cubs optioned RHP Casey Coleman and RHP Jeff Stevens to Triple-A, reducing the team’s roster to 28.

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MESA, Ariz. — Chicago Cubs closer Carlos Marmol believes his team’s bullpen has the potential to be among the best in baseball.

“

We are the best. We feel very confident.

” – Carlos Marmol

“We are the best,” Marmol said.

Depending on whether Andrew Cashner is a starter or reliever, the Cubs could line up with John Grabow and Sean Marshall setting up from the left side, and Kerry Wood and Cashner from the right side.

“The Padres ‘pen was better than any other team’s last year,” Marshall said. “You had Mike Adams and Luke Gregerson coming out, and bam-bam, the seventh and eighth innings were sealed up. Then they closed it out with Heath Bell to finish the game off.”

Marshall and company hope to save the rotation pitchers some wear and tear.

“If we can do something like that, save our starters from throwing 120 pitches, and pitching into the eighth inning, grinding it out every time out, we’re going to have a stronger staff all the way around,” Marshall said.

The Cubs’ bullpen was solid in the last third of the 2010 season as Cashner and lefty James Russell gained confidence.

“That’s one of our goals this year, to really close the door, like we did late last season,” Marshall said. “We don’t want to give the opponents any chance at all to come back.”

Marmol saved more than half of the team’s games last season while setting a major league record for strikeouts per nine innings for a reliever at 15.99.

“We have Sean and Grabow as well as the young guys,” Marmol said. “And now we have Kerry Wood back. We feel very confident.”

With two rotation spots open, the relievers will probably be on call early and often in the spring, as the starters round into shape.

Marmol doesn’t worry about pressure in his role.

“I don’t think about anything much,” Marmol said. “I go out there, get my three or four outs, help the team win, go into the clubhouse, put my headphones on and go home.”

Wood, who returns to the Cubs after spending two years in the American League, learned a lot from setting up New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera during the last two months of the 2010 season.

“He has not one worry in the world when he goes out there,” Wood said. “He just uses one pitch [cut fastball]. It’s amazing. The whole bullpen was like that. It was totally stress-free when the bullpen phone rang.”

Wood is expected to be a calming influence in the clubhouse and in the bullpen. He attributes his success to originally watching former teammate Bob Howry.

“I watched Bob go about his business,” Wood said. “He prepared and acted the same way if he did well or got his butt kicked. He was the same guy every day, good, bad or ugly. I try to make that my approach.”

Jeff Samardzija and Russell may have a leg up on the rest of the staff to complete the seven-man relief corps. Russell showed quality at the end of last season and Samardzija is out of options.

Cashner and Russell will get stretched out with a chance to make the starting rotation.

Can the Cubs really have a better bullpen than the 2010 Padres?

“That’s a heck of a goal,” Cubs manager Mike Quade said. “I haven’t stopped to think about that. I haven’t stopped to think if we’ll be that good. If it is, we’re really going to have a good year.”

Bruce Levine covers baseball for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.

The Chicago Cubs have avoided arbitration with Carlos Marmol, signing the closer to a three-year contract on Monday.

Mesa, AZ (Sports Network) – The Chicago Cubs have avoided arbitration with Carlos Marmol, signing the closer to a three-year contract on Monday.

Marmol, 28, had a 2-3 record and converted 38 of 43 save opportunities last season for the Cubs. He posted a 2.55 earned run average and racked up a career-high 138 strikeouts in 77 appearances.

The right-hander broke into the majors with the Cubs in 2006, starting 13 games. Chicago moved him to the bullpen the following season.

Marmol is 16-19 with 61 saves and a 3.25 ERA in 316 career games.

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