Chris Rusin was a little concerned about his outing Thursday when he walked Dodgers leadoff batter Mark Ellis on four pitches.

“I didn’t know where it was going to go after that,” the left-hander said. “I settled down, started throwing strikes, and just worried about location instead of trying to throw it by hitters because I’m not that kind of guy.”

Rusin did just that, holding the Dodgers to one hit over five scoreless innings. The only walk was to Ellis, and he struck out one, and this was against Los Angeles’ “A” lineup which included Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and Adrian Gonzalez.

“I didn’t know I’d do that well against them today,” Rusin said. “I had movement and had early action and kept my defenders on their toes and not on their heels.”

Rusin could be an option for the Cubs bullpen. Right now, the only left-hander set is James Russell and there are openings.

“I don’t really think about that at all,” he said. “I just go out there and if they tell me to pitch, I’ll pitch. If they want me to throw two innings, I’ll throw two innings, if it’s five, like I did today — whatever they want me to do, I’ll do.”

He got a taste of the big leagues last year when called up from Triple-A Iowa in late August. In seven starts, he was 2-3 with a 6.37 ERA. The only time the lefty has pitched in relief has been in Spring Training last year and this year.

“If they tell me to bat in the four-hole, I’ll go in and bat in the four-hole,” Rusin said of his willingness to do whatever the Cubs want. “I probably won’t get a hit but that’s what I’ll do.”

Last season will definitely help the lefty, wherever he ends up.

“I feel getting my feet wet last year [in the big leagues] will help me if I get up there this year,” Rusin said.

– Carrie Muskat

The Cubs travel to Glendale to face the Dodgers. Here’s the lineup:

Barney 2B
Lillibridge 3B
Schierholtz RF
Castillo C
Sappelt CF
Valbuena SS
McDonald LF
Nelson 1B
Rusin P

– Carrie Muskat

Rookie Chris Rusin gave the Cubs something to think about this offseason when they consider their 2013 rotation. The lefty picked up the win in his final start of the season on Sunday, giving up one earned run on three hits over five innings. He spent the majority of the season at Triple-A, and finished with 173 innings combined, 34 more than he totaled in 2011. He’s learned a lot.

“It’s tough because everything is thrown at you,” Rusin said of his first big league stint. “You really want to do well because you feel this is your only opportunity to make a good first impression. I try not to worry about that. Today was my last outing, and I wanted to give it my all and whatever happened happened, and just have a good time out there.”

After a shaky first, Rusin settled down and gave up one hit over the next four innings. He struck out four.

“I thought I did a better job than last time, keeping the ball down,” Rusin said. “I was a little wild in the first inning and was able to find it between innings. As the innings went on, I found my location better and better.”

Said Dale Sveum: “Rusin did a nice job. He came back after a little hiccup and made some quality pitches to get the hitters out, too.”

– Carrie Muskat