Results tagged ‘ Ian Stewart ’
4/28 Minor matters
Drew Carpenter gave up eight runs on nine hits over three innings in Iowa’s 13-2 loss to Omaha on Saturday. Logan Watkins had two hits and one RBIs, and Brett Jackson hit a RBI double. Ian Stewart was 0-for-3, and made an error in the ninth game of his rehab assignment.
On Sunday, Ryan Sweeney, Brett Jackson, Brent Lillibridge, and Brian Bogusevic each hit home runs to power Iowa to a 10-6 win over Omaha. Lillibridge and Bogusevic were both 3-for-4, and Bogusevic finished with three RBIs. Brooks Raley picked up the win, giving up four runs on six hits over six innings. Logan Watkins got it started for Iowa with a leadoff triple, and he scored on Jackson’s groundout. After Ian Stewart walked, Sweeney hit a two-run home run. Iowa added four more runs in the second on Jackson’s two-run homer and Bogusevic’s two-run single.
Tennessee’s games against Pensacola Saturday and Sunday were postponed because of weather. The Smokies will try to play a doubleheader on Monday.
Austin Kirk gave up four runs on seven hits over five innings in Daytona’s 5-1 loss to Lakeland. John Andreoli and Ben Carhart each had two hits.
Tayler Scott gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings in Kane County’s 5-3 come from behind win over Fort Wayne. Wes Darvill had two hits, and has had multiple hit games in four of his last five starts. Sunday’s game at Lake county was postponed because of rain.
– Carrie Muskat
4/22 Minor matters
Brian Bogusevic extended his hitting streak to seven games, but it wasn’t enough as Iowa lost, 1-0, to Memphis on Sunday. Drew Carpenter started and did not get a decision, throwing 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out six. Ian Stewart went 0-for-4, and now is 1-for-17 in five games.
Matt Szczur drove in two runs in Tennessee’s 9-6, 11-inning loss to Montgomery. Anthony Giansanti was 2-for-2 and Rubi Silva had two hits and one RBIs. Trey McNutt struck out one in two perfect innings in relief. He has held opponents scoreless in five of his six appearances.
Ryan Searle gave up five runs over four innings in Daytona’s 9-1 loss to Dunedin. Jorge Soler extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and was batting .378 overall.
Trey Martin had three hits, including a double, and drove in a run in Kane County’s 7-6 win over Peoria. Rock Shoulders had two hits, including a double, and Dan Vogelbach walked, stole a base and scored a run.
* On Wednesday, Cubs pitcher Matt Garza was scheduled to make a rehab start with Double-A Tennessee. He’s coming back from a strained left lat injured Feb. 17 during a live BP session in Spring Training.
– Carrie Muskat
4/19 Extra bases
Matt Garza threw a two-inning simulated game Friday at Miller Park, and did well, although he struggled a bit with what manager Dale Sveum called “pinpoint-manship.”
Garza, who strained his left lat during a live batting practice session Feb. 17 and did not appear in a Spring Training game, was throwing in a game situation for the first time this year. He has not pitched in a regular season game since July, and missed the second half of last season with elbow problems.
“Everything was coming out of his hand OK,” Sveum said. “He was a little rusty.”
His command was also off a bit, resulting in the lack of pinpoint control.
“That’s just the first step to get out there,” Sveum said of Garza, who faced two hitters.
This was the first of at least four games for Garza. Next step will be 45 pitches over three innings. If all goes well, the right-hander should be ready to return to the Cubs rotation by mid May. Garza most likely will go to Double-A Tennessee for his next outing.
* With the addition of outfielder Julio Borbon, infielder Alex Gonzalez was designated for assignment. That doesn’t give the Cubs much depth in the infield. Cody Ransom is the backup at second, short and third, and there is no official backup first baseman. Sveum said the Cubs will rectify that when they add third baseman Ian Stewart, who was rehabbing at Triple-A Iowa. Stewart missed Spring Training with a strained left quad suffered in an intrasquad game Feb. 21, and weather has interfered with his rehab at Iowa. Stewart had played in two games heading into Friday.
“He needs a good solid week to play,” Sveum said of Stewart, limited to 55 games last season because of problems with his left wrist that ultimately required surgery. “He had no Spring Training.”
When Stewart does arrive, Luis Valbuena can fill the utility infielder role.
“If [Stewart] is here, he’s going to start,” Sveum said. “Valbuena will move all over the place. You still have to perform.”
* Kyuji Fujikawa, on the DL since April 13 with a strained right forearm, played catch in Chicago Friday. He threw from about 75 feet, and had no pain. It’s the first time he has thrown since going on the DL.
* Infielder Brent Lillibridge, designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room on the roster for Ransom, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa. Lillibridge was 1-for-24 in nine games with the Cubs.
* Jorge Soler rejoined Class A Daytona on Thursday after serving a five-game suspension and went 1-for-3 with a single in his first at-bat. He was penalized for charging the opposing dugout with a bat in his hand on April 10. Soler had gone to Mesa, Ariz., to workout at the Cubs’ facility there during the suspension.
“He was really anxious to come back, he was excited to play,” Daytona manager Dave Keller told the Daytona Beach News Journal. “I just told him, ‘Hey, let’s go play baseball. Let’s go after it. Get into your routine and get prepared for the game.’”
– Carrie Muskat
4/14 Stewart joins I-Cubs
Ian Stewart joined Triple-A Iowa on Sunday to begin a rehab assignment. He has been recovering from a left quad strain suffered Feb. 21 in an intrasquad game. Acquired from the Rockies along with Minor League pitcher Casey Weathers, Stewart was limited to 55 games last season by a wrist injury. He had surgery on his wrist, and has reported no problems with that.
– Carrie Muskat
4/12 Clevenger starts at 3B; Stewart progressing
Steve Clevenger was a middle infielder before he was converted to catcher in the Cubs’ Minor League system, but on Friday, he was back at third base. Clevenger got the start against the Giants’ Matt Cain as the Cubs tried to overload the lineup with left-handed hitters.
“I got my ground balls in,” Clevenger said. “I feel very comfortable over there. I played infield when I was first drafted. It’s nothing new to me, just getting the reps.”
He did play infield this spring than in the past. Last year, Clevenger won a spot on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster as a backup catcher.
“It’s just a reaction position at third,” he said. “It’s basically catch it and throw it.”
He’s also prepared as far as equipment.
“I always keep my infielder’s glove broken in,” he said.
“If he’s going to be here, he has to play,” manager Dale Sveum said of Clevenger, who is the third catcher on the Cubs’ roster. “It’s time to get him in the lineup against Cain and see what happens.”
Third baseman Ian Stewart, on the disabled list with a strained left quad, has been rehabbing at extended Spring Training, and played four innings on Thursday, hitting a couple doubles. Sveum said he expected Stewart would begin a Minor League rehab assignment soon.
– Carrie Muskat
3/27 Extra bases
* The Cubs will say goodbye to HoHoKam Stadium after Thursday’s game. The team has called the ballpark home since its first game, Feb. 28, 1997, against the Mariners. Fittingly, the Cubs will wrap up the 2013 Cactus League season against the Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 10:05 a.m. CT. The Cubs are 132-118-13 all-time in Cactus League play at HoHoKam Stadium over 17 seasons.
Just because the big league team is leaving after Thursday’s game, it doesn’t mean HoHoKam will be dormant. The Cubs’ Minor Leaguers will play there this spring before breaking camp for their respective sites, plus the stadium will host the team’s Arizona Rookie League squad this summer. The Mesa Solar Sox also will play Arizona Fall League games at HoHoKam, starting in October.
The Athletics have signed a 20-year lease to play at HoHoKam, starting in 2015. Among the changes they will make is a new video scoreboard, wider seats, and a bigger clubhouse. The Cubs are moving to a new facility, currently being built in west Mesa at the intersection of highways 101 and 202, and scheduled to be ready for 2014 Spring Training.
* Outfielder Brett Jackson played in a Minor League game Wednesday, and got some at-bats. Jackson, sidelined with a strained right shoulder, was expected to play four or five innings on Thursday. He will open the season at Triple-A Iowa.
* Third baseman Ian Stewart expects to take batting practice on Friday. He will remain in Arizona and continue his rehab here from a sore left quad.
* The Cubs did claim right-handed pitcher Guillermo Moscoso off waivers from the Blue Jays in their continued search for bullpen help. But they won’t see the pitcher in the final exhibition games. Moscoso is not guaranteed a spot on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster, but is an option for the pen. The team did tell right-hander Cory Wade, one of the in-house candidates, that he will not make the 25-man roster. That leaves lefty Hisanori Takahashi in camp, but the Cubs are still monitoring the waiver wire.
To make room for Moscoso on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Arodys Vizcaino was placed on the 60-day disabled list. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Takahashi is a non-roster invitee, and the Cubs would need to open a spot on the 40-man for him as well. The lefty has given up six earned runs on 16 hits and four walks over 15 1/3 innings this spring.
* The Cubs also have yet to finalize the position players on the roster. Steve Clevenger is in the same situation as Takahashi. He’s the last in-house candidate.
“It’s a little weird not knowing what your fate is,” said Clevenger, who made the Opening Day roster last year as a backup catcher. “I put stuff on the truck [going to Chicago]. I’m getting ready to head north, and if they tell me different, they’ll have to send it to me.
“It’s a little weird,” he said. “It’s a little nerve-racking, too. At least I’m making them make a decision rather than be already down in the Minor League camp.”
– Carrie Muskat
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