Cubs 10, Padres 5: Five wins in a row

The Cubs remain undefeated in Spring Training.

Wins, as you know, don’t mean much (if anything) in Spring Training. Lineup selection, pitcher choices and minor leaguers playing half the games are all indications that the games aren’t played the way regular-season games are, and that we should probably discount wins and losses for the Cubs this spring.

Nevertheless, no matter what, winning is better than losing and some Cubs players do look particularly good so far in the early spring going.

Monday afternoon, the Cubs defeated the Padres 10-5, going 5-0 in the Cactus League, and got some good performances both at the plate and on the mound.

The Cubs loaded the bases off Randy Vásquez in the first inning, but the Padres hurler got out of the inning. Matthew Boyd had an uneventful first. Here’s Boyd’s first K as a Cub [VIDEO].

Then the Cubs got on the board in the second. Greg Allen, a new non-roster outfielder, led off with a triple and scored on a sac fly by James Triantos.

The Cubs added another run in the third. Newly-signed Justin Turner, playing in his first game as a Cub, led off with a walk. Miguel Amaya followed with a single, and another brand-new Cub, Travis Jankowski, singled in Turner [VIDEO].

Boyd had finished off the second scoreless, a good outing. He was relieved by Ben Brown, who had an easy third inning but got in trouble in the fourth. Eventually he wound up allowing five hits, including this game-tying two-run home run by Eguy Rosario [VIDEO].

It’s early in the spring and maybe Brown is still just working on certain pitches, but it’s still my view that Brown better suits this team as a one-inning leverage reliever.

The Cubs broke the game open with a five-run sixth. Jankowski and Allen singled, and Jankowski scored on this double by Kevin Alcántara [VIDEO].

Allen held at third on that double, but scored on a groundout by James Triantos to make it 4-2.

Nicky Lopez followed that with a walk, which set the scene for this three-run homer by Michael Busch [VIDEO].

I have been telling people all spring that I think a huge key to the Cubs success this year will come from three players: Busch, Amaya and Pete Crow-Armstrong, all of whom could take big steps forward this year. PCA didn’t play in this one, but Amaya went 3-for-4 and is 5-for-6 with a homer so far this spring. Busch is 5-for-10 with that homer and now six RBI. All three of those players, I believe, are going to have big seasons.

Brad Keller threw a pair of scoreless innings. Keller, a former starter for the Royals, could wind up at Triple-A Iowa as starting pitcher depth.

In the seventh, Hayden Cantrelle’s RBI single made it 8-2.

Tyson Miller entered to throw the seventh. He had trouble finding the strike zone, walking the first two hitters on eight straight balls, followed by an RBI double. He allowed a couple of runs and was lifted after about 25 pitches. He’ll have to do better than that to stick in this year’s bullpen.

Jack Neely, throwing the eighth, allowed a solo home run with one out to make the score 8-5.

Parker Chavers, who likely plays at Double-A Knoxville this year, hit a two-run triple in the ninth to complete the scoring.

Tuesday, the Cubs return to Sloan Park to face the Diamondbacks. Jameson Taillon will start for the Cubs and A.J. Puk gets the call for Arizona. Game time is 2:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network (no radio for Tuesday’s game).