The Cubs got some good pitching performances Wednesday afternoon against the Brewers, but a potentially even bigger story was four ABS challenges made by Moisés Ballesteros, all of which he got right!
That’s a skill that can definitely translate to MLB regular season games. Perhaps there’s hope for Ballesteros to do some MLB catching after all.
The Cubs won the game 4-1. Let’s first look at the Ballesteros challenges. Two of them were on the same at-bat to Luis Lara:
Here’s the first call, and you can
see how close it was [VIDEO].
Here’s a call made while Jesús Made was at bat, also in the second [VIDEO].
And one more, with David Hamilton at bat in the fourth [VIDEO].
Good work by Ballesteros, who’s getting a bit more catching time with Miguel Amaya away at the World Baseball Classic. He also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Edward Cabrera threw efficiently in 2.2 innings and 45 pitches, striking out a pair. Here are the two K’s [VIDEO].
James Triantos went 2-for-3 and drove in a run with this single [VIDEO].
Cubs prospect Jefferson Rojas, who’s been impressive this spring, homered in the sixth, his second [VIDEO].
Non-roster outfielders Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick both went 1-for-3 in this game.
Jaxon Wiggins, who got lit up in his first spring outing over the weekend, looked much better in this game, throwing two scoreless innings, also with two strikeouts. Vince Velasquez, a late NRI add, threw for the first time this spring and also put together two scoreless innings, with three strikeouts.
So overall, a lot of small things were done well by the Cubs in this game. I was especially impressed by Ballesteros’ strike zone judgment.
The Cubs return to Sloan Park Thursday to face the Diamondbacks. Colin Rea will start for the Cubs and Ryne Nelson will go for Arizona. Game time is 2:05 p.m. CT. No TV or radio for Thursday’s game.
