Duane Underwood Jr. big-league debut a highlight for the Cubs in the 2-1 defeat at the Dodgers



[ad_1]

Yu Darvish could join the Cubs rotation by the end of the week, and Adbert Alzolay and Alex Lange should contribute in the years to come.

But the Cubs' hopes of taking a series of four defeats and resuming their push towards a Central National League title sat down Monday night on Duane Underwood Jr., one of Theo Epstein's first repechage.

Underwood survived a first run of 41 points, but Kike Hernandez slammed his second run of the second run for a home run to give the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. The Dodgers extended the lead to 2-0 in the eighth inning on Chris Taylor's homerun and although the Cubs scored a point in the ninth, that did not allow them to lose 2-1 for their fifth consecutive loss.

Underwood was raised for a hitter after throwing four ball heats with two hits. His career in the major leagues began with great success as he beat Joc Pederson at 86 mph, but he had problems when Matt Kemp propelled seven throws twice before starting his fourteenth throw. But Underwood escaped when he made Yasmani Grandal take off.

Underwood, in collaboration with veteran catcher Chris Gimenez, showed a fast 95 mph with a 86 mph variation and a 74 mph curve.

After Hernandez's home race, his third in two games, Underwood has retired eight of his last nine batters.

"It's really reinvented in the last few years," said manager Joe Maddon before the game. "He really adopted a new work ethic and he got in shape."

The long-awaited arrival of Underwood illustrates the need for pitcher's depth because of Darvish's injury and Tyler Chatwood's departure for the birth of his first child.

Although Underwood is only 23 years old, he has been in the organization since his selection in the second round of the 2012 draft and persevered long enough and showed enough improvements to start against the champions. in title of the LN.

"His fastball is more consistent," Jaron Madison, director of Cubs' player development, said last week. "He's in great shape as he's always been, he's hitting wood, he's really focused on throwing shots, which is the big thing." He's not trying to cheat the guys or the guys. Try throwing the ball by everyone He just launches strikes and lets his stuff work for him.

Despite the fact that the Cubs awarded him a $ 1 million bonus, Underwood 's career began at a crossroads in 2015 and in 2016, and he was one of the first casualties of the year. 2017 spring training.

In the middle of last season, Underwood had a frank discussion with Epstein about his future, and Underwood responded with 13 wins and 138 innings – two career highs – for Double-A Tennessee.

Although Underwood posted a 3-7 record and a 4.27 ERA over Triple-A Iowa, he did a 132/3-inning scoring run.

"It's really just about minimizing mistakes, being consistent and understanding in Triple A that if you make mistakes, the ball is flying," Madison said. "These guys are good hitters, so you have to minimize mistakes."

[email protected]

Twitter @MDGonzales

Haugh: Yu Darvish of the Cubs has a solid rehab in 5 innings but tempers the expectations »

Brandon Morrow could join the Cubs' enclosure by the end of the week

Cubs look good one day and terribly the next day. What can we expect the rest of the way? "

[ad_2]
Source link