Jake Arrieta made his fourth rehab start on Monday night, but it might not be his last. After three very good outings for Double-A Tennessee (0.73 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, six hits, four walks and nine strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings), Arrieta was roughed up for five runs, three earned, on five hits in 5 2/3 innings for High-A Daytona. Arrieta walked two, struck out seven and gave up three home runs. Reports indicated it was rather windy in Clearwater on Monday night and the wind helped two of the three balls leave the park.
Jake Arrieta reportedly hit his pitch limit with two outs in the sixth after striking out the last two batters he faced. Arrieta was targeting 100 pitches after he threw 82 pitches in his last start with the Smokies.
The D-Cubs won Monday night’s game in 11 innings after Dan Vogelbach scored the go ahead run on a wild pitch. Arodys Vizcaino picked up his first save, and the D-Cubs’ first save, of the season.
Rick Renteria said Monday that Carlos Villanueva would make the start on Friday night in Milwaukee and face Matt Garza in the opener. With Arrieta pitching Monday in Clearwater, he will not be ready to pitch again until April 26.
The Cubs will wait to see how Arrieta responds from his outing on Monday before determining if he needs another rehab start before joining the big league team. Carrie Muskat reported late Monday that Arrieta “will likely make one more minor league start before he’s activated” from the DL.
Jake Arrieta made his first rehab start on April 5 and by rule he can be in the minors on a rehab assignment for 30 days. So the Cubs still have time if they want him to make one more start before they have to activate him.
Kyle Hendricks
Kyle Hendricks put together an excellent outing on Monday night against his former organization. The Cubs acquired Hendricks in the trade with the Rangers, along with Christian Villanueva, that sent Ryan Dempster to Texas in July of 2012.
Hendricks improved to 3-1 on the year with Monday’s win over Round Rock. Hendricks tossed six innings of shutout ball while allowing two hits with two walks and six strikeouts (89 pitches, 61 strikes). After a horrible first outing of the year, Hendricks is 3-1 in four starts with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. In his last three starts, Hendricks has allowed four runs on 12 hits with four walks and 20 strikeouts in 20 innings (1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP).
Kyle Hendricks beat Scott Baker on Monday night and told the Des Moines Register after his outing, “I feel like I’m getting in that groove.”
News and Notes
Arismendy Alcantara hit his first Triple-A home run on Monday night and more than half of his hits this season have gone for extra bases. Alcantara is only hitting .262/.275/.462 but he has six doubles, two triples and one home run in 18 games (17-for-65). Alcantara is also 6-for-6 in stolen bases.
Javier Baez was back at shortstop on Monday night and hit third in Iowa’s lineup. Iowa beat Scott Baker and the Round Rock Express 5-1 and Baez was 1-for-3 with a HBP and a run scored. Ben Rowen hit Baez in the wrist in the eighth inning. According to reports, Baez was checked out and stayed in the game.
Rick Renteria is finding moral victories according to a report from ESPN Chicago.
According to Gordon Wittenmyer, Joe Ricketts was at Wrigley Field on Monday night. Mr. Ricketts has not been to many games at Wrigley since the family bought the team. And really stays out of the day-to-day operation of the team.