GLENDALE, Ariz. — Right-hander Javier Assad wasn’t originally scheduled to start Sunday, but he took the ball after the Cubs scratched lefty Justin Steel due to what they called general arm fatigue.
Then, Assad retired six straight batters in his two innings on the mound.
“It’s early in spring, sure, but there’s things that you can see that are just going to continue to translate over,” catcher Tucker Barnhart said after the Cubs’ 9-4 loss to the Dodgers. “Whether it’s the fastball playing up in the strike zone, the slider being good down, the action on the slider being good – whether it’s early in spring or not, those things translate, for sure.