Cactus League: Cubs at Rockies 3/5/13

On Tuesday the Chicago Cubs took a trip to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Phoenix to visit the Colorado Rockies. That mouthful of a name is also where Anthony Rizzo will call home for the first two games of the World Baseball Classic when he suits up for team Italy. Hopefully for him, Rizzo will have more success than the Cubs did yesterday afternoon.

The Cubs pitching woes continued, as starter Scott Feldman allowed four runs on six hits over two innings. He was not stretched to the three inning outing that a couple of the other starting candidates have been extended to in recent days. Instead, Travis Wood came in relief and pitched four frames. Wood faired a little better, only allowing one run on three hits while striking out two. Wood has a starting rotation spot that is his to lose now that the Cubs have made public that Matt Garza will most likely start the 2013 season on the DL, and he certainly did not loosen his grip on that job Tuesday.

Rafael Dolis provided a scoreless inning of work, a nice bounce back effort after getting roughed up on Friday in just 1/3 of an inning.

Feb 23, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Travis Wood (30) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

At the plate the Cubs could have used the above mentioned Rizzo. Dave Sappelt went 0 for 3 in the leadoff spot while the streaking Brian Bogusevic was cooled off while playing first base, going 0 for 3 as well. This comes after encouraging words from manager Dale Sveum that point to Bogusevic earning a spot on the Cubs bench. Brad Nelson and Edwin Maysonet provided some entertainment for Cubs fans, each popping a solo home run to account for two of the three Cubs runs. Nelson hit his off of a familiar face, Manny Corpas, who has returned to the Rockies after spending this past season with the North Siders.

With the loss the Cubs fell to 5-7 in the Cactus League.