MESA, Ariz. — Notes from the Cubs’ 3-2 loss to the Diamondbacks on Thursday:
Mr. Steady is ready
Kyle Hendricks, who cruised through six innings at Sloan Park, said it felt like a regular-season game. Could that be because manager Joe Maddon pulled him even though he had a lot left in the tank?
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Come on, just a joke. Hendricks was terrific, allowing three hits and a run, striking out seven and walking none. And he did it all in 74 pitches.
The Cubs will take that from Hendricks 32 or so times this season, if he doesn’t mind.
Look, nobody’s perfect
The Diamondbacks scored their only run off Hendricks on Nick Ahmed’s line shot that just made it over the glove of Kyle Schwarber. Although the svelte left fielder took a tumble on the play, he fielded the ball off the wall nicely. Alas, he then missed the cutoff man.
A whole lotta nice
A day after facing Jon Jay and the Royals, the Cubs were able to walk to the plate and say hello to 2017 teammate Alex Avila, now a D-backs catcher.
The interactions were subtle but sweet. Albert Almora Jr. fist-bumped the top of Avila’s shoulder. Ben Zobrist gave him a bright smile. Schwarber gave him a tap on each shin guard with the end of his bat.
Then again, Hendricks did strike Avila out twice. That wasn’t particularly friendly.
On deck
Cubs at White Sox, Glendale, Yu Darvish vs. Reynaldo Lopez, 3:05 p.m. Friday, cubs.com audio.
Follow me on Twitter @slgreenberg.
Email: sgreenberg@suntimes.com
