Pair of Chicago Cubs Shine in Rained-Shortened Game Against Reds

The Chicago Cubs grabbed a 2-1 lead before rain ultimately canceled Wednesday's game.

The Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds got four innings of baseball in before a steady rain came down in Goodyear, Arizona.

Here are a couple oftakeaways from the shortened game:

Kilian's strong outing

Cubs starting pitcher Caleb Kilian needed just four pitches to cruise through the first inning. The Reds came out swinging, with the first two batters lining out to left field and grounding out to shortstop, respectively.

Wednesday "unofficially" marked the 25-year-old's third appearance and the longest outing of the spring, completing three innings of work. He labored through the third inning, allowing a pair of hits and walking a batter before escaping the jam.

Caleb Kilian's night is done, as Michael Rucker takes over

3.0 IP
3 H
1 ER
2 BB
2 K#Cubs

📸: @WatchMarquee pic.twitter.com/t5vnS8TEAs

— Inside the Cubs (@InsideCubs) March 16, 2023

The home plate umpire had a tight strikezone, as Kilian's walks were competitive pitches, attempting to paint the corners.

“It’s just I think the confidence has continued to build,” Cubs manager David Ross said. “I thought his command really looked good … The changeups really stood out and then he just looks that much more confident this spring.”

The Anaheim, Cali., native struggled in three Big League starts last year, posting a 10.32 ERA in 11.1 innings of work. He's put in a strong body of work to begin the spring, which is encouraging.

He also made a fantastic diving catch in the bottom half of the second inning.

McKinstry collects a pair of hits

Hitting just .091 this spring, Zach McKinstry needed to get it going. There's no other way around it. 

It's too bad that Wednesday's game was cut short because the 27-year-old, who was in left field again, was off to a good start against the Reds.

In the top half of the first inning, he lined a single that dropped in front of the right fielder. McKinstry promptly stole second base and came around to score on Jake Slaughter's RBI single.

Then in the third inning, after Christopher Morel got on base and stole second, McKinstry lined another base hit, driving in a go-ahead run.

Zach McKinstry, with his second hit of the night, drives in the go-ahead run #Cubs pic.twitter.com/K0srwGT9XQ

— Inside the Cubs (@InsideCubs) March 16, 2023

The former Los Angeles Dodger had just two hits coming into Wednesday's game as he's been looking to lock in his timing in the exhibition schedule.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of good pitches, just a little off of them,” said McKinstry. “I’m going to try to just keep having good at-bats. . . . Just got to keep staying with the process of it and keep doing good work in the cage. And playing good defense and showing them that I can save runs that way. The swing will come — the timing, all that, will come back.”

The Cubs are back at it on Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with first pitch set for 3:05 pm CST.

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