INDIANS 7, CUBS 5at Mesa, Ariz.Sunday, March 29
Indians at the plate: Mark DeRosa went 3-for-4, with all three hits coming off his former Team USA and Cubs teammate Ted Lilly. DeRosa hit his second spring homer in the first, a two-run shot, when he smacked the first pitch from Lilly over the left-field wall. DeRosa connected again with two outs in the third, this time launching a ball off the scoreboard at HoHoKam Park in left. DeRosa doubled with two outs in the fifth and scored on Victor Martinez#039;s single. He also hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to finish with four RBIs. George Lombard added a two-run homer in the seventh.
Cubs at the plate: Milton Bradley hit his fourth spring homer with one out in the third, a two-run shot to right. In the fifth, Ryan Theriot doubled and scored one batter later on Bradley#039;s groundout. Reed Johnson smacked a two-run homer in the eighth.
Indians on the mound: Fausto Carmona gave up three runs on seven hits and one walk over six innings. He struck out two. Former Cubs hurler Kerry Wood, pitching in his fifth game, walked one and struck out one in one inning.
Cubs on the mound: Lilly, making his first Cactus League appearance since pitching in the World Baseball Classic, gave up four runs on seven hits and two walks over five-plus innings. The lefty, who will be the third starter in the rotation, struck out eight.
Cactus League records: Indians 10-17-2; Cubs 17-15. The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 13,097 at HoHoKam Park, the seventh time the Cubs have topped 13,000 at home this spring.
Up next: The Cubs head to Surprise, Ariz., on Monday to face the Kansas City Royals at 3:05 p.m. CT. Rich Harden will make his third start and first since he was sidelined with food poisoning. Harden did throw in the Minor League camp on Wednesday to stay on schedule, totaling 63 pitches in that outing. The game will be broadcast on Comcast Sports Net.