The Cubs welcomed the Kansas City Royals to Sloan Park Sunday as spring training winds to its conclusion. The home team got big contributions from several key players as they coasted to victory.
Justin Steele made his final appearance of the spring and was much better than his previous performance. He cruised through six shutout innings with much sharper control after five walks his last outing, so he clearly made it out of the water.
Patrick Wisdom continued his tear with a solo home run in the 2nd inning. The Cubs got an ever bigger blow in the 3rd when Dansby Swanson hit his first homer of the Cactus League season, a two-run shot to dead center.
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First home run in a Cubs uniform for @LieutenantDans7! pic.twitter.com/9xe7laBkXW
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 26, 2023
Cody Bellinger added a two-run bomb of his own in the 4th inning to build Chicago’s lead to 5-0. The game breezed by after that and was over in less than two hours. (Box score)
Why the Cubs Won
The pitching was terrific and they had three home runs. Definitely a winning formula.
Stats That Matter
- Really great stuff from Steele Sunday: 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 6 K, and 1 BB. He was efficient and let his excellent defense help him.
- Swanson made numerous outstanding plays at shortstop in addition to his homer.
- Keegan Thompson continues to get outs despite still not increasing his velocity.
- Nico Hoerner returned from biceps soreness and had a hit.
Bottom Line
The regular season is this week and the Cubs showed in this game they have the pieces to be a better team than they were in 2022. How much better is an open question at the moment, but the arrow definitely appears to be pointing up.
On Deck
The Cubs’ penultimate Cactus League game is Monday at 3:05pm CT against the White Sox at Sloan Park. Jameson Taillon gets his final exhibition tuneup with the telecast on Marquee.
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The post Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (3/26/23): Cubs 5, Royals 0 – Steele, Swanson Shine in Shutout appeared first on Cubs Insider.