Contreras powers Cubs' promising series win

CHICAGO -- Willson Contreras watched the baseball take flight high over left-center field and then flipped his bat away as it crashed into the empty bleacher seats. After mashing plenty of Summer Camp pitches, the Cubs catcher held his torrid pace on Sunday.

In a 9-1 romp over the Brewers, Contreras' solo shot off reliever Bobby Wahl in the seventh inning soared a projected 451 feet. That came after the catcher launched four blasts off his own pitchers in intrasquad games and then ended Summer Camp with a two-homer showing in an exhibition game against the Twins.

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"Willy's one of the best hitters on our team," Cubs manager David Ross said. "When he harnesses that emotion and puts it into the at-bats and really focuses in on the task at hand, you see what kind of damage he can do."

Contreras' first official home run of 2020 was only one part of an all-around strong afternoon for the Cubs. Here is a look into two more developments that could prove important in this 60-game season.

Chatwood's strong start
When baseball entered into its three-month intermission amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Kyle Hendricks and Tyler Chatwood remained in Arizona to continue their training. They did some throwing into nets at their respective homes, but got together a couple times each week for long toss and bullpen sessions.

"The two of them were together all the time," said Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, who also trained in Arizona over the break. "Them hitting the ground running is really no surprise at all."

The pair of pitchers arrived to Summer Camp already built up to the equivalent of three or four innings, putting each in a great position to ramp up accordingly in the three-week preseason. On Opening Day, Hendricks showed just how ready he was with a shutout of the Brewers.

"Kyle set the bar pretty high for everybody," Chatwood said with a laugh.

Following a rocky opening act from Yu Darvish on Saturday, Chatwood was stellar in his 2020 debut on Sunday to help Chicago claim two wins against Milwaukee. The righty struck out eight batters, scattered three hits, walked two and limited the Brewers to one run.

Chatwood flashed an impressive cutter, especially inside to left-handed batters, and noted that he tweaked the grip on the pitch. He went back to holding the cutter similar to a slider, and the result so far has been an offering that breaks sharply as an effective counter to the sinker that tails away from a lefty.

"You saw those hitters off-balance a lot," Ross said, "not knowing which lane to choose, because it was going both ways off that tunnel."

If these changes can help Chatwood re-establish himself as an effective, trustworthy starter, that could change the perception of Chicago's rotation. That part of the roster is considered a potential trouble spot, especially given the lack of experienced depth behind the MLB cast.

"We all know what we have here," Chatwood said. "I mean, any time Jon Lester, probably a future Hall of Famer, is in your four slot, you've got a pretty good rotation."

The lineup's all-around showing
In the sixth inning on Sunday, Kris Bryant sent a pitch from lefty Eric Lauer into center field for a single. The third baseman's teammates erupted in cheers from the home dugout, knowing that was hit first hit of 2020, ending an 0-for-12 drought.

"He finally had one fall today, which everybody was so happy for," Ross said. "The things that are easy to let slide when you're not hitting is your defense and your mental approach, and he's stayed locked in."

Sometimes it takes a bloop hit like that to wake up a hitter's bat.

On Sunday, the Cubs' lineup as a whole broke free from what had a one-dimensional look over the first two games. Five of Chicago's first six runs in the first two contests came via homers. The first five runs plated by the Cubs on Sunday came by other means.

"It was nice," Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. "We needed that from an offensive standpoint."

Contreras' shot in the seventh did ignite a late power surge, which included a two-run homer by Ian Happ and a solo shot by Rizzo in the eighth. Earlier in the game, however, the Cubs used a four-run, 10-batter fourth inning (one with four hits and three walks) to chase starter Freddy Peralta.

That rally began with a walk by Kyle Schwarber, continued with a double that one-hopped the wall in right-center by Contreras and kept on rolling in the manner Ross hopes to see throughout this short season.

"They're going to continue to get better. You saw it today," Ross said. "Great at-bats. Really out there turning over to the next guy, willing to take their walks, using all fields. Yeah, the offense looked really strong today.”