Notes: Joc homers twice; Hendricks building

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- There are a few battles with Joc Pederson that still occupy some mental real estate for Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks. So when Chicago signed the veteran outfielder over the offseason, Hendricks was thrilled.

"He got me a few times, man," Hendricks said with a laugh on Thursday. "I told him that when I first saw him, when I first met him, when he came over to the team."

During Thursday's 8-6 win over the Rockies, Hendricks was able to watch from the dugout, rather than the mound, as Pederson launched a pair of home runs for the Cubs. That upped the North Siders' new left fielder's Cactus League total to five blasts in seven games played.

• Hot Joc fitting in right away with Cubs

"I'm really glad he's on our side, I'll say that much," said Hendricks, who gave up a double to Pederson in the 2017 National League Championship Series and a homer during the '18 regular season. "He just barrels balls, man. The sound coming off it is just different.

"He's so fun to watch up there. I can't see what he's got for us this whole year."

Against the Rockies, Pederson sent an elevated, outside fastball from Dereck Rodríguez down the left-field line for a first-inning blast. Two frames later, Pederson crushed a hanging curve from Rodríguez to the berm in right-center.

Pederson added a single to finish the afternoon 3-for-3, giving him a .529 average (9-for-17) and 1.471 slugging percentage out of the gates for the Cubs this spring.

"He's having a great spring," Cubs manager David Ross said on Wednesday. "He's fit in real easily and he's a pleasure to have around. And when he's playing like that, it's just, you can just tell how comfortable he is."

Hendricks keeps building to Opening Day

In all likelihood, Hendricks will be named the Cubs' Opening Day starter in the coming weeks. The leader of Chicago's rotation stayed on a path to the April 1 lid-lifter against the Pirates with three-plus innings of work Thursday against Colorado.

"It felt good to just get the pitch count up, honestly," Hendricks said. "I felt really strong at the end there, had plenty left. So, that was a good sign. And overall, made a lot of good pitches. After the first, just missed with a couple."

Hendricks logged 53 pitches (41 strikes) to 15 batters, ending with five strikeouts and no walks. The righty allowed four runs, including three in a second inning that was ended early due to pitch count. In that second, Hendricks was hit in the right arm by a sharp comebacker off the bat of C.J. Cron.

"I should've caught it, to be honest," said Hendricks, who noted he got his glove on the ball first and was fine after the close call.

Strop apologizes for breaking protocols

Cubs veteran Pedro Strop sat down with reporters in Arizona on Thursday morning and issued an apology for his actions over the weekend. Strop violated COVID-19 protocols and was held out of camp for a few days before testing negative and being cleared to rejoin camp on Tuesday.

"There's not an excuse," Strop said. "I just want to take the chance to apologize to the fans, to my teammates and especially to let them know that I do care about everybody's health. I made a mistake. And I want to take this chance to apologize and let all the players know that the rules are there."

A photo (since-deleted) emerged on social media from Friday of Strop with Cleveland's Franmil Reyes and others without masks on. Strop also confirmed he went to dinner indoors that night, leading to the reliever being held out of camp until going through a series of clearances from MLB.

"We've got to adjust to our protocols. We have to do it," Strop said. "I love the game of baseball and I want to be involved, I want to play. If you make those kind of mistakes, you're not going to be able to play."

Worth noting

• Chicago's lineup for Thursday's game featured Ian Happ in the leadoff spot, followed by Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Pederson and Javier Báez (who homered) in the Nos. 2-6 slots. Ross would not tip his hand when asked if that might be a preview of his lineup come Opening Day.

"Look, I feel like I could draw names out of a hat with this group, to be honest," Ross said. "There's going to be a pretty balanced lineup. It is fun to put a lot of star players in the lineup. And when you start stacking it, how deep it gets is exciting."

• Righty Shelby Miller (non-roster invitee), who is vying for a role on the Cubs pitching staff, worked two innings and threw 36 pitches on Thursday. Miller allowed one unearned run on two hits, ending with one strikeout and a pair of walks. He averaged 94 mph on his fastball, per Statcast.

• Last spring, righty Manuel Rodriguez was shut down in early March due to a biceps strain, ending what had been a promising spring for the relief prospect. During his spring debut on Wednesday against the Giants, Rodriguez struck out one and walked three, and reached 99 mph with his fastball, per the stadium radar gun in Scottsdale, Ariz.

• Cubs catcher Austin Romine, who has not played since Saturday, is currently working back from a right knee sprain. The setback is not believed to be serious, but Romine is still under evaluation. There is no established timetable for a return to games as of right now.

Up next

Right-hander Jake Arrieta is scheduled to start for the Cubs on Friday, when the North Siders host the Brewers in a 2:05 p.m. CT Cactus League clash at Sloan Park. The game will be televised on Marquee Sports Network and available on MLB.TV. There will also be a radio broadcast on 670 AM The Score.