Bryant belts first home run in marathon loss

MIAMI -- Kris Bryant launched his first home run of the season, and it was impressive.
The Cubs' third baseman smacked a 1-2 fastball from Marlins starter Caleb Smith a projected 426 feet, according to Statcast™, to left with one out in the third inning on Friday for his second hit of the game. Bryant doubled in the first inning as well.
But it wasn't enough as the Cubs lost, 2-1, in a marathon 17 innings.
"It was so long ago," Bryant said when asked about his home run after the game. "I'm happy to get the first one out of the way and early in the year, too. I felt really good at the plate. I'm pretty proud of that. Playing 17 innings, sometimes it's hard to be locked in every pitch, but I felt pretty good."
Bryant, who belted 29 last season, is already ahead of his Spring Training pace. He hit one homer in Cactus League play.
What the Cubs do need to improve upon is cutting down on the strikeouts. They whiffed 20 times over 17 innings.
"We didn't have a whole lot of baserunners," manager Joe Maddon said. "They got us in the end. We've got to do better than 20 punchouts."