Darvish's confidence on rise after second start

MESA, Ariz. -- The plan was to have Yu Darvish complete three innings against the White Sox on Sunday afternoon. That schedule changed when the Cubs' lineup -- ignited by a towering home run by Kris Bryant -- embarked on an eight-run, dozen-batter marathon in the second at Sloan Park

"Every inning," Darvish said with a laugh after his part in the Cubs' 13-4 win over the White Sox.. "This is Spring Training. I want them to save some for the season. Every inning is 30 minutes."

Officially, Darvish logged 27 pitches (17 strikes) over two innings in his second start of the spring. That does not include the 15 additional pitches he threw off the bullpen mound behind the left-field fence, while the North Siders kept heaping on the runs against the White Sox. In total, Darvish surpassed 40 throws, worked on all his pitches and shook off the nerves he felt in his Cactus League debut.

Darvish sat around 95 mph with his fastball, but touched 97. The breaking-ball command that abandoned him in his first spring appearance on Tuesday -- contributing to four walks that afternoon -- was harnessed against the White Sox. Darvish generated four swings and misses, ended with three strikeouts and worked around a first-inning walk to Yoan Moncada.

"It's just about his own self confidence, building that right now," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, "because physically he's good."

Darvish, who was limited to eight starts last year with right arm troubles, displayed plenty of confidence in his chat with reporters following his performance. In fact, there was a surplus of spring optimism from the pitcher, who said he feels better than he has at any point in his career.

"It's the best stuff in my life," he said.

What could that mean for the Cubs this year?

"I think I can help a little bit," Darvish said with a smile. "That means we can win the division and playoffs."

Worth noting

• The Cubs came to terms on 2019 contracts on Sunday with 17 pre-arbitration players on the 40-man roster. Three notable signings were catcher Willson Contreras ($684,000), outfielder Albert Almora Jr. ($615,500) and utility man Ian Happ ($603,500). The MLB minimum is $555,000 for the '19 season.

• Lefty Xavier Cedeno, who signed a Major League contract with the Cubs on Feb. 14, is dealing with a left wrist injury. The issue is not believed to be serious and Maddon noted that Cedeno recently resumed playing catch, but he is behind the rest of the relievers in camp.

• Right fielder Jason Heyward participated in Sunday's morning workout, but was still held out of the lineup against the White Sox. Heyward was scratched from Saturday's game against the Brewers with an illness and Maddon said the outfielder is still regaining his strength.

• Left-handers Cole Hamels and Mike Montgomery are scheduled to throw in a simulated game on Monday morning at the Cubs' complex.

• The announced crowd of 16,069 for Sunday's Cubs-White Sox game at Sloan Park established a new Cactus League record.

Quotable

"I've always been on the side of the computer for so many years. I've defended the computer for many years. And now all of sudden IBM's turned its back on me, man. It's really hard to understand." -- Maddon, on PECOTA projecting the Cubs to finish fifth in the division.

Up next

Right-hander Alec Mills is scheduled to start for the Cubs on Monday, when the Reds host Chicago in a 2:05 p.m. CT National League Central clash at Goodyear Ballpark. Lefty Brian Duensing is also penciled in to pitch for the Cubs. Righty Tony Santillan is slated to start for Cincinnati. An audio broadcast of the game will be available on cubs.com.