The day began quite well for the Cubs' pitching staff, as starter Randy Wells tossed three scoreless innings to keep the game knotted up going into the fourth inning. Chicago's bullpen quickly unraveled from there, though, allowing six runs in the fourth inning en route to a 10-2 defeat against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday.
To relieve Wells, the Cubs called upon lefty Travis Wood, the 25-year-old acquired in the Sean Marshall trade. He's been vying for one of two openings in Chicago's rotation this spring along with Wells and fellow new Cub Chris Volstad.
Wood definitely hurt his odds by struggling on Wednesday, though, another subpar outing for the young lefty. Wood faced eight batters in the fourth inning, allowing three hits, two walks and six runs while getting just one out.
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With the Cubs' offense struggling to muster much against the Brewers' pitching, they needed a far better performance from their own hurlers. Ian Stewart had a nice day, going 1-for-1 with a double and a walk, but he was the only Cubs player to get on base more than once.
The Brewers, meanwhile, saw numerous solid offensive performances. New starting shortstop Alex Gonzalez was a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk, and catcher George Kottaras had a pair of doubles and 5 RBI.
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