Cubs wiggle past Marlins on Bryant's wheels

CHICAGO -- Kris Bryant showed off his baserunning skills, Victor Caratini and David Bote led the subs with two RBIs apiece, and the Cubs did a little tickling to hold off the Marlins.
Bryant scored the go-ahead run from third on an infield grounder with one out in the eighth inning Tuesday night to lift the Cubs to a 4-3 victory over the Marlins at Wrigley Field.
With the game tied at 3 in the eighth, the Marlins' Kyle Barraclough walked Bryant, and he moved up on a wild pitch and a groundout. Caratini then chopped a grounder to second baseman Starlin Castro, who threw home, but Bryant was able to slide under the tag for the game winner.
"He's a great baserunner, probably one of the best in the league, and he shows that time and time again," Chicago's Anthony Rizzo said of Bryant. "It gets overshadowed by everything else he does. His baserunning is something every young player should look at because he does it the right way.
"Kris is quick. You have to get rid of it super quick to get him. It was a good throw -- it wasn't perfect."
Castro took the blame.
"That's the play we wanted," Castro said. "We knew he was going to run on contact. I've got to make a quicker throw. I take the responsibility, it's on me. That's what we were looking for, that's why we were playing the infield in, and that's what we wanted. I've got to make the play."

Caratini, a backup catcher, drove in the tying run on a forceout in the sixth while Bote, promoted from Triple-A Iowa, hit a two-run pinch-hit double in the second inning. For Caratini, it was his first career multi-RBI game, while Bote notched his first Major League RBI.
Caratini also held his own during a brief dustup with Derek Dietrich at home plate.
"It was rather entertaining," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "There was no reason for it. I was surprised. There was no animosity. It wasn't a dirty play, it was nothing. [Dietrich] is out by 52 feet, [Caratini] has got the ball. [Dietrich] bumps into him, play over. It was kind of surprising. I don't think there was anyone who got heated. it probably required more tickling than punches."

The giggles came when Bryant playfully poked Castro, his former teammate, in the stomach.
Jen-Ho Tseng, called up from Triple-A Iowa to fill in for Yu Darvish, who was sick, served up three runs over two innings, including two on Bour's first-inning home run. Last September, Tseng arrived at Wrigley Field to be honored as the Cubs' Minor League pitcher of the year. Maddon surprised the right-hander by telling him that he was going to start, and Tseng made his Major League debut on Sept. 14. Tseng got a little more notice this time.
"I studied more about the hitters before the game," Tseng said. "Compared to last time, I had more time to prepare for the game."

In addition to Darvish, the Cubs were without Jason Heyward, who was placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list before the game, and Javier Báez didn't start because of a tender groin but did enter as a pinch-hitter and stayed to play third, making a great defensive play on Miguel Rojas' hard-hit ball for the second out in the ninth.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Start me up: Tseng struck out J.T. Realmuto on three pitches to start the game and got Cameron Maybin to ground out on his fourth pitch. But Castro singled to set up Justin Bour's home run, which gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead. Brian Anderson and Dietrich hit back-to-back doubles to make it 3-0. Rob Zastryzny, also promoted from Iowa on Tuesday, pitched two innings and five other relievers finished the game.
"I went as far as I could with the first two guys," said Maddon, who was concerned about the Marlins' bullpen. "It worked out as wonderfully as it did."

Time out: Both benches emptied in the Marlins' third after Dietrich ran into Caratini at home plate. Dietrich was trying to score on Lewis Brinson's single to right but Ben Zobrist's throw home easily beat him. Dietrich and Caratini came face to face, and had a few words, and then players sprinted from the dugouts and the relievers ran in from the bullpens. Peace was quickly restored.
"He was out by 15 feet and that's where the play took me," Caratini said. "I didn't like the way he shoved me. That's what I told him -- you didn't need to do that, you were out. We exchanged some words and that was it."

Said Dietrich: "I was surprised we even cleared the benches for that one. At least I know our guys are ready to roll."
SOUND SMART
Cubs relievers did not give up a run over seven innings, striking out seven. The bullpen crew has now combined for at least seven innings in a game three times this season and twice in the past three games.

HE SAID IT
"He does everything right on the bases. He's a really, really astute baserunner. That's not just what you saw tonight, he's shown that from the time he got here. He takes all the facets of the game seriously. He runs out to the outfield [switching from third base], no big deal, 'I'm fine, I can play out here.' That's not normal. Guys of his ilk, guys who've won MVPs, you start throwing them all over the place like that, they might look at you weird, but he doesn't. He just goes there and plays. He's a baseball player." -- Maddon, on Bryant

MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
With two out and a runner at first in the Marlins' third, Anderson hit a grounder to shortstop Addison Russell, whose throw appeared to pull Rizzo off first base. Anderson was called safe but the Cubs challenged the ruling and after a review, it was overturned.

UP NEXT
José Quintana will close the three-game series on Wednesday. The lefty had trouble getting into a good rhythm in his last outing against the Cardinals, and needed 88 pitches to get through four innings. Quintana lost to the Marlins on April 1, giving up six runs over six innings. First pitch will be 1:20 p.m. CT from Wrigley Field. Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen gets the start for the Marlins.