{"id":2296400,"date":"2026-02-23T22:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2296400"},"modified":"2026-02-23T22:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:42:15","slug":"cubs-3-royals-2-jefferson-rojas-homers-in-the-cubs-first-spring-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/cubs-3-royals-2-jefferson-rojas-homers-in-the-cubs-first-spring-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Cubs 3, Royals 2: Jefferson Rojas homers in the Cubs\u2019 first spring win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"\">This is going to be an old-school recap, because I do not have any video of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/gameday\/cubs-vs-royals\/2026\/02\/23\/831927\/final\/box\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:the Cubs\u2019 3-2 win over the Royals;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">the Cubs\u2019 3-2 win over the Royals<\/a> to show you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">So you\u2019ll have to deal with descriptions, and a few MLB Gameday graphics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Ben Brown threw the first two innings for the Cubs. It was a good outing. He allowed two hits, no runs and struck out three.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Here is one of the strikeouts, of Salvador Perez. Brown stuck with his fastball and curve, and check out some of the velocity:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">Hopefully, Brown will begin to mix in some of the other pitches he says he\u2019s been working on. He threw 30 pitches (20 strikes).<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Javier Assad threw 1.1 innings and didn\u2019t allow a run, throwing 20 strikes among his 29 pitches, a good first outing of the spring.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In the fourth, Jefferson Rojas gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead with his first home run of the spring. This is an excellent location for a pitch to hit and Rojas did not miss:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"1130\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/BK5FX3uXu4ltlrr2Icyvsg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTExMzA7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/sb_nation_articles_115\/aae419a145bf99d3e32241c2768aca74\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">The Cubs scored two more runs in the fifth off former Cubs No. 1 draft pick (2017) Alex Lange, thanks in part to an error from the usually sure-handed Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. James Triantos singled in both runs. Triantos and Scott Kingery also stole bases in that inning.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">There were a number of ABS challenges in this game and here\u2019s one made by Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel. The call on the field was strike three and it was confirmed. As you can see, it was close, but a strike:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><img alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"1000\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"standard-img\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/l8qSnc7BnmLTAhZwT3mosg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTEwMDA7Y2Y9d2VicA--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/sb_nation_articles_115\/4c53a474e42021c050d75bc0fd0c3305\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">For the Cubs, Ariel Armas and Justin Dean both challenged and the calls were confirmed, so by the sixth inning the Cubs had no challenges left. That\u2019s fine for a spring game where guys are testing out the system, but in a regular season game you probably won\u2019t see two challenges like that, that early.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Porter Hodge had a much better outing this time than his first time out, striking out a pair in a scoreless inning, with just one walk. I\u2019d think Hodge still has a chance at the Opening Day roster, if he can put together more innings like this.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Ryan Rolison and Collin Snider, both of whom could wind up on the Iowa Shuttle this year, threw scoreless innings against mostly Royals minor leaguers. Josh Rojas homered off Cubs minor leaguer Tyler Ras for KC\u2019s only run.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">That\u2019s about all I\u2019ve got from this one, without any video to show you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The Cubs will return to Sloan Park Tuesday afternoon to face the Padres. Sh\u014dta Imanaga will start for the Cubs and Marco Gonzales will go for San Diego. Game time Tuesday is again 2:05 p.m. CT. No TV again Tuesday, and there will be a radio broadcast online via SD Audio.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is going to be an old-school recap, because I do not have any video of the Cubs\u2019 3-2 win over the Royals to show you. So you\u2019ll have to deal with descriptions, and a few MLB Gameday graphics. Ben Brown threw the first two innings for the Cubs. It was a good outing. He [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2296401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[416711,445003,91466,445009,425860,445002,445005,445008,445001,430682,445006,314436,445011,445007,445010,77699,335507,445004,429226,22091],"class_list":["post-2296400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty","tag-alex-lange","tag-ben-brown","tag-bobby-witt-jr","tag-collin-snider","tag-cubs","tag-inning","tag-james-triantos","tag-javier-assad","tag-jefferson-rojas","tag-josh-rojas","tag-justin-dean","tag-kyle-isbel","tag-marco-gonzales","tag-porter-hodge","tag-ryan-rolison","tag-salvador-perez","tag-san-diego","tag-scott-kingery","tag-the-cubs","tag-the-royals"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Cubs-3-Royals-2-Jefferson-Rojas-homers-in-the-Cubs.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2296400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2296402,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296400\/revisions\/2296402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2296401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2296400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2296400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2296400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}