Home sweet homer: Bryant stars in Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Chesny Young, Kris Bryant and Ian Happ all homered in the fifth inning on Saturday to spark the Cubs to an 11-7 victory over the Reds in a split-squad game at Cashman Field.
Cincinnati had just tied the game at 2 in the fourth on Arismendy Alcantara's two-run homer before Reds starter Robert Stephenson served up Young's leadoff blast in the fifth and a single to Kyle Schwarber. Bryant and Happ connected off Barrett Astin, who came on in relief, to open an 8-2 lead.

No one was happier to see Bryant go deep than starter Kyle Hendricks. As Hendricks spoke to reporters in the hallway outside the Cubs' clubhouse, he joked that whenever he pitched in Las Vegas, Bryant hit a home run. Bryant hadn't done so at that point in the game, but then he came in from the dugout and told Hendricks he did.
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Hendricks, who had not walked a batter over 13 2/3 innings this spring, issued four free passes over three innings on Saturday. The Reds collected three hits off of him, and they left the bases loaded in the second and the third.
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Cincinnati's Joey Votto walked twice against Hendricks, which didn't surprise the Cubs' right-hander.
"Votto is my guy," Hendricks said. "He's the toughest at-bat I have, and it's the funnest at-bat I have, too. It's the cat and mouse, kind of chess game with him. I tried to throw some different pitches to him today, see what he had, in and out. I made some good pitches to him, but that's who he is, that's what he does."
The only walk that Hendricks issued that bothered him was the free pass to Patrick Kivlehan in the third following a fielding error by Bryant.
"I was trying to pick [Bryant] up, and a four-pitch walk, that was terrible, and I can't do that," Hendricks said.
Mike Montgomery took over for Hendricks in the fourth, and he served up a single to Stephenson. One out later, it was a home run to Alcantara, which just cleared the 20-foot wall in right.
Joe Hudson homered during Cincinnati's four-run ninth to put the tying run in the on-deck circle, but Zach Vincej lined out to left to end the game.

Reds Up Next: There will be more split-squad games on Sunday -- both at 4:05 p.m. ET. In Goodyear, Devin Mesoraco will be in the lineup against the Mariners, while prospect Rookie Davis tries to continue his strong spring and earn a spot in the rotation. In Las Vegas versus the Cubs, Tim Adleman will also be making his rotation case, with Joey Votto in the lineup. The matchup with the Cubs can be seen live on MLB.TV.
Cubs Up Next: The Cubs will play split-squad games on Sunday, sending Alec Mills against the Padres in Mesa, while Eddie Butler faces the Reds in Las Vegas. Both games are scheduled for 3:05 p.m. CT. Butler is 4-0 in four spring starts so far, while Mills has appeared in three games and will be making his second start. The game in Vegas can be seen live on MLB.TV, while the contest in Mesa can be heard on an exclusive webcast.
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