MESA – Greg Smith’s fatigue was understandable.
Smith pitched three innings in the Colorado Rockies’ 9-8 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in his first Cactus League game since March 3 after being sidelined with flulike symptoms.
“I felt OK,” Smith said. “I didn’t feel weak, but I did get a little tired toward the end.”
The left-hander allowed four runs, three earned, and seven hits. He struck out two and walked two.
Chicago picked up two runs in the first. Derrek Lee hit an RBI single and Aramis Ramirez had a sacrifice fly.
“In the first inning I felt like I made some pitches, but they had some hits with a bloop over second or a broken-bat hit,” Smith said.
“As the game went on, I felt good, but then I would leave a breaking ball up, or leave a change up, and that’s when I started getting a little tired. It wasn’t as crisp as I wanted to be later.”
Dan Ortmeier hit a two-run homer for Colorado in the loss.