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I love spring training–the relaxed playfulness mixed with the gradual increase in the tension of the competition as the regular season approaches, pitchers running sprints in the outfield as the game goes on. And one doesn’t necessarily need to be there in person. Chicago fans watching this this afternoon’s spring exhibition rematch between the Cubs and the White Sox at Tucson Electric Park on Channel 9 got an unusual taste of that mixture.
Still, the unexpected aggressiveness paid off when Mackowiak singled the next pitch up the middle and Crede went from first to third. Both came in to score when Cubs left fielder Cliff Floyd misplayed a Tadahito Iguchi liner into a triple. The Sox went on to win, 7-6, after Sox closer Bobby Jenks blew the save in the top of the ninth, loading the bases, then giving up a three-run double to Casey McGehee. Mackowiak hit the game winner with his fourth single of the day.
