MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Matt Garza will start the season on the disabled list because of an injured muscle in his side that is preventing the right-hander from throwing, and Jeff Samardzija will be the opening-day starter for the Chicago Cubs.
Garza's batting-practice session was cut short on Feb. 17 because of the injured latissimus dorsi muscle. He rested 10 days and was in the second day of a throwing program on flat ground when he felt more tightness Saturday. He won't throw for the next week.
"I don't sit back and let things happen, I make them happen and keep pushing and going," Garza said Sunday.
"Now we know it is just time. The recovery rate I was on, everything felt great. It's the body's way of saying it is going to take a little more time. It's not a setback, more like I've come to the realization you can't out-mind your body."
Cubs manager Dale Sveum said Garza will get two spring-training starts at most and will miss the first two weeks to a month of the season.
Samardzija will start at Pittsburgh on April 1. He was 9-13 with a 3.81 ERA last season, when he had a 2.39 ERA in his last seven starts.
"He is a guy the players rally around because of his bulldog mentality when he is one the mound," Sveum said. "It is a very obvious choice really."
Samardzija will be joined in the rotation by Travis Wood, Carlos Villanueva, Edwin Jackson and Scott Feldman.
A former star wide receiver at Notre Dame, Samardzija made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2008 but spent much of the next two seasons in the minors.
"I went through some humbling baseball experience in `09 and `10. It put a lot of things in perspective," Samardzija said. "I'm excited. The best thing as an athlete is to see all your hard work lead to positive gains from it. You get some taste of success and you want to keep that rolling. That's where I am right now."
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Wednesday, May 15 2013 11:19 PM EDT2013-05-16 03:19:36 GMT
Jeff Samardzija hit a two-run home run and pitched eight strong innings for his first win since opening day and the Chicago Cubs beat the Colorado Rockies 6-3 on Wednesday night.
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Carlos Gonzalez homered twice and finished with a career-high five hits to lead the struggling Colorado Rockies to a 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.
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Travis Wood pitched seven scoreless innings and the Chicago Cubs came within two outs of their first shutout since last August in a 9-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night.
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Monday, May 13 2013 7:06 PM EDT2013-05-13 23:06:49 GMT
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Dominant early, Stephen Strasburg fell apart after one of Ryan Zimmerman's two errors and wound up dropping his fifth consecutive decision, an 8-2 loss Saturday to the Chicago Cubs
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Saturday, May 11 2013 12:12 PM EDT2013-05-11 16:12:33 GMT
Ian Desmond's three hits and Danny Espinosa and Kurt Suzuki also driving in runs with doubles, helped the Washington Nationals beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 for their season-high fifth consecutive victory.
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There were the four double plays, one in every inning from the fifth to the eighth. Mix in a wild pitch, an error and a shaky outing from a usually reliable reliever, and that was enough.
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