BASEBALL

Carrasco rebounds after being hit in head

Tribe’s pitchers, hitters solid in win

The Indians' Carlos Carrasco reacts after getting hit with a ball off the bat of Darnell McDonald. He stayed in the game and pitched three innings in the victory.

MESA, Ariz. — Indians manager Terry Francona was reluctant to allow starter Carlos Carrasco to remain in the game after he was hit in the head by a line drive.

"We made him pass every test there was," Francona said. "We quizzed him out on the mound and even after the inning we took him up into the clubhouse and really put him through a real good rundown of stuff. It got him pretty good, and we will follow up with him for sure."

Carrasco did persuade Francona to stay after Darnell McDonald's drive knocked him to his knees, and he pitched three innings in the Indians' 13-5 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Carrasco is competing for one of the team's rotation spots. He allowed four hits and two runs with a walk and two strikeouts. He did give up Alfonso Soriano's first homer of the spring.

Carrasco, who missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery, was followed by Zach McCallister and Trevor Bauer. They each pitched three innings.

McCallister allowed one hit.

"We wanted all three to go three," Francona said. "We actually sent McCallister down to the bullpen to finish up. He was very efficient. It was a good day all around."

Bauer followed and allowed three runs — two earned — on two hits and a walk. He struck out two.

"No, not really," he said when asked if he had command of all of his pitches. "They are getting better every time, and that's all I care about."

Mark Reynolds and Nick Swisher each homered, and Swisher had three of the Indians' 20 hits. Lonnie Chisenhall finished a triple short of the cycle and had three RBIs.

"You could see the bat speed today," Francona said of Chisenhall. "It was fun to watch."

Cubs right-hander Alberto Cabrera struggled through 2 1-3 innings. He allowed seven hits, five earned runs, and a walk.

Drew Stubbs had a double, triple, and three RBIs for Cleveland. Jason Kipnis singled twice.

Soriano also had a third-inning double to go with his homer.

The Cubs’ young prospects continue to play well this spring as designated hitter Jorge Soler had a hit and a run in three at-bats, shortstop Javier Baez made a nice over the shoulder catch, and third baseman Junior Lake continues to develop after moving to third base.

"Lake is learning the position, and in game situations seems to be OK," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "We have to work out some fundamental things with him."

NOTES: Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro (hamstring) is expected to be out at least until the weekend. The original diagnosis was two or three days after pulling up while running out a groundball on Feb. 27. ... Cubs right-hander Scott Baker (Tommy John) threw his third bullpen session Monday and will progress to a simulated game later this week. He had the surgery in April, 2012, and probably won't be available until mid-April or May. ... Indians right-handed reliever Joe Smith (oblique) is expected to make his first appearance today.