Piniella: Marmol had his shot, but Gregg right choice

SURPRISE, Ariz. - Contrary to what Carlos Marmol may believe, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said Monday there indeed was true competition for the closer's job.

Marmol lost out to Kevin Gregg, and Sunday he said he didn't believe there was competition, that Gregg had the job from the start.

"Let me tell you what," Piniella said. "It was all about competition. That I can tell you. I don't know how many innings Gregg's pitched, but he hasn't given up a run here all spring. I've said all along that either way, we win. We're making the right choice.

"I'm sure that he's somewhat disappointed, or he is disappointed. He needs to get over it and pitch and help us win baseball games. And I know he will. He's a good young man, and he competes well. And today he'll get the ball, and we'll go from there."

Marmol took the ball in Monday's 8-8 tie with the Royals and pitched 1 scoreless inning with 2 strikeouts. Afterward, he wore a sheepish smile.

"I felt very comfortable out there," he said. "Forget about all that stuff. Everything's fine. I talked to Lou. He talked to me. He said, 'Forget about this. Go out there and pitch,' do what I know how to do."

When asked about his no-competition comment, he deftly made a subtle shift.

"Of course there is no competition; we are teammates," he said of Gregg. "I'm not going to be enemies with him."

Harden stretches: Rich Harden started Monday and threw 83 pitches over 4⅔ innings, giving up 4 hits and 5 runs. The Royals' Alex Gordon homered twice off Harden, and Mark Teahen homered once.

Harden will start Saturday afternoon's exhibition game at Yankee Stadium and is on track to start the fourth game of the regular season, April 10 at Milwaukee.

"It was good, not the exact result I wanted, but, hey, you know what, it's spring training," he said. "That's what it's for, to fine-tune some things."

Better late: Center fielder Kosuke Fukudome hit his first homer of the spring, a 2-run shot in the ninth that helped to rally the Cubs. Before that, he grounded out three times and popped out with runners on second and third with one out in the fifth. Fukudome also was charged with an error after he dropped a flyball in the eighth. For the spring, he's batting .167 (2-for-12).

Bullpen battles: Chad Gaudin, Angel Guzman, Jeff Samardzija, David Patton and Chad Fox still are left in camp and are battling for two bullpen spots. Luis Vizcaino and his $4 million are in, and Gaudin's veteran status may give him an inside edge.

Guzman gave up 3 hits and 2 runs (1 earned) in 1⅓ innings Monday. Samardzija pitched 1⅓, allowing 2 hits and 1 unearned run while striking out three.