Cubs reliever Underwood finds his confidence in bullpen
Reliever Duane Underwood was on a streak of seven consecutive scoreless appearances heading into Wednesday. That's quite a turnaround from his first seven games, when he allowed 10 earned runs.
"This is probably the most comfortable I've been in my career," he said. "I don't know if I've really (done anything) different, I'm just more confident in my game. Just getting with the pitching coaches and working on my craft every day. Doing those things put me in a real good spot mentally and in my game and it's showing on the field.
"As a whole, the bullpen, we've all been putting in a lot of work. Me as an individual, it feels good when Rossy (manager David Ross) looks to me in those situations."
Before the season, Cubs president Theo Epstein made a point of praising "The Woods," three pitchers he thought brought great "stuff" to the bullpen. Underwood is the only one of the three to make an impact this season. Dillon Maples went back to South Bend long ago while James Norwood has spent most of the season on the injured list.
It's been a long climb for Underwood, a second-round draft pick of the Cubs in 2012 out of Pope High School in Marietta, Ga. A starter during most of his minor-league career, Underwood has been in the organization longer than Kris Bryant, the team's top draft pick a year later.