Cubs’ Russell looks to play key role in bullpen

MESA, Ariz. — A fragile pitcher might have cracked, or even broken.

Not James Russell.

Last year, the then-25-year-old lefty was tossed into a tough situation with the Cubs.

Russell began the season in the bullpen after a good rookie year in 2010. Things changed last April when two of the Cubs’ starting pitchers went down with injuries in the first week.

Having few other options, the Cubs pulled Russell out of the bullpen and put him into the starting rotation.

Things hardly went well.

In 5 starts, Russell went 0-5 with a 9.33 ERA and a feverish WHIP (walks plus hits per 1 inning pitched) of 2.019.

Twice in that time, Russell started on less than a starter’s normal rest, including a May 22 start at Fenway Park, a noted graveyard for left-handed pitchers.

Although Russell took the loss, he credited that weekend in Boston for turning his season around and allowing him to lower an ERA that once stood at 8.15 to 4.12.

Now Russell is hoping to use that turnaround into a key role in the Cubs’ bullpen.

Russell has said he wants to be the guy who replaces Sean Marshall as the main left-hander out of the bullpen.

That won’t be easy. Marshall, whom the Cubs traded to the Cincinnati Reds in December, had success against both left-handed and right-handed batters, holding righties to a .249 average and lefties to .206.

Left-handed batters hit .250 off Russell while right-handers batted .312.

The way manager Dale Sveum has his bullpen constructed at this early date, Carlos Marmol is the closer and Kerry Wood is the setup man.

Sveum said he has no left-handed setup man.

Russell appears to be the No. 1 lefty out of the pen, with veteran Trever Miller fighting to make it as a nonroster man and Scott Maine and John Gaub as in-house possibilities.

In Sveum’s “perfect world,” two lefties would make it, with the rest of the spots coming from perhaps one of the starting candidates who doesn’t make the rotation and another mid-inning guy, such as righty Marcos Mateo.

In any event, Russell figures prominently.

“Right now he’s a matchup guy against lefties,” Sveum said. “He’s got the ability and the endurance to go 2 innings. It all depends on what’s going on, the score of the game, what they have on the bench and all that.

“He got thrown into a situation that wasn’t conducive to him at the time (last year). He just had to do it and sucked it up and did the best he can.

“But out of the bullpen, he had a heck of a year. He’s turning into that veteran guy who has faced a lot of big-league hitters now in some key situations too.

“He’s throwing the ball great. He’s a great athlete, too, and that helps a lot when you are an athlete and understand different arm angles to get left-handers out.”

If it hadn’t been for that weekend last spring at Boston, Russell might not be around now to get this chance.

On May 20, he came out of the bullpen and pitched 3 scoreless innings against the Red Sox. Just two nights later, he had to fill in for the injured Matt Garza.

Russell gutted out 3 scoreless inning before giving up a pair of runs in the fourth. A leadoff home run by Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the fifth followed by a single from Jacoby Ellsbury ended Russell’s night and his season as a starting pitcher.

He went back to the bullpen and more than regrouped, finishing with a 2.19 ERA and 1.074 WHIP as a reliever.

“A lot of it came from the start against Boston,” Russell said Wednesday. “You look at that lineup. I was going through them pretty easily. I didn’t come out on top. It was one pitch, that home run to Saltalamacchia. You take that away, and I had a pretty dang good start.

“Not only that, just coming out of the bullpen and throwing 3 shutout innings against them. That’s the AL East. It’s always the top of the top of all divisions. You go there and you throw good against those guys, it’s just a big confidence booster.”

Russell didn’t let his experience as a starter crush him. In fact, during the period when he made his 5 starts, he also made 7 relief appearances, giving up a grand total of 0 runs in 6⅔ innings.

“It didn’t bother me,” he said. “I kind of got thrown into a weird situation. I don’t know if it would have been different if I’d get my five days and go like a starter. It could have been worse. It could have been better. I want to be out there throwing. I wanted to be that guy.”

Entering his third big-league season, Russell said he’s comfortable coming in to get a lefty out or going longer.

“Not a doubt in my mind I can do that,” he said. “I want the ball, and I want them to have faith in me and to put me out there in tough situations.

“You could throw me out there 80 times and I face 80 hitters and I’m perfectly fine with that. And if you want me to go out there and throw 2 innings, so be it. I’ll man up and do it.”

bmiles@dailyherald.com