MESA, Ariz. -- Sean Marshall is making it difficult for Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella to conceal his choice for his fifth starter.
The left-hander gave up an unearned run in 4 1/3 innings of the Cubs' 8-1, split-squad win over a Seattle Mariners split squad on Friday.
"We have a pretty good idea what we are going to do right now," Piniella said before the game. "There's no reason to announce anything. Let everyone compete."
It's going to be hard for Aaron Heilman and Jeff Samardzija to keep up with Marshall, while Chad Gaudin essentially pitched himself out of contention when he gave up six earned runs in 1 2/3 innings the Cubs split-squad game against the Los Angeles Angels.
Marshall dropped his ERA to 0.68 with Cubs longest outing by a pitcher this spring. He allowed three hits, a walk and struck out three.
"He came in competing for a job and he has done absolutely nothing to hurt his chances," Piniella said after the game. "He is throwing the ball as well as I've seen him throw it. He came in here as a frontrunner, and truthfully, he hasn't lost that status."
Marshall, who was 3-5 with a 3.86 ERA last season as the club's swing man when he made seven starts in 34 games, said he struggled a little more than his previous starts, falling behind batters.
"I'm going to keep working hard and keep building on each outing," Marshall said. "I want to be able to breeze through 100 pitches with no problem and still feel strong when I finish."
Triple-A outfielder Sam Fuld led the Cubs offense with two hits, including a home run, two runs and a stolen base. Minor league shortstop Andres Blanco also had two hits and a home run.
Second baseman Mike Fontenot had an RBI single in three at-bats and is hitting .371 in the spring.
One of the positions still up for grabs is backup catcher, where Koyie Hill and Paul Bako are the frontrunners with Mark Johnson on the outside looking in as the guy to spell Geovany Soto.
"It's not as wide open as the mouth of the Amazon," Piniella said of the spot, hinting that decision is close as well.
Hill, who cut his throwing hand in the 2007 offseason in a table saw accident, went 1-for-4 with an RBI against the Mariners and is hitting .364.
"He's like any other guy," said Hill about the competition with Bako. "We know one of us is not going to head north, and you do whatever you can to stay in the majors."
Seattle third baseman Oswaldo Navarro had two of the Mariners eight hits. Starting pitcher Gabby Hernandez allowed four hits and four runs in four innings, including two home runs. Reliever Tyler Walker also struggled, allowing three earned runs while getting just two outs.
Notes
Turns out Aaron Miles' sore right shoulder had nothing to do with throwing, as Piniella suggested on Thursday. He hurt it diving back to first base Tuesday. ... Cubs newly signed infielder Esteban German, who agreed to a minor league contract after clearing waivers from Kansas City, went 0-for-2 after replacing Aramis Ramirez at third base.
