MESA, Ariz. – Cubs third baseman Christopher Morel spotted Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras standing by the batting cages at the Cubs spring training complex, talking with Cubs reliever Adbert Alzolay.

Morel ran up to his former teammate and jumped into a hug. It was a heartwarming beginning to the Cubs and Cardinals’ rivalry games this year.

The division foes are facing off for two exhibition games in Mesa to wrap up spring training, with the Cardinals traveling west from their Grapefruit League base in Jupiter, Florida. The Cubs lost 6-3 on Monday.

The Cubs will open the season at Texas on Thursday, and the Cardinals head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers.

“Most managers and players are always wary when they are playing somebody right away after spring training games,” manager Craig Counsell said when asked about the division matchup. “But other than that, I don’t think we generally get that wary of it.”

He gave the example of playing the Rangers last week. Opening Day starter Justin Steele pitched in a minor-league game instead of facing Texas so close to the regular season. Only two pitchers who made the Cubs Opening Day roster pitched in that game: Javier Assad, who is lined up to make his first start of the season against the Rockies at Wrigley Field, and reliever Yency Almonte.

“We had a bunch of pitchers a little wary about that one,” Counsell said. “But when you’re not playing [the Cardinals] until [late May] – we used to play them 20 times.”

With the balanced schedule, teams only play 14 games against each division rival in a season, instead of the 19-game slate prior to 2023.

“I guess theoretically, for a starter, you could still make four starts against a team,” Counsell said. “I’m sure there will be a starter in the division that we face four times. But then you if you talk to Kyle Hendricks, you’re like, ‘Does that really matter?’”

Hendricks, who has spent his decade-long major-league career with the Cubs, has made between 24 and 34 starts against each team in the NL Central. Against the Brewers, who Counsell managed for nine years and who Hendricks faced the most, he had a 3.46 ERA.

“That’s the beauty of baseball,” Counsell said, “that cat-and-mouse, and those subtle adjustments that Kyle and [Cardinals first baseman] Paul Goldschmidt are making against each other game to game.”

Taillon live BP

Right-hander Jameson Taillon (low back tightness) threw a one inning of live batting practice on Monday. It was a positive step, as he progressed from a pair of bullpen sessions last week.

He’s scheduled to throw another live BP session Friday. If all goes well, the next step will be for him to get into a minor-league game, but the Cubs have not yet decided where he will begin that buildup, Counsell said.

Left fielder Ian Happ returned to the lineup Monday as planned, after Counsell said over the weekend that his recovery from a left hamstring strain had “plateaued.”

Counsell said Monday that Happ was “on track.”

Roster moves

In addition to optioning outfielder Alexander Canario and right-hander Hayden Wesneski to Triple-A on Monday, the Cubs announced they’d returned catcher Joe Hudson to minor-league camp and released catcher Jorge Alfaro. Last week the Cubs notified the two catchers, both on non-roster invite deals, that they hadn’t made the team out of camp.

Cardinals 6, Cubs

The Cubs (17-13-3) rolled out a version of the lineup that will likely be seen in the regular season, if not Opening Day. Ian Happ led off, with Seiya Suzuki batting second, Cody Bellinger in the three-hole and Christopher Morel hitting cleanup. Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, Michael Busch, Yan Gomes and Mike Tauchman filled out the rest of the batting order.

• In his last spring training start, lefty Jordan Wicks held the Cardinals to one run through four innings. “First two innings was a little bit off line, wasn’t really moving as efficiently as I felt like I could have,” he said. “And then we made that adjustment in game, which is going to be something I’m going to have to do this year.”
• Suzuki hit his fifth and sixth home runs of spring training on Monday, going 2-for-2. He’s been the Cubs’ hottest hitter in spring.
• On deck: Cardinals at Cubs, 2:10 Monday, Mesa, Marquee, Kyle Gibson vs. Shota Imanaga.