The Cubs right-hander was scratched from his start Tuesday when he went to the wrong ballpark, then gave up eight runs when he finally found the mound in Chicago's 14-2 loss to the Oakland Athletics.
Jackson said he entered 'Oakland Athletics spring training complex' into his Google Maps app on his phone and it directed him to Phoenix Muni, which is across the street from the Phoenix Zoo. The A's are now training at HoHoKam, the Cubs former spring training home. The Cubs current home is less than five miles away.
"It was my fault for not looking to see where it was," said Jackson, who arrived in time to see Cubs prospect hit his ninth homer of the spring in the third inning. "I've had positive outing throughout the spring, except this one."
Jackson said getting to the park late had no effect on his pitching.
"I was already dressed and got here in time to get ready but they didn't want me to rush things," he said. "I came to the stadium with the mindset of being ready. It was a crazy way to start the day."
Blake Parker made the emergency start and gave up a two-run homer to Billy Butler.
Jackson entered for the second inning and allowed nine hits — six for extra bases — eight runs in 1 2-3 innings.
Stephen Vogt also had a two-run shot for Oakland.
"They hit the ball whether it was a good pitch or not," Jackson said. "They did a lot of damage with two outs. They found all the gaps."
Barry Zito, returning to baseball following a year's absence, extended his scoreless innings streak to 11, allowing one hit in four innings. He walked three and struck out two, lowering his ERA to 2.30.
"I can only control how I throw the ball," Zito said. "I got up to 65 pitches today. I hit the mark."
