Cubs Minor League News |
The Cubs continue to go about their business at the Minor League Level, as the past few weeks have seen much better baseball. That continued on Saturday, with the full-season squads going 2-2 and the Rookie Leagues posting a 1-1 record. That leads to a .500 overall mark, which could be better, but some of the players stepping up is all that matters at this point.
IOWA CUBS 5 - TOLEDO MUD HENS 4 (F/10): In Kyle McGowin's AAA debut, the Cubs found a way to win as they rallied for the 5-4 extra-inning win. McGowin has been nothing short of amazing since signing with the Cubs, and after giving Iowa six innings of four-run, four-strikeout ball, his efforts continued. Although he pitched well enough to win, the bullpen stood out the most. Ethan Roberts tossed another scoreless frame to keep his ERA at 0.00, with Michael Arias tossing a scoreless 10th. However, Keegan Thompson is the hero of the game out of the pen as he struck out five in his two scoreless frames. Alexander Canario was most of the offense for the Cubs as he delivered a two-run shot in the first to give the Cubs the lead before connecting for his team-leading 11th homer later in the game to tie things up 4-4. That came after Toledo ripped off four unanswered runs with homers from Bligh Madris and Ryan Kreidler mixed with an RBI single from Parker Meadows. While Canario was the hero in regulation with his two homers and four RBIs, BJ Murray Jr played the game's hero as he delivered the walk-off single in the 10th to cap off the win. BIRMINGHAM BARONS 6 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 3: The goal for the Smokies heading into the week was to win the series and move into a tie for first. Following their 6-3 loss on Saturday, they can no longer reach that goal but can still tie the series up on Sunday. Trey Supak was on the mound looking to remain unbeaten and allowed just one run through four innings on the Brooks Baldwin homer. That was until the fifth when Birmingham broke through for four runs, which was more than enough to pick up the win. That four-run frame was enough for the Barons as Noah Schultz and Mason Adams combined to strike out seven across nine great innings. Luis Verdugo answered that Baldwin homer in the first with an RBI single to tie things back up 1-1. That score would hold until the fifth when Baldwin delivered the go-ahead RBI double ahead of a pair of RBI singles from Edgar Quero and Tim Elko to help the Barons open up a 5-1 lead. Christian Franklin did his best to keep things close with an RBI single in the sixth, only to have Elko add another RBI for Birmingham late. Mosies Ballesteros wrapped up the scoring for both sides with an RBI single in the ninth as the Smokies fell 6-3. James Triantos continued to have a fantastic series and paced the Smokies offense with four hits to raise his average to .297. Verdugo joined in with two hits and an RBI, while Matt Shaw was the lone player without a hit. SOUTH BEND CUBS 10 - WEST MICHIGAN WHITECAPS 1: The beat goes on for the South Bend Cubs as they continue to be one of the hottest teams in the Midwest League the past two weeks. This was decided late as the Cubs scored eight runs in the sixth and seventh innings to pull away for the 10-1 win. Nick Hull got the start, and although he only lasted four innings, he gave up just one run, which is all the Whitecaps would score. He turned things over to a trio of relievers, including Jack Patterson and Carlo Reyes, as Reyes struck out four in two great innings. For the most part, this was a well-played game, as Carlos Marcano allowed two runs in five innings and nine strikeouts. Both those runs came in the third, with Ethan Hearn stealing home and Jefferson Rojas delivering an RBI single. West Michigan managed to get their lone run in the fourth off the Max Anderson single, as that 2-1 game held until the sixth inning when South Bend erupted for three runs to make things 5-1. Jordan Nwogu started the scoring in that inning with an RBI single, while the Hearn single and Ed Howard double followed suit. One inning later, the Cubs offense broke through again as they pushed across five more runs to make this a 10-1 game. A Parker Chavers fielders choice and the Nwogu sacrifice fly started things off with the Brian Kalmer double making things 8-1. Hearn would then cap off the scoring with a long two-run blast as South Bend won again 10-1. Hearn had one of his best games of the season, leading the Cubs with three hits and three RBIs. Rojas, Howard, and Kalmer added multi-hit games in the Cubs victory as the offense pounded out 11 hits. AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS 8 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 7: Although the Cubs benefitted from a walk-off win, they were also victims of a walk-off loss, with the Greenjackets scoring twice in the ninth to walk things off. Juan Bello continues to work through some of the full-season growing pains as he allowed three runs in 3 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. Considering how the Pelicans backed him with plenty of support, you had to think seven runs would be enough, only to have the bullpen let it get away. Two of the three runs he allowed came in the first as Jeremy Celedonio connected for a two-run homer to make things 2-0. They would add a second homer off the Isaiah Drake long ball in the third, but that came after the Pelicans scored four times to take the lead. A Jacob Wetzel single tied things up 2-2, while the Cristian Hernandez triple put the Birds in front 3-2. Hernandez would come around to score on the Andy Gariola single as the Pelicans took the 4-2 lead before Drake made things 4-3. One inning later, the Pelicans offense was at it again as they added three more runs to extend their lead. This time, it came from a Reggie Preciado single to push one run across, with Cristian Hernandez staying red hot and using an RBI double to make things 7-3. At the time, that looked as if it would be enough to win this game, but the Pelicans' offense stalled the rest of the game, leaving the door open for Augusta to come back. They started to do that in the fifth, with Drake picking up an RBI single ahead of a fielder's choice to make this a 7-5 game. One inning later led to a passed ball pulling the Greenjackets within one as their comeback bid was on. Despite the Pelicans bullpen starting to settle in, Augusta managed to complete the comeback bid off of Vincent Reilly as Drake tied things up in the bottom of the ninth off his second homer, with Celedonio walking things off with a sacrifice fly. Hernandez raised his average to .301 with a team-high three hits and three RBIs. Seven other players had one hit for the Birds, who are starting to play much better as the first half winds down. ACL ANGELS 6 - ACL CUBS 4 DSL CUBS RED 7 - DSL CUBS BLUE 6
