Cubs Minor League News: Ballesteros raking, Biggie impressive, Alcantara still hot, more |
Now that we have reached the middle of the week, it will be nothing but a full slate of Minor League action from here on out. That means as long as weather is permitting there will be seven or eight games the next few days the second half of the season is now in full swing.
For the Cubs, things have gotten off to a great start this week. They have posted more wins this week than any of their past three weeks. That is always a good sign, especially for a team expecting to be sellers at the deadline. The Cubs continued to do their thing by going 2-3 on the night.
The Cubs have had a rough week, and that continued with another loss to the Indians on Thursday. That makes three losses in three games, as another big inning paved the way for the win. The starting pitching is one of the big reasons for the Cubs' struggles this week, and that continued with another rough outing from Riley Thompson. After getting off to a great start, Thompson was lit up for four runs in the third inning and was charged with three earned runs in his outing. He gave way to a plethora of relievers, including Hunter Bigge, who lowered his ERA to 0.68 with another scoreless outing. Opposing Thompson was Mike Burrows, who allowed just one run in four innings with five strikeouts. With things tied 0-0 entering the third, the Indians offense broke out in a big way as a Jake Lamb double opened the scoring and put the Indians in front for good 2-0. That double was followed by a Malcolm Nunez single as the Cubs were now in a 4-0 hole. Iowa did their best to battle back in the bottom of the third as a Jake Reinheimer single pulled them within 4-1. Jack Reinheimer gets us on the board! pic.twitter.com/HFO1mkUw2L Iowa continued to keep things close in the fifth with a Moises Ballesteros double making things 5-2, but that was as close as they would get as the Indians tacked on two more runs late to win 7-2. Ballesteros led the Cubs with two hits, while Iowa had five hits in the game. See you tomorrow pic.twitter.com/KqW0Tllmtn
Talk about a team that is starting to peak at the right time. The Tennessee Smokies have been on a roll in the second half as they not only have the best record in the league during that time but for the entire season. Chris Kachmar got the start and was near-perfect in his six innings, allowing just one unearned run on one hit while striking out three. Riley Gowens got the ball against him, and despite lasting just 3 2/3 innings, he was very good. He allowed two runs and struck out six. Like in Iowa, this was a scoreless game until the third, when the scorching hot Jonathon Long cashed in with an RBI double to make things 1-0. Jonny Long stays HOT with an RBI single in the bottom of the 3rd! Smokies lead 1-0. #LastYearBestYear #NextStopWrigley pic.twitter.com/vi2tAQgJVs Their lead didn't last long, as Birmingham responded in the fourth with a Tim Elko single, making it a 1-1 game. That was the only run of the game for the Barons as the Smokies took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth off a Christian Franklin two-run blast that put the Smokies in front 3-1. They closed out the scoring in the fifth off a pair of RBI doubles from Kevin Alcantara and Yohendrick Pinango as the Smokies won again 5-1. Alcantara was one of three players to record multiple hits as he joined Long and James Triantos. Tennessee also saw a trio of relievers toss three scoreless innings, including Eduarniel Nunez, who lowered his ERA to 1.27. The bats were alive and the pitching was on point! | @zips3mincarwash
To the Cubs' credit, their season hasn't gone as planned, but they have done a better job staying competitive the past few weeks. That continued to be the case here, as this was a tie game until the ninth, when Peoria scratched out two runs to win the game. Will Sanders is continuing to go through a down season, which continued on Thursday. Despite walking one and striking out five through four innings, he was charged with three earned runs, all of them coming in one inning. Those runs came after Brian Kalmer gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the second inning off a homer, as the Chiefs scored three times in the fourth to take the 3-1 lead. Tonight Brian Kalmer launched his 8th @hoosierlottery homer of the season! pic.twitter.com/K9wvykjzR0 All those runs came on one swing as Sanders put himself in a mini jam before Joshua Baez unloaded for a three-run shot to put the Chiefs on top 3-1. That was the final inning for Sanders, as the Cubs had some catchup to do. With Brycen Mautz dominating the Cubs through 5 2/3, allowing one run and striking out six, South Bend was happy to see him leave as they had a chance to battle back against their pen. Leave it to Reivaj Garcia for that, whose two-RBI single pushed home the tying runs to make this a 3-3 game late. Captain Clutch, tonight's @PEGGS_SouthBend Player of the Game was Reivaj Garcia! pic.twitter.com/SXTxTlCmYU That score would hold until the ninth inning when Peoria struck for two runs off the Leonardo Bernal single to top the Cubs 5-3. Garcia led the offense with two hits and two RBIs, while Pedro Ramirez added two hits. Here is your final score for tonights game. Cubs put up a great fight, but fell short in the top of the 9th. Join us tomorrow evening when gates open at 5pm and game starts at 7:05pm. pic.twitter.com/zwshrrvLWJ
Due to inclement weather, tonight’s game has been postponed. The game will be played as part of a 7-inning double header on Saturday, 7/27.
In what was a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, the Giants held on for the 8-7 win. There wasn't a ton to like about the pitching unless, of course, you are Brad Deppermann, who struck out four in two shutout innings of relief. Offensively, the Cubs were led by a trio of batters, including Derniche Valdez, who picked up two hits and two RBIs, with one coming as his second homer. Jose Escobar added two hits and an RBI from the leadoff spot with Geuri Lubo adding two more hits from the middle of the lineup. Derik Alcantara added two hits from the bottom of the order as the Cubs offense played well enough to win.
It's not often that a DSL game is decided in extra innings, but that has been a common theme for the Cubs all season. Despite the Cubs only scoring in two innings, both times produced multiple runs as the Cubs walked off the Dodgers in 10. Emannoel Madeira continued to do his thing on the mound as he lowered his ERA to 2.73 following three shutout innings. Throw in three scoreless frames from Saul Siri, and those two held the Dodgers offense in check to keep them off the board through six. The same can be said about the Cubs and their offense, as they were unable to cash in until the sixth when a Cesar Lugo double opened the scoring before a bases-loaded wild pitch gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead. Immediately after giving up the lead, the Dodgers offense answered as the Arnaldo Lantigua homer tied things up in the eight and sent the game into extras. In the extra frame, it was the Dodgers striking first as the Emil Morales single put them in front for the first time 3-2. Fortunately for the Cubs, they got the last laugh as the Juan Monso single tied things up leading to the walk off walk by Ludwing Espinoza to give the Cubs the win.
Anchored by a massive five-run first inning, it was all Cardinals in this one as they scored eight times in the first three innings to open a massive lead before cruising to an 11-2 win. This was one of those games where the Cubs didn't have it, as the Rainiel Rodriguez single opened the scoring and put the Cardinals in front for good, 1-0. That was followed by the game-winning Christian Saez double to extend the lead to 3-0, while the Fernando Roquez homer capped off the five-run first with the Cubs in a 5-0 hole. The Cardinals went on to add three more runs over the next two innings to open up an 8-0 lead before pushing their lead to 10-0 in the fifth. It took the Cubs six innings to get their scoring started, with an error leading to their first run of the game. Robin Oritz tacked on an RBI single later in the inning to pull within 10-2 before falling 11-2. INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 7 - IOWA CUBS 2
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 5 - BIRMINGHAM BARONS 1
Box Score: https://t.co/vmDlQ1dvGr pic.twitter.com/8z8mEgxsvAPEORIA CHIEFS 5 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 3
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS vs AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS (Postponed)
Gates will open at 3:30 PM with G1 scheduled for 4:05 PM. G2 will begin approx. 30 min following. One ticket is good for both games.
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/RdURwA75hXACL GIANTS 8 - ACL CUBS 7
DSL CUBS BLUE 4 - DSL DODGERS 3 (F/10)
DSL CARDINALS 11 - DSL CUBS RED 2
