Cubs Minor League News: Caissie homers, Strumpf raking, Trice with seven RBIs, more |
Sunday marked another end to the week of Minor League action, as four games were taking place for the Cubs affiliates. Talk about an all-around exciting day on the field. You had walk-off wins, great pitching, and some offensive explosions across the board, which led to an overall record of 3-1 for the day.
Arguably, the most exciting and drama-packed game of the day saw the Cubs battling the Saints as they looked to end the week on a high note. After Dan Straily delivered a solid outing, it was the bullpen that let the Cubs down, as a late-game homer sent this game to extras. In the extra innings, both teams scored four times in the 10th, only for Caleb Knight to come through in the 11th for a walk-off two-run shot to give the Cubs a 10-9 win. Straily wasn't perfect, but after allowing just two runs in five innings and striking out six, he put his team in a position to win this game. With the score scoreless entering the fourth, the Saints grabbed a 2-0 lead as they played small ball with a sacrifice fly and sac bunt to get the job done. Iowa didn't waste any time taking the lead in the bottom of the fourth as an Owen Caissie homer opened a three-run inning to make this a 2-1 game. Owen Caissie gets us on the board! pic.twitter.com/FAEiqiePnq Trayce Thompson added a game-tying double a few batters later before the Chase Strumpf single put the Cubs in front 3-2. Taking the lead in the fourth! pic.twitter.com/SYwsNrvsLR Small ball continued to be the theme for the Saints, who added another sacrifice fly in the sixth to tie things up only to have Miles Mastrobuoni come up clutch with the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh. Looking to lock things down in the ninth, Michael Arias was on for the save and saw the Saints tie things up as Payton Eeles connected for a solo shot to make this a 4-4 game and sent things into extras. It was in the extra frames when both offenses started to get rolling, and that all started with the Wynton Bernard single to put the Saints back in front 5-4. That single was followed by another single from Alex Isola, while an additional RBI single from Eeles pushed the Saints' lead to 8-4. Needing offense in a hurry, the Cubs came roaring back in the bottom of the 10th, with Caissie picking up an RBI double ahead of a Thompson single as the Cubs were within 8-6. Owen. Caissie.🚀 pic.twitter.com/JAagbPMHDn Then came the game's biggest hit up to this point, as Strumpf uncorked a massive two-run shot to tie things up and help keep the game alive a bit longer. Late-game heroics from Chase Strumpf!👏 pic.twitter.com/GoQhjkwrUd That is when the game's biggest hit happened, as Knight delivered a massive walk-off two-run shot in the bottom of the 11th to lift the Cubs 10-9. AND TO ALL A GOOD KNIGHT!!!!! @CalebKnight13 pic.twitter.com/nZr0DBG5OK Strumpf closed out an enormous series with three hits and three RBIs to lead the Cubs offense as they had a great afternoon. Caissie, Thompson, and Darius Hill added multi-hit games in the win. Never a doubt. Just kidding, that was stressful. But the W is all that matters! pic.twitter.com/bPZN7oHI1p
While most of the Cubs games were filled with back-and-forth offensive action, this was the one that was a bit different as the Smokies picked up another win 7-3. Chris Kachmar endured his worst start in a while as he allowed three runs in four innings. However, with those being the only runs the Braves would score, you need to credit the bullpen for their job, which started with Ben Leeper and his two scoreless frames. All of the Braves' offense came in the second inning, as they backed Ian Mejia with a nice early lead. A Sebastian Rivero sacrifice fly started the scoring before a wild pitch made this a 2-0 game. Brandon Parker added a single later in the inning, as the Smokies found themselves in an early 3-0 hole. As the fans have seen in the past, once this offense gets rolling, it is tough to stop. In the third, James Triantos picked up an RBI triple, and the Smokies were on the board. That was followed by a Jonathon Long double, and just like that, we had a 3-3 ball game. It was a score that held up until the fourth, when Felix Stevens crushed a breaking ball 433 feet to dead center to give the Smokies the lead for good, 4-3. Tennessee wasn't finished tacking on the runs as the Christian Franklin double and Matt Shaw single extended their lead to 6-3 and gave them two innings with three runs. The Smokies closed out the scoring on a Luis Verdugo double in the seventh, taking five of six from the Braves 7-3. Stevens was one of three players to record multiple hits, joining Franklin and Triantos. The Smokies win the Sunday matinee in Pearl, Mississippi. | @zips3mincarwash Matt Shaw, Kevin Alcántara and James Triantos have been promoted to the @IowaCubs! pic.twitter.com/6F5RFs9djo
If you like offense, then Grand Chute was the place to be, as the Cubs and Rattlers combined for 27 runs. Unfortunately for the Cubs, it was the Rattlers coming out on top, as they split the series with a 15-11 win. Backed by a first-inning Rafael Morel homer, the Cubs grabbed a 2-0 lead before pushing their lead to 3-1 on a second-inning Jordan Nwogu RBI. The Cubs offense continued to keep the pressure on, with Pedro Ramirez picking up a third-inning RBI single ahead of the Jefferson Rojas sacrifice fly. The Cubs scored at least one run in each of the first five innings. With one swing of the bat from Eduardo Garcia off Erian Rodriguez in the fourth, it was a 5-4 game, as Garcia connected for his first Wisconsin homer to make this a game again. The Cubs managed to stretch their lead to 7-4 off a pair of RBI doubles from Garcia and Ethan Hearn, but once the bottom of the sixth rolled around, the Rattlers' offense was starting to catch fire. Following a sacrifice fly that pulled Wisconsin within 7-5, the Jadher Areinamo homer capped off a four-run inning, with the Rattlers now leading 8-7. Homers continued to play a role in the Rattlers' late-game success. Ramon Rodriguez's two-run homer in the seventh put them back in front 10-8 after the Cubs tied things up on a wild pitch. The Cubs managed to pull within 10-9 in the eighth, but that was as close as they would get, as the Wisconsin offense erupted for five more runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 15-9 lead. Eduardo Garcia and Jheremy Vargas scored three runs on a pair of RBI singles, while an RBI forceout and a bases-loaded walk scored the other two. Despite the large deficit entering the ninth, the Cubs continued to battle back and kept the pressure on the Rattlers. Following an RBI groundout from Parker Chavers to make this a 15-10 game, South Bend pulled within 15-12 as Garcia and Nwogu each grabbed RBI singles. Needing another massive hit to keep their comeback bid alive, that hit never came as the Cubs fell to the Rattlers 15-12 to close out the week.
If the Pelicans continue to play like this for another five weeks, you could be looking at one of the best turnarounds in Minor League Baseball history. Since the middle of June, no team has been as hot as the Pelicans, and that has continued into the second half when they have won 16 of their last 20 games. Even with JP Wheat going through a start where he walked five and struck out none, it was the Pelicans offense that picked him as a trio of massive innings paved the way for another series win 13-5. This was one of those games where the Pelicans got off to a fast start and never looked back as the Cristian Hernadez double and Alfonsin Rosario single had the Birds in front 2-0 in the first before adding a third run off an error. Delmarva did its best to keep things close early on the Anderson De Los Santos double in the first, but it was the third inning when its offense did most of the damage. Trailing 4-1 in the bottom of the third after Alexis Hernadez worked a bases-loaded single in the top half of the inning, the Shorebirds responded with three runs to tie things up. The Steven Acevedo single made things 4-3 before a sacrifice fly added the tying run. The Pelicans' offense continued to set the tone the rest of the way, with Rosario picking up his second RBI single in the fourth to retake the lead before the Carter Trice Grand Slam broke the game wide open in the sixth, 9-4 and proved to be the game-winning hit. Trice was just getting started, as he tacked on his second homer in as many at-bats in the eighth to push the Pelicans' lead to 10-4. Myrtle would go on to add three more runs in the ninth, as the Rosario sacrifice fly was followed up by a Trice double, part of his seven-RBI night in the Pelicans' 13-5 win. Trice had the best game of his career, with a team-high four hits and seven RBIs, as he single-handedly outscored the Shorebirds. Christian Olivo and Rosario got in on the fun with three hits, with Rosario adding three RBIs. Swing so nice, Carter Trice 🌴 Week ends with a BANG!IOWA CUBS 10 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 9 (F/11)
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 7 - MISSISSIPPI BRAVES 3
Box Score: https://t.co/PGaZdRJK8w#NextStopWrigley #LastYearBestYear pic.twitter.com/Vx2DwP5Tip
WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 15 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 12
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 13 - DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS 5
The @Cubs prospect logs career highs of seven RBIs, four hits and two homers in a series finale with @Pelicanbaseball. pic.twitter.com/ldtsm9mYqU
Birds take their fourth straight series win.#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/blqf1yfVSw
