Cubs Minor League News: Caissie raking, Triantos with 3 hits, McGeary with go-ahead slam
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Caissie raking, Triantos with 3 hits, McGeary with go-ahead slam
by - Senior Writer - Thu Jun 27 11:34:21 GMT-04:00 2024

Wins have been challenging to come by for the Cubs and their minor league system this week. After going just 2-5 on Tuesday, the Cubs saw their system return to the diamond, where they posted a 2-3 record on Wednesday. There were a lot of positives to come from those games, mainly having all of them be competitive, which hasn't always been the case this season.

SAINT PAUL SAINTS 9 - IOWA CUBS 7

In what was an offensive fireworks display for both sides, it was the Saints coming out victorious as they topped the Cubs 9-7. Trey Supak made his second start since joining AAA Iowa and gave the Cubs five innings of four-run (3ER) baseball. He gave way to Frank Scalzo Jr, who suffered his first loss and first earned run of the season, while the rest of the Cubs' pen was strong.

Opposing Supak was former Cubs farmhand Ryan Jensen, who struck out a pair in two innings. Bryce Windham started the scoring with a second inning RBI double only to have Saint Paul respond with two runs in the third to take a 2-1 lead.

The Cubs didn't waste any time responding in the bottom of the third as the two-run Cole Roederer double put Iowa back in front 3-2 before he came in to score on a BJ Murray Jr single.

Iowa continued to keep the pressure on in the fourth with Moises Ballesteros continuing to hit as his double stretched the Iowa lead to 5-2.

It was in the fifth when the Saints offense started to catch fire and a lot of that came from the Brooks Lee solo shot to pull the Saints to within 5-3. Yunior Severino added an RBI single later in the inning to make things 5-4 before the four-run sixth put the Saints in front for good 8-5.

DaShawn Keirsey Jr. delivered the big hit in that inning as his RBI double drove home a pair and went down as the winning hit. Iowa battled back in the seventh when they pushed across two runs on a pair of errors, but they wouldn't get any closer, falling by a 9-7 score.

Owen Caissie had a very quiet three-hit game to lead the way for the Cubs, with Ballesteros and Windham adding two.

BIRMINGHAM BARONS 8 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 7

Talk about a good old-fashioned gut punch. Trailing by three entering the ninth, it was the Haydn McGeary grand slam that looked to be the difference as the Smokies rallied to take a 7-6 lead. It was a lead that didn't last long as Tim Elko answered with a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to hand the Barons a walk-off 8-7 win.

Brandon Birdsell pitched well enough to win in this one, pitching into the sixth and allowing three runs while striking out four. He was on the short end of the stick as Tyler Schweitzer lowered his ERA to 1.89 following seven strong innings. Each team scored a run in the first, but the Edgar Quero homer in the fourth gave the Barons a 2-1 lead before extending that lead to 3-1 in the fifth.

Then came the seventh when Jacob Gonzalez added an RBI single to make things 4-1, with Brooks Baldwin homering for the second time in the game to break things wide open at 6-1. That score would hold until the ninth, when the Smokies began to rally and brought a ton of Thunder with them.

After picking up a sacrifice fly in the first, Matt Shaw added to his game as his RBI single pulled the Smokies within 6-2. Yohendrick Pinango kept the line moving with a bases-loaded walk to make things 6-3, but it was that McGeary homer that stunned the crowd as his grand slam gave the Smokies a 7-6 lead and only three outs to go.

Despite that, the Barons continue to show why they are the class of the Southern League right now, as Elko got the last laugh with a walk-off two-run shot to lift the Barons to an 8-7 win. Shaw and James Triantos had great nights as they picked up three hits, with Shaw adding two RBIs. McGeary paced the offense with his four RBIs.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 5 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 4

Talk about some late-game magic for the Cubs. After doing next to nothing for seven innings, the South Bend offense came to life late as they scored four times in the final two innings to pick up the 5-4 win. It was a much-needed win for this team as Erian Rodriguez did his part through five innings, allowing just one run and striking out two.

He went pitch for pitch with Tate Kuehner, who scattered just one hit and struck out five across five shutout innings. It took four innings for either team to cash in as the Matthew Wood double provided the game's first run, with the Rattlers taking a 1-0 lead. That would hold until the sixth when Pedro Ramirez grounded out to tie the game, only to have Brett Bateman put the Cubs in front with an RBI single in the eighth.

Trailing for the first time, Wisconsin had all the answers in the bottom of the eighth, as a pair of RBI singles from Eduardo Garcia and Tayden Hall brought home three runs and gave Wisconsin a 4-2 lead late. As has been the case with South Bend for a while now, this team just won't quit, and with Ed Howard doubling home a run in the ninth, the Cubs were within 4-3 and keeping the pressure on.

Eventually, that pressure would yield results as Jordan Nwogu tied things up with a sacrifice fly only to have Rafael Morel play hero as his RBI single capped off a three-run nith and gave the Cubs a massive 5-4 win.

The Cubs had 11 hits in the win, with six hits coming from Bateman and Morel, who had three each.

FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 4 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 3

Backed by a three-run first inning, it was the Woodpeckers who made that lead stick as they held off the Pelicans 4-3. Yennri Rojas was the victim of that massive first inning as he lasted just 3 2/3 allowing three runs.

Those runs came in the first with a balk leading to the games first run before the Kenni Gomez double and the Xavier Casserilla single gave the Woodpeckers an early 3-0 lead. Despite allowing an Andy Garriola sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first, Jackson Nezuh was impressive as he gave the Woodpeckers six innings, allowing just the one earned run and striking out eight.

A fifth-inning Nehomar Ochoa JR single extended the Woodpecker's lead to 4-1, but it was in the eighth when the Pelicans began to mount a comeback. That all started with Reggie Preciado, whose RBI triple pulled the Birds to within 4-2.

Preciado would come in to score on the Cristian Hernandez RBI grounder, but that was it for their offense as the comeback attempt came up short.

DSL CUBS RED 10 - DSL RAYS 2

In what was a rare Wednesday DSL game, the Cubs picked up the massive win as a six-run sixth led the Cubs to a 10-2 victory. Cesar Lugo opened the scoring with a solo blast in the first before the Vincent Nunez single extended the Cubs lead to 2-0 after four.

It was in the sixth when the Cubs put the game away for good as they pushed across six runs in that half of an inning to open up the 8-0 lead. Edgardo De Leon and Enyel Reyes knocked home three of those runs on a pair of doubles, and Leroy Escalante added an RBI single. You also had a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch as part of that inning, as the Cubs were in complete control.

The Rays scored both of their runs in the bottom of the eighth as Carlos Matias and Emiliano Galan connected for RBI singles as the Cubs saw their lead dwindle to 8-2. That was as close as the Rays would get as Daniel Campos connected for a two-run blast in the ninth to close out the scoring in the Cubs 10-2 win.

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