Cubs Minor League News: I-Cubs destroy Mud Hens with home run barrage, SB wins, more |
Dustin Riese
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- Wednesday, April 09 2025
For the first time in what feels like forever, all four Cubs affiliates were in action on Tuesday after some rough weather made things difficult last week. This was one of those days where there was plenty of offense to go around, but also moments where the pitching could've been better.
All in all, the Cubs posted a 2-2 record, which may not seem all that bad, but when they had a shot to go 3-1, it did sting a little bit more than you would expect. Hopefully, the success of some of these teams can continue all season.
Talk about an absolute demolition. The Iowa Cubs came into Toledo, jumped on the Mud Hens early, and poured it on late. All it took was a five-run first inning to get the job done, which was all Chris Flexen would need, as he allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings. Flexen was given the instant support that every pitcher loves to see as the Cubs took a 5-0 lead one inning into the game. The first of those runs came off an error while the big blow was the Carlos Perez grand slam that put Iowa in front 5-0. FIRST GRAND SLAM OF THE SEASON FOR PEREZ! Jonathon Long added an RBI double in the sixth to push the lead to 6-0 before the offense went back to work in a big way in the fourth. The long ball played a massive role in the fourth, with Christian Franklin connecting for a solo shot ahead of the Long two-run blast as the Cubs pushed their lead to 9-0. First LONG ball of the season! One inning later, another homer added to the Cubs lead with Greg Allen touching them all with a three-run blast as the Cubs opened up a 12-0 lead in the fifth. GREG ALLEN JOINS THE HOME RUN PARADE A James Triantos sixth-inning double and an eighth-inning Moises Ballesteros triple rounded out the scoring for the Cubs, who dominated Toledo from start to finish. 13-0 that is all pic.twitter.com/cpSqYkL7OT The lone run of the game for Toledo came in the sixth off an Eliezer Alfonzo single, but that was it as Luke Little and Keegan Thompson struck out seven in 3 1/3, five coming from Thompson in two innings. Ballesteros and Triantos led the Cubs with three hits and were two of the many multi-hit guys. Franklin, Long, and Perez added multiple hits, with Perez leading the Cubs with four RBIs. See you tomorrow! pic.twitter.com/NE5bXew8BX
In what was another classic Rocket City/Knoxville matchup, it was the Smokies falling behind early, battling back only to fall on a late game run. Sam Armstrong made his first start of the season off an impressive Arizona Fall League, and although he allowed two homers, he pitched exceptionally well. Armstrong pitched the Smokies five innings of three-run, six-hit baseball, walking none and striking out six. This will be a huge year for his development. That was almost an identical line to Sam Aldegheri's, who allowed three runs in four innings and struck out six. This was one of those games where one player provided all of the offense as Pablo Aliendo drove in all three runs for the Smokies. Two of those runs came on his first-inning single to put Knoxville in front 2-0 before adding a solo shot in the fourth to tie things up 3-3. Three of the four Trash Panda runs came in the second inning, and the long ball did all the damage. Cole Fontenelle opened the scoring for Rocket City with a solo shot, while the Myles Emmerson homer put Rocket City in front 3-2. Following the Aliendo homer that tied things up, things remained deadlocked until the eighth inning when Sam Brown connected for a go-ahead and would be the game-winning hit in the Trash Pandas 4-3 win. Aliendo and Jaylen Palmer led the Smokies with two hits. Final score presented by @zips3mincarwash.
Something had to give between South Bend and Peoria as both teams entered the game winless. It took four games for the Cubs to end that streak as they took down the Chiefs 5-3 for their first win of 2025. Although he takes home a no-decision, Tyler Schlaffer pitched well for the Cubs, going 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs, and striking out three. The first of those runs came on the Tre Richardson single in the third, while an Ian Pertrutz double extended the Chiefs lead to 2-0 in the sixth. Considering that Hancel Rincon tossed four shutout frames before being pulled, it was starting to look like one of those days where two runs would be enough. That was until the bottom of the sixth when the Cubs not only got on the scoreboard but scored all five of their runs to take a 5-2 lead. Andy Garriola started the big inning with an RBI single before a Brian Kalmer triple put the Cubs in front for good 3-2. Kalmer would come into score on the Ivan Brethowr single before Reggie Preciado closed out the Cubs' scoring with an RBI double. Peoria managed to tack on a run off a Joshua Baez single in the eighth, but that was it, as the Cubs finally got on the winning side. Along with a strong start by Schlaffer, you had Johzan Oquendo set the tone in relief as he struck out three in 1 2/3 scoreless frames. Kalmer led the Cubs with two hits and two RBIs, with Cristian Hernandez joining him. After last night's Opening Night victory, PEGGS Player of the Game Brian Kalmer caught up on the field with Tyler Reidy. First victory (of many)! That was a fun one! Lets do it all week!
In a battle of unbeatens, the Pelicans were punched in the mouth as they were blanked by Carolina 14-0. This was one of those games where very little went right, as the Pelicans were held to two hits in the loss. Angel Cepeda collected one of those hits, with Leonel Espinoza adding the other. Whether it be Hayden Frank, who allowed eight runs in 3 1/3 innings, or any of the relievers, pitching was an issue for the Pelicans as the Mudcats scored four times in the second and three times in both the eighth and ninth innings for a majority of their runs. Eric Bitoni and Josh Adamczeski did most of the damage, combining for nine hits and 10 RBIs. The lone reliever who had any success was Charlie Hurley, who took over for Frank and tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings. Hurley walked two, struck out three, and allowed just one hit in the loss. What's the best part of @Pelicanbaseball ? Been waiting for this one. pic.twitter.com/kEeF7I6rOSIOWA CUBS 14 - TOLEDO MUD HENS 1
5-0 I-CUBS in the first! pic.twitter.com/Nkwj13MUte
I-CUBS extend the lead to 9-0! pic.twitter.com/c1XqwAaYwO
Make it four home runs on the night for I-CUBS!
12-0 I-CUBS! pic.twitter.com/7vCGsWNhwb
ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 4 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 3
Box Score: https://t.co/ktmkcd1I2j pic.twitter.com/KiCBWFwReTSOUTH BEND CUBS 5 - PEORIA CHIEFS 3
First Gatorade dump of the season ✅#SBCubs #Cubs pic.twitter.com/Ba3h55Q0WE
Check out the highlights of last night's win ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kaw14bJ4yx
Game times and tickets 🔗 🎟️ https://t.co/PyWWgRqCpP#SBCubs #OpeningWeek pic.twitter.com/X6b562V6rOCAROLINA MUDCATS 14 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 0
Here's my answer... and I think the crowd's reaction can attest ⚾️🐕 pic.twitter.com/38oASNaUbX
