Cubs Minor League News: McGeary and Weber homer, Pinango raking, Pels dominant, more |
Unlike Thursday, where the Cubs posted a clean sweep in their games, Friday was a different story, as the wins were hard to come by. If you count the Cub's loss to the Marlins on Friday, the Cubs organization posted a 1-4 record, with the Minor League affiliates going 1-3.
Sure, it was nice to see Myrtle Beach break out offensively, but many early-season concerns showed up in a big way Friday. That includes a lack of pitching in some cases, as the top-heavy arms in the system are miles above the rest.
After watching a historic offensive display on Thursday, things were much quieter in Des Moines on Friday, with the Cubs taking one on the chin. Chris Clarke continued to get his opportunities in the rotation and gave Iowa three innings of two-run, five-strikeout ball. He was solid, but Rowan Wick was not, as he was charged with three earned runs, raising his ERA to 9.75. Mix that with the pitching duo of Kevin Herget and Ben Lively, who combined to allow four hits and six strikeouts across nine innings, and runs will not be easy to come by, and the Cubs found that out the hard way. Thursday saw a total of nine balls leave the yard, and it was the home run ball that opened the scoring in the second as Christian Encarnacion-Strand took Clarke deep in the second for an early 1-0 lead. That lead didn't last long as Iowa responded in the bottom half of the second and used the Brennen Davis single to tie things up. Unfortunately for them, that would be all the offense they would muster as Louisville ended the game with six unanswered runs, including three from a Chuckie Robinson homer and an additional Matt McClain solo shot. Davis was one of four Cubs to record a hit as he was joined by Jake Slaughter, Christopher Morel, and Yonathan Perlaza. Couldn’t get it done pic.twitter.com/KlUaTKgGFL
Led by tremendous starting pitching the past few days, the Smokies have had their way with the Barons in this series. Their luck ran out on Friday as the Smokies struggled in every facet of the game. Porter Hodge is looking for a mental reset as his season. ERA ballooned to 9.22. That is because the right-hander couldn't make it out of the third and was charged with seven earned runs. He didn't make things easy for the Smokies offense, nor did Birmingham starter Crisitian Mena. The right-hander had his way with Tennessee and allowed two runs in six innings but struck out 10. Both of the runs allowed came in the second inning when Andy Weber left the yard for his second homer of the season. Little did Tennessee know that those would be the only runs they would score as Birmingham ended the game with 10 consecutive runs. Eight of those came in the third as Hodge endured a nightmare half of an inning. Whether that be a hit, a walk, or a sacrifice fly, the Barons scored in every which way and opened up an 8-2 lead after three. Alsander Womack started the big inning with an RBI single while closing out the inning with an RBI double. Ben Norman also had a strong showing at the plate, picking up a sacrifice fly as part of that enormous inning and then capping off the scoring with a two-run shot in the seventh for the 10-2 win. While Weber may have driven in both Smokies runs, Bryce Ball led the way in hits as he had two. Owen Caissie and Pete Crow-Armstrong also added hits on what was otherwise a very quiet night. Andy Weber homers, but the Smokies fall 10-2. Game 5 tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/oxiXKplOqT
When the Cubs get good pitching, they are among the best teams in the Midwest League. However, on the flip side, when their pitching struggles, their offense may not be good enough to overcome it. With Trent Baker striking out four in five strong innings of work, the Cubs had their work cut out for them as some early Peoria offense set the tone. Those early runs came off of Connor Noland, who picked a bad time to have a rough outing. Noland has been excellent this season but was charged with four runs in three innings Friday, as his ERA is now 4.30. Apart from him, you had a trio of good relief performances that kept things close, as Sam Thoreson, Didier Vargas, and Brad Deppermann gave the Cubs six strong innings. From an offensive side, the Chiefs could have packed it in after the first inning if they wanted to use a three-run frame to grab a nice lead. Aaron McKeithan opened the scoring with a two-run single before extending the lead to 3-0 when he came home on the Luis Rodriguez single. The Cubs tried to keep things close in the early innings, with Haydn McGeary putting South Bend on the board with his solo shot in the second. Haydn McGeary with his 3rd @hoosierlottery HR of the season 💪 pic.twitter.com/iM8bchJZCU Unfortunately for the Cubs, it wasn't their day as Thomas Francisco added an RBI single in the third, while Jeremy Rivas capped off the scoring with an RBI single in the fifth. Yohendrick Pinango delivered an RBI hit of his own in between those, but it wasn't enough for the Cubs to come back. Pinango led the way with two hits as the top seven hitters in the Cubs lineup all had hits. Back at it tomorrow afternoon. pic.twitter.com/a2yGHuDS8z
The one team that didn't get the losing memo on Friday was Myrtle Beach, as they beat up on the Riverdogs. Anchored by a pair of five-run innings, the Pelicans offense erupted as they continued to disembowel last years league champions. Nick Hull has been up and down as a pitcher this season but had a great showing on Friday. Not only did he get through five innings, but he did so by allowing only two runs and striking out two. He wasn't at his best, but he didn't need to be when you look at the offensive support he received. Kenyi Valdez came on in relief of Hull and struck out four in three innings. With a scoreless tie entering the third, the Pelicans offense woke up in a massive manner to grab the lead. Bases loaded walks to Moises Ballesteros, and Andy Garriola aided for two runs while the Felix Stevens sacrifice fly brought in another. However, the Miguel Fabrizio single was the lone RBI hit in that frame as the Pelicans raced out to an early 5-0 lead. Jhon Diaz single-handedly tried to keep the Riverdogs in the game as he drove in both runs against Hull, with the first coming on a third-inning groundout and the second on a fifth-inning sacrifice fly. It was in that when the Pelican's offense started rolling again as they scored 10 consecutive runs across the final four innings. Kevin Alcántara is squaring everything right now. pic.twitter.com/1lIl1w2qo5 The first of those runs came on the Cristian Hernandez single in the sixth before another five-run frame in the seventh busted the game wide open. An error aided the first of those runs and opened the floodgates, but it was the RBI singles from Pedro Ramirez and Cristian More that made things 11-2. There was a wild pitch later in the inning to bring home the fifth run to push the lead to double digits. Despite their massive lead, the Pelicans refused to let up as More added a second RBI single in the eighth ahead of the Reivaj Garcia sacrifice fly to make things 14-2. Stevens capped off the massive offensive showing for the Birds with a solo blast in the ninth as the Pelicans cruised 15-2. Garcia and Fabrizio led the way with three hits, but More stole the show. Holy cow, Cristian More. He was shaken up, but a heck of a catch (if a bit unnecessary with a 12 run lead). pic.twitter.com/69vOmUbpiU Freshly called up from the Arizona Complex site, More couldn't have asked for a better season debut as he delivered two hits and drove in three. That led the team as the Pelicans finally had an offensive showing worth getting excited about. We literally broke Charleston’s scoreboard tonight.#MBPelicans | #NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/pFV17UFLJyLOUISVILLE BATS 7 - IOWA CUBS 1
BIRMINGHAM BARONS 10 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 2
PEORIA CHIEFS 5 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 15 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 2
