Cubs Minor League News: Morel, Tauchman homer in win, Caissie raking, Stevens impressive |
It was once again tough sledding for the Cubs Minor League System as they posted a 1-3 record on the diamond on Thursday. You will have that sometimes, no matter your talent, as baseball is a long season.
However, despite the losses, several players continued their impressive starts to the season, which is what matters most. How they develop from here will go a long way in determining what path the Cubs will take at the deadline this season.
Not only were the Iowa Cubs the lone team to win on Thursday, but they did it in dominating fashion as their offense continued to hum. Nick Niedert made his second start of the season and walked away with a win after five strong innings of one-run ball. Sure, he was good, but it makes things a lot easier when the offense gives you 14 runs of support. Apart from Niedert, Brandon Hughes, Tyler Duffey, and Vinny Nittoli all had scoreless relief outings, with Duffey going two innings. Not only did Mike Tauchman put the Cubs in front 2-0 with a homer in the first, but the Cubs scored 11 times in the first three innings. Mike Tauchman starts the @IowaCubs off with a bombski! pic.twitter.com/qXqz4JS4I0 Six of those 11 runs scored in the second inning, with Dom Nunez, David Bote, and Darius Hill having RBI doubles with Matt Mervis adding a bases-loaded walk. Tauchman also added to his game with an RBI groundout to extend the lead to 8-0. Third inning, the same story as Nunez extended the lead to 9-0 with another double while Christopher Morel unloaded his third homer to make things 11-0. Christopher Morel puts us up 11-0 with this blast! ⚾️🚀 pic.twitter.com/1bbYQvV6WQ
The lone run for Omaha came in the fourth inning on the Nick Loftin homer, but they couldn't get much else going. Morel added an RBI double in the seventh, while Sergio Alcantara and Nunez capped off the scoring with a pair of RBI groundouts in the eighth. Alcantara led the way with three hits, but Morel, Nunez, Jared Young, Mervis, and Tauchman all had two. Tauchman, Nunez and Morel drove in three runs. 2 I-Cubs touchdowns tonight pic.twitter.com/zPQfTClKrL
The up-and-down start to the season is a bit surprising for the Smokies, but it comes with the territory. Ryan Jensen had a night to forget, as he didn't even make it out of the first inning. Dalton Stambaugh took over from there and tossed 3 2/3 innings as both allowed six runs in the game. All six Biscuits runs came in the first three innings, with three touching home in the first. Heriberto Hernandez started things with a bases-loaded walk, while Alexander Ovalles added an RBI single to make things 3-0. Owen Caissie continued his impressive series with an RBI triple to make things 3-1 in the second, but that was it offensively for quite a while. Tristan Peters extended the lead for the Biscuits with an RBI double in the second, while the two-run shot from Evan Edwards in the third made things 6-1. That would be it offensively for Montgomery, but the Smokies had far more work to do. It took until the sixth inning for the Smokies bats to come to life as they played long ball to get back into the game. Jordan Nwogu started that with a three-run shot to make things 6-4, with Caissie adding a solo shot. Those homers were it for the Smokies, as they managed just one baserunner the rest of the way. After belting 3 homers yesterday, Owen Caissie is back at it with another jack! Amaya and Caissie led the way with two hits, with Nwogu adding three RBIs. With his Two RBI night, Caissie has four homers and eight RBIs in this series, as he is as hot as possible.
When the Cubs returned to Four Winds Field this year, they didn't expect to drop two of the first three games. Well, that has now happened, as Beloit is giving them all they can handle. Sure, having your starter Richard Gallardo allow six runs didn't help, but neither does scoring just one run offensively. Credit Evan Fitterer for that, as the right-hander dominated South Bend through seven innings and picked up eight strikeouts. For the most part, Gallardo was fine, allowing just two second-inning runs. That all changed in the fifth when Beloit got hot and scored six times in that inning. Dalvy Rosario started the scoring with an RBI single to make things 3-0 before the Jacob Berry double extended the lead to 5-0. Throw-in homers by Yiddi Cappe and Jake Thompson and Beloit busted the game wide open to lead 8-0. The lone run of the game for South Bend came in the seventh when Haydn McGeary went deep for his first of 2023 in the 9-1 loss. South Bend had just four hits in the game, with McGeary, Bradlee Beesley, Ethan Hearn, and Juan Mora grabbing the hits. Not our night ❌
When you look at how much turnover the Myrtle Beach roster went through the second half of last season into this season, everyone knew it could be a struggle in 2023. So far, that has held, as the inconsistent pitching and hitting have gotten them off to a 2-3 start. Coming off a terrible first outing, Grant Kipp was back on the mound and was once again roughed up. Granted, his second appearance was miles better than his first, but he was still charged with three earned runs in 3 2/3. Those were Lynchburg's only runs of the day, with Saul Gonzalez and Marino Santy tossing 4 1/3 scoreless in relief. While three runs may not seem like a ton of support, Parker Messick set the tone on the mound. The Hillcats starter went six innings, allowing one run on three hits and five strikeouts. He turned things over to Juan Zapata, who closed things out the final three frames. All of the Hillcats offense came in innings two and three, with two runs coming home in the second. The first came on the Maick Collado sacrifice fly while Jose Devers connected for a solo shot. Juan Benjamin capped off the offense for the Hillcats with an RBI single in the third as they held a 3-0 lead. Down, but not out, Myrtle Beach did their best to fight back and ended the shutout bid with an inside-the-park homer from Felix Stevens in the fifth. Felix Stevens with an inside-the-park home run for @Pelicanbaseball! pic.twitter.com/mkkJ3aXtYH That was it regarding the scoring, as the Pelicans offense remained quiet the rest of the contest.IOWA CUBS 14 - OMAHA STORM CHASERS 1
MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 6 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 5
The @Cubs' No. 13 prospect keeps slugging for @smokiesbaseball. pic.twitter.com/IBcrX7uJdZBELOIT SKY CARP 9 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1
Back to it tomorrow for Game 4 against Beloit. pic.twitter.com/3KslEpgv72LYNCHBURG HILLCATS 3 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1
