Cubs Minor League News: Shaw and Ballesteros blast back-to-back homers, Triantos raking |
On a lighter day for the Cubs Minor League system, there were still six games of action to watch as DSL Blue had the day off. The rest of the Cubs system looked to continue an excellent last few days but struggled to find wins as they posted a 1-5 record.
After having their first two games of the week postponed due to Wet Fields, the Cubs are still trying to catch up on the games they missed. Looking to make it three straight wins after dropping the first game, Iowa was backed by a massive offensive showing as they took game one 12-3. Riley Thompson got the start for the Cubs, and despite only going 4 2/3 and allowing three runs, he pitched well enough to keep his team in the game. All of the runs Thompson allowed came in the first two innings, with Gabriel Arias putting Columbus on top 2-0 in the first with a triple before the Esteven Floriel homer made this a 3-0 Columbus lead early. It was all Iowa from there as they not only scored on a Matt Shaw solo shot in the bottom of the second but ended the game with 12 unanswered runs to pick up the win. Moises Ballesteros got in on the fun to go back-to-back with Shaw as the Cubs pulled within 3-2 in the second. Matt Shaw delievers again🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/HiYlRopXEh MO BALLER💪 pic.twitter.com/ZkH6cot1hG Iowa continued to rely on the long ball in the fourth with Luis Vazquez delivering the Cubs third three-run shot to tie things up 3-3 as that was the start of a five-run inning. Louie Louie🚀 pic.twitter.com/jOAY6iKQxg Kevin Alcantara and Owen Caissie kept the line moving with a pair of bases-loaded walks to put the Cubs in front 5-3, with James Triantos breaking things open with an RBI single to extend the lead to 7-3. Triantos brings home a pair! pic.twitter.com/HCLXwa8oil The Iowa offense continued to do damage in the fifth as the Darius Hill double and Shaw single brought home two more runs to stretch the Cubs lead to 9-3. Those two continued their massive games in the sixth, with Hill adding his second RBI double in as many at-bats to score two, with Shaw driving home the game-final run with a single to cap off the 12 -3 win. Some insurance runs from Darius! pic.twitter.com/XyzKVNohDl Shaw and Hill led the way for the Cubs offense with three RBIs each and have been on quite a roll lately. BIG DUB! Game 2 shortly pic.twitter.com/tWeMoKGqr3
In the second of two makeup games this week, the Clippers got their revenge 5-1. One of the more surprising stories of the season has been the rise of Connor Noland, who has emerged as a top-25 prospect. Not a hard thrower by any means, Noland lives off his location, and entering his start unbeaten in AAA, you can see how good his command has been. Noland was backed by some instant offense as Chase Strumpf took Will Dion deep in the second for a quick 1-0 lead. We take a 1-0 lead on this 🚀 from Chase Strumpf! pic.twitter.com/3IoixlSYaP Little did the Cubs know that would be their only run of the game, as Dion struck out six across five and a half innings. Noland's outing got off to a great start, as he kept the Clippers off the board through three innings. Then came the fourth when an RBI forceout brought things back to even 1-1 before a Dom Nunez sacrifice fly put the Clippers in front 2-1. Christian Cairo tacked on an RBI single later in the fourth to push the lead to 3-1, which is all the offense the Clippers would need. Already in front by two, the Columbus offense kept the pressure on as they tacked on two more runs in the fifth off the George Valera homer to close out their 5-1 win. All those runs were charged to Noland, but with only two earned runs, his outing was much better than the line indicated, as he walked two and struck out six. Take him out of the mix and the Cubs pen was outstanding as Michael Arias and Keegan Thompson combined to strike out six hitters the rest of the way. Iowa had three hits in the loss, with Miles Mastrobuoni and James Triantos joining Strumpf. Series finale tomorrow afternoon. pic.twitter.com/xsjpV2tv9X
Although the Smokies have dominated the second half of the Southern League season, they have been having a tougher time lately, which continued in their 7-2 loss to the Barons on Tuesday. All of the Barons damage came in three innings after Jimmy Endersby opened his outing with three scoreless frames before being charged with four runs across 4 2/3 innings. As has been the case a lot this season, it was the long ball that did the Smokies in as the Wilfred Veras two-run blast put Birmingham in front for good, 2-0 in the fourth, only to have Jason Matthews answer with a two-run blast in the fifth to make this a 4-0 game. After failing to score off Noah Schultz in his 3 2/3 innings on the mound, Luis Verdugo continued his strong series with an RBI single in the top half of the sixth to make this a 4-1 game. That was as close as the Smokies would get as the Barons tacked on three more runs in the sixth to push their lead to 7-2 as the Adam Hackenberg single mixed with an error led to those runs. The Smokies had a chance to get back into the game late but only managed to get one run off an error to fall 7-2. Verdugo, Jonathon Long, and Pablo Aliendo collected the three hits in the loss. Hard work pays off! | @Zips3mincarwash
What was looking like a promising game, especially when you look at how the Cubs started, turned sour quickly as the Kernels scored six unanswered runs to double up the Cubs. Jaxson Wiggins was on the bump again for the Cubs as the hard-throwing right-hander gave his team three innings of six strikeout ball, allowing two runs. Wiggins was backed by a relentless offense that jumped all over Connor Prielipp in the first as the Cristian Hernandez single put the Cubs in front 1-0. Since his promotion to South Bend, Hernandez has been seeing the ball well, and he is hitting .318. Hernandez would come around to score later in the inning on the Ariel Armas double as South Bend opened up an early 3-0. Unfortunately for them, those would be the only runs of the game for the Cubs as their offense went quiet the rest of the way. Throw in a Rixon Wingrove homer in the bottom of the first, and this was a 3-2 game as the Cubs saw their early lead nearly evaporate. With Wiggins out after three innings, it was up to the Cubs pen to hold the lead, but with Gabriel Gonzalez tying things up with an RBI double in the fourth before coming home on the Rubel Cespedes single, it was the Kernels who were suddenly in front 4-3. They managed to hold that lead until the eighth inning when Gonzalez cashed in for his second RBI double of the night to push the lead to 6-3 as the Kernels would win by that score. Andy Garriola was one of two Cubs to record multiple hits as he joined Jordan Nwogu.
For the most part, the 2024 MILB season has been rough for the Pelicans, as they have been as many as 13 games under .500. However, sitting six games out of the playoffs, there is a glimmer of hope, as they will need a nice stretch to achieve their goal. This was one of those games where pitching dominated things early, only to have the Fireflies score four times late, including three times in the eighth to put the game away. Kenten Egbert has been solid this season, even if his last few starts weren't great. However, after going six innings and allowing just one run while striking out seven, this was the kind of outing the Pelicans had been waiting for. His only run allowed came in the first inning, and it came off a passed ball as the Fireflies took an early 1-0 lead. Take that miscue out of the mix, and he was about as good as you can be, but when your offense can only get one run, wins are tough to come by. Their run came in third off the Leonel Espinoza single as the Pelicans pulled even 1-1. That score would hold until the later innings, only to have Columbia take the lead for good in the seventh off an RBI groundout. It was in the eighth when they put the game away as the Callan Moss three-run shot broke things open and haded the Birds a 5-2 loss. Myrtle Beach did outhit the Fireflies 9-7, with Carter Trice and Cam Smith leading the way with two hits. Series finale tomorrow at 6:35.#MBPelicans pic.twitter.com/avkVuAymYi
At 18-34, the 2024 season can't end soon enough for the DSL Red Cubs. It's hard to believe that this team was once three games above .500 earlier in the season, as things have gone South in a big way. Not having an offense capable of scoring runs consistently has been an issue for this team, which happened again during a 2-0 loss to the Tigers. Darian Rivero was the hard-luck loser in this start as he gave the Cubs four innings of one-run ball, but fell to 1-6 on the season. He walked one and struck out one, as this was a classic example of pitching to contact. The only run he would allow came in the second inning as the Cristian Perez sacrifice fly gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead. That would be the only run they would need as Franyerson Reyes struck out five across five scoreless frames and allowed just two hits. The game's final run came in the top of the sixth inning when Edgar Lugo laced an RBI single to give the Tigers a 2-0 win. Edgardo De Leon led the way for the Cubs as he was responsible for two of the team's four hits.
Despite another massive offensive showing for the Dogs, the Redhawks handed Chicago their first loss of the week, 15-9. This game saw plenty of offensive fireworks, with Narcisco Crook picking up two hits and leading the Dogs with three RBIs. One of those hits was his 23rd homer, and he is now tied with Jacob Teter as the team lead. Darek Maiben led the Dogs with three hits while driving in two with Dusty Stroup also picking up two RBIs. Stroup made some history as both of his RBIs came on a two-run blast in the eighth as he became the first Dogs player in franchise history to record a homer in four consecutive games. Final from Impact.
The offensive struggles continued for the Thunderbolts on Saturday as they were blanked by the Grizzlies 5-0. Will Armbruester didn't have his best stuff as he was charged with five runs (4ER) in 6 2/3 in the loss. With Deylen Miley tossing seven shutout innings and scattering two hits, the five-run deficit was far too much to overcome. Surprisingly, this was a scoreless game until the fourth inning, when a pair of RBI hits put the Grizzlies in front for good, 2-0. Gateway tacked on two more runs in the fifth to push their lead to 4-0 before tacking on another run late to cap off the 5-0 win. Windy City was held to three hits in the loss, with Cam Phelts picking up two of those hits.IOWA CUBS 12 - COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 3 (game one)
COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 5 - IOWA CUBS 1 (game 2)
BIRMINGHAM BARONS 7 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 2
Box Score: https://t.co/4utfkQzW9s pic.twitter.com/Jw1q34prxiCEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 3
COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 5 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1
DSL TIGERS 2 - DSL CUBS RED 0
FARGO MOORHEAD REDHAWKS 15 - CHICAGO DOGS 9
📺https://t.co/ZyIk7dOVpK |ðŸŒ#NoKetchup pic.twitter.com/VDPpOOKMr6GATEWAY GRIZZLIES 5 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 0
