Cubs Minor League News: Smith homers in five straight, Aliendo homers, Egbert impressive |
It was another solid day overall for the Cubs Minor League System. They always say winning is contagious. With the Chicago Cubs continuing to take care of business against teams they really should beat, the momentum has trickled down to their minor leaguers.
Already four days into the week without a losing record, the Cubs system made it five for five on the week by going 2-2 on Saturday. Sure, that isn't a winning record, but any time you can go this long into a week without a losing record, you're doing something right.
For the most part, the Cubs have done a great job against Toledo this season, and had it not been for a three-run first, who knows what could have happened? That three-run first was the difference as the Mud Hens picked up a 5-3 win. Adrian Houser suffered his worst start since joining the Cubs, and it wasn't all that horrible. Houser went five innings, allowed five hits, and gave up four runs. He set the tone for what was to come with Trey Supak and Eduarniel Nunez picking up three solid innings of relief following his outing. Trailing 1-0 after Iowa picked up a run a wild pitch in the top of the first, it was the Mud Hens offense came out strong in the bottom of the first as Justice Bigbie and Ryan Vilade picked up a pair of RBI singles to put the Mud Hens in front 2-1. Toledo tacked on an additional run later in the first to extend their lead to 3-1 as the Cubs were trailing early. With Eddys Leonard tacking on an RBI double in the bottom of the second to give the Mud Hens a 4-1 lead, it was all Casey Mize would need as the right-hander struck out seven across 4 2/3. He was charged with three runs as a Jake Hager double pulled the Cubs within 4-3 in the top of the fifth and chased Mize in the process. Hager's double gets us within one! pic.twitter.com/IrjS8pADbS Toledo capped off the scoring on an Andrew Navigato sixth-inning double to close out a 5-3 win. Trayce Thompson led the Cubs with two hits as they had seven hits on the night. James Triantos, Matt Mervis, and Miles Mastrobuoni were some of the other Cubs who picked up a hit. Just short tonight. Back tomorrow for the series finale. pic.twitter.com/b1tq0UkzwJ
It may not always come easy, but a win is a win at this point in the season. Following another late run to secure a 5-4 victory, the Smokies have now won all five games against Pensacola this week and will go for the sweep on Sunday. Matt Thompson was far from perfect, walking five and striking out three in five innings, but he also allowed three runs to pick up a no-decision. Opposing Thompson was Robby Snelling, who also went five innings and allowed four runs in a well-played game throughout. This was one of those rare cases where Pensacola scored first, with Nathan Martoella connecting for a two-run shot in the second to put the Smokies in an early 2-0 hole. They pushed their lead to 3-0 on a Jacob Berry single in the fourth, only to have Luis Verdugo cash in with an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to pull Tennessee within 3-2. Still trailing by that score in the sixth, the long ball made all the difference late as a Jonathon Long homer gave the Smokies their first lead of the game, 4-3. That was the beginning of a late-game home run binge, with Joe Mack connecting for a solo shot in the top of the eighth to tie things up, only to have Pablo Aliendo leave the yard in the bottom of the eight to lift the Smokies to the 5-4 win. PABLO ALIENDO FOR THE LEAD! @pabloaliendo14 #LastYearBestYear #NextStopWrigley #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/ZnlF2HaLou The Smokies collected eight hits in the game, with all eight coming from four players. Long, Aliendo, Verdugo and Cole Roederer had the hits. Rocking the top of the standings! | @zips3mincarwash
This was arguably the most exciting game of the day for the Cubs system as the Cubs battled back from an early deficit to tie things late before allowing two runs in the ninth to fall 6-4. Jaxson Wiggins has been consistent since getting to South Bend, but not always in a good way, as he allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two before handing things off to Nico Zeglin and the pen. Zeglin was lights out, striking out four in 2 2/3 innings to lower his ERA to 0.46. Luis Devers also had a great showing as he struck out three in 2 1/3 scoreless frames. Opposing them was Will Schomberg, who had an interesting line through four innings. He only allowed one run on two hits but also walked five and struck out eight. Fast starts by the Cubs haven't been that common this season, but with Brian Kalmer connecting for an RBI single in the first, the Cubs were in front 1-0. It was a lead that didn't last long, as a pair of second-inning singles from Tony Bullard and Mark Coley II led to three runs as the Sky Carp opened up a 3-1 lead. Beloit continued to single the Cubs to death in the fourth, with Sam Praytor pushing home another run to make this a 4-1 game. That score held until the seventh inning when the Cubs offense started to get to work against the Beloit pen. Andy Garriola started things with an RBI groundout in the seventh, with Edgar Alvarez doubling to make this a 4-3 game. One inning later, Christian Olivo was cashing in with an RBI single to tie things up as the Cubs battled back to make this a 4-4 game entering the ninth. It was in that inning when Beloit put the game away as a Brett Roberts go-ahead triple made things 5-4, only to have a Wilfredo Lara double cap off the scoring in a 6-4 Sky Carp win. South Bend was held to eight hits in the loss, as Cristian Hernandez (2) and Alvarez (2) were responsible for half of those hits.
Another fast start for the Pelicans led to another win as they took care of Charleston 4-1. Kenten Egbert returned to his winning ways on the mound as he gave the Pelicans five strong innings of three-hit five, strikeout ball to lower his ERA to 2.87. He gave way to Sam Thoreson and the rest of the pen as Thoreson struck out four in two scoreless innings. Anytime you can give your starter some instant support, it does make things easier, which is what the Pelicans did. Jose Escobar could be one of the hottest hitters in the Cubs system right now. His RBI triple in the first gave the Birds a 2-0 lead. They would extend that lead to 3-0 in the second on a Leonel Espinoza single, as that would be all the offense they would need. Speaking of hot hitters, look no further than Cam Smith, who may want to face Charleston for the rest of his life. Smith connected for his fifth homer of the season to push the lead to 4-0 in the seventh, but it was also his fifth homer in as many games against Charleston as the 2024 first-round pick is living up to expectations. 2024 first-round draft pick Cam Smith homers in FIVE STRAIGHT GAMES, setting a franchise record for @Pelicanbaseball!pic.twitter.com/QQSZccojhX Charleston ended the shutout in the bottom of the ninth off a Jhon Diaz single as the Pelicans delivered a 4-1 win. Myrtle Beach had nine hits in the win, with Carter Trice and Owen Ayers picking up two. ON TO THE NEXT ONE.#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/bWBXX6wRVb LAKE COUNTRY DOCKHOUNDS 6 - CHICAGO DOGS 1
TOLEDO MUD HENS 5- IOWA CUBS 3
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 5 - PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 4
Box Score: https://t.co/mWZuRzfOTs pic.twitter.com/qk9yWAnjtnBELOIT SKY CARP 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 4
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 4 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 1
WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 11 - JOLIET SLAMMERS 3
