Cubs Minor League News: Strumpf smacks grand slam, Wiggins pitches gem, Pels with 4 homers |
Dustin Riese
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- 21 hours ago
Another day has come, and another day has gone as the Cubs Minor League system continues to go about their business. Thursday marked a day when you saw plenty of standout performances across the board as the Cubs finished 2-2.
The beat goes on for the Iowa Cubs, as, once again, it was a complete game effort that led to another win. This game was much closer than the final score would indicate, as the eighth-inning Chase Strumpf Grand Slam broke the game open and gave the Cubs the win. One of the more intriguing stories that is starting to develop is the emergence of Keegan Thompson as a starter. Granted, he hasn't gone deep into games yet, but after tossing 3 1/3 innings on Thursday with three punchouts, perhaps Thompson is better as a starter. He allowed an unearned run on four hits as his ERA sits at 0.00 for the season. The long blemish off Thompson came in the first when Armando Alvarez drove home the game's first run off an RBI groundout. That score would hold until the fourth as Marco Reya kept the Cubs off the board through three. All it took for the Cubs to grab the lead was one swing of the bat from Greg Allen, whose two-run shot put the Cubs in front 2-1 in the fourth. Iowa would never look back as Strumpf provided the rest of the offense with an eighth-inning grand slam to break the game open 6-1. CHASE STRUMPF GRAND SLAM Saint Paul scored a run off Brandon Hughes in the ninth, with Mike Ford taking him deep. That homer wasn't enough as the Cubs rolled to another 6-2 win. Ben Cowles paced the Cubs offense with three of their 11 hits. Allen added two hits with his two RBIs, and six other players picked up one hit. Gavin Hollowell was also impressive as he struck out five in two perfect innings of relief. DUB pic.twitter.com/8ZJWqU04nB
Coming off a blowout loss on Wednesday, the Smokies were back at it again on Thursday, looking for another home win. This was a strange game as all nine runs were scored in two innings, but the Lookouts managed to come out on top 5-4. With Jose Acuna on the hill for the Lookouts, the Smokies offense jumped on him early, pushing across four runs in the second inning to take a 4-0 lead. Pedro Ramirez breaks it open with a bases clearing double! It's 4-0 Smokies in the bottom of the 3rd. #WholeNewBallGame pic.twitter.com/ThpKDAGJdh Pablo Aliendo kicked off the scoring with a solo shot, but the bases-loaded double from Pedro Ramirez broke the game open and gave Knoxville a 4-0 lead. Pablo Aliendo sends this one to the moon! It's 1-0 in the bottom of the 2nd. #WholeNewBallGame @pabloaliendo14 pic.twitter.com/pwsQQQnmZZ That was enough for Will Sanders in the early going, as he was locked in through three innings. Then came the fourth when Sanders not only lost it but lost the game as well, with Chattanooga rallying for five runs to take a 5-4 lead. All five runs came off a quartet of RBI singles, with Ethan O'Donnell, Austin Callahan, and Jack Rogers picking up three of those singles and Jay Allen delivering a two-run single. Those were the final runs for both sides the rest of the way as the Lookouts made their 5-4 lead hold until the end, winning by that score. Knoxville had seven hits in the game, with Ramirez and Ethan Hearn responsible for four of them. Ramirez added three RBIs in the loss. Apart from Sanders, the rest of the Smokies staff was great, including Wil Jensen, who struck out four in 2 1/3 scoreless innings. All you can do is try your hardest. | @zips3mincarwash
The road continues to be a house of horrors for the South Bend Cubs, who are still searching for their first road win. This was one of those games where the offense was tough to come by, with West Michigan picking up a 2-1 win. Despite the Cubs losing another road game, the performance of Jaxon Wiggins stood out as the right-hander went out to toss his best start of 2025. Wiggins was dialed in from the jump, allowing one run across five innings. He walked two and struck out seven, showing why he is such a highly rated prospect. His lone run allowed came in the bottom of the first as Luke Gold touched him up for a solo shot. That came after Edgar Alvarez opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the top of the inning, as that was the only run Max Alba would allow in his start. It was also the only hit Alba would allow as the Cubs were held to three hits in the loss. With the game still tied 1-1 in the seventh, it was Bennett Lee coming as his RBI single off Chase Watkins was the difference in the Whitecaps' 2-1 win. The Cubs were held to three hits, with Ivan Brethowr, Carter Trice, and Miguel Pabon having those hits. On a side note, former Chicago Dogs right-hander Kenny Serwa took over for Alba and struck out six in five shutout innings. West Michigan hangs on for the 2-1 win. We're back at it tomorrow evening at 6:35 for game four of the series.#SBCubs pic.twitter.com/GyqUREyD3s
This is what you call a character win for the Pelicans. They opened up an early lead and lost it in one inning, only to gain it back late for the win. Cole Mathis was a big reason why, as he connected for his first two homers and drove in five RBIs, including a massive three-run shot in what was a five-run eighth to break a 6-6 tie and gave the Pelicans an 11-6 win. With Nazier Mule taking the ball, the Pelicans' offense gave him plenty of support as they jumped all over Owen Hackman. It all started with the Leonel Espinoza single in the first as part of his five-hit to put the Birds in front 1-0. They added to that lead in the third as Mathis connected for his first of two homers to make things 3-0, while an Owen Ayers triple extended the lead to 4-0. First "Mathis Mash" of the season 💣 pic.twitter.com/cpaAp7Gl4X One inning later, the long ball came through again with Espinoza and Alexey Lumpuy going deep to push the Pelicans' lead to 6-0. ANOTHA ONE! Alexey Lumpuy belts his first homer of the year! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4d8rPk0IcD At that time, that looked to be enough as Mule was dealing early. Then came the fifth when Mule not only ran out of gas, but the Greenjackets took a six-run lead and turned it into a 6-6 tie by pushing across six runs. Five were charged to Mule, but given the errors that happened in that inning, Mule was charged with only one earned run, as his line looks better than it was. All it took to awaken the Augusta offense was a two-run error to start the scoring, while a balk pulled the Greenjackets within 6-3. Owen Carey kept the line moving with an RBI double to get things to 6-4 before the Nick Montgomery big fly turned this into a 6-6 game. That was it for the Augusta offense in this one, as the Pelicans' bullpen came into the game and slammed the door shut the rest of the way. With things still tied in the eighth, it was the Pelicans' offense getting the job done late as a pair of RBI singles from Espinoza and Jose Escobar broke the tie and put the Pelicans on top for good, 8-6. Then came the Mathis big bly that not only put the game out of reach, but closed out the scoring for both sides as his three-run shot lifted the Pelicans to an 11-6 win. Yeah, we could get used to this! 😎 Espinoza paced the entire offense with five hits and three RBIs, and Mathis picked up two hits and five RBIs. The Birds use 4⃣ homers to get back in the win column!#MBPelicans | @CampersInnRV pic.twitter.com/imOpqqIW0XIOWA CUBS 6 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 2
6-1 I-CUBS! pic.twitter.com/91r3T3qGhW
CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 5 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 4
Box Score: https://t.co/izA40vxEDn pic.twitter.com/9h1q2flaHLWEST MICHIGAN WHITECAPS 2 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 11 - AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS 6
Leonel Espinoza joins the home run party! pic.twitter.com/BgT2moJY2i
Cole Mathis blasts his second homer of the night. pic.twitter.com/OlUMD48LHl
