Cubs Minor League News: Thompson throws gem, Cantrelle homers, Franklin stays hot, more |
The Chicago Cubs have been a model of inconsistency this season, and that has trickled down into the Minor Leagues. With a 3-3 showing on Friday, that is the definition of inconsistency, as the Cubs are doing whatever they have to do to try and win more games.
It hasn't always come easy in this series, but the Iowa Cubs have played the Saints tough and evened up the series on Friday. This time, a six-run eighth inning broke things open after pitching stole the show most of the night. Despite his four walks and three strikeouts, Riley Thompson delivered his best outing of the season as he went 6 2/3 and allowed just one run. He turned things over to Riley Martin and Daniel Palencia, who struck out two in his first game back. Caleb Boushley was equally as good as Thompson, although he was on the short end in this one. Boushley pitched six innings for the Saints, allowing two runs and striking out five. Iowa grabbed the lead immediately in the first off an Owen Caissie single before adding on in the sixth off the BJ Murray Jr. double. The long run of the game for Saint Paul came off the DaShawn Keirsey Jr. homer in the seventh, but the Cubs six-run eighth inning broke the game open. Two errors and a wild pitch aided three of those runs, with Bryce Windham picking up an RBI single. You also had the two-run Hayden Cantrelle homer as part of that inning as the Cubs rolled 8-1. Hayden Cantrelle coming through with some insurance brings us tonight's @GreatClips Clip of the Game! 💪 pic.twitter.com/BJZjtx30yp Cole Roederer was one of several Cubs with multiple hits, joining Matt Mervis, Caissie, and Chase Strumpf. Welcome to Principal Park, Grimace!#iowacubs #milb #onlyindesmoines pic.twitter.com/5PFrZYSvnh Play the song and light off the fireworks! Cubs Win! pic.twitter.com/7evUpvjuy1
Despite this game only lasting five innings, it was the Barons who jumped on the Smokies early as their four-run second inning would be all they would need to grab the win. Matt Thompson wasn't sharp, and he lasted just 1 2/3 innings before being yanked. He was replaced by Joe Nahas, who finished the game after both pitchers had given up three runs. With Mason Adams going the distance to lower his ERA to 2.13, things weren't going to come easy for the Smokies and their offense, as the lone run he allowed came in the first off the Yohendrick Pinango single. It was all Birmingham after that as they stormed in front with a four-run second to take the lead for good 4-1. All it took was one big swing for this game to turn as Jacob Gonzalez unloaded for the Grand Slam to put the Barons on top 4-1. Birmingham would add two more runs in the fourth on the Jason Matthews two-run blast as the Smokies fell 6-1. Christian Franklin led the offense again with two hits, with four others grabbing one. Tonight’s game has been called complete after 5 innings due to weather. | @zips3mincarwash
The only thing that can stop the red-hot Cubs right now is Mother Nature, as heavy rains postponed their game Friday. They will have a doubleheader against the Rattlers on Saturday as they look to clinch the series win. UPDATE: Friday night’s game in Appleton between the #SBCubs and @TimberRattlers has been postponed due to inclement weather. Tonight's game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday night, with first pitch of Game 1 scheduled for 6:00 PM EST. pic.twitter.com/yhxMRogrz9
The most exciting game of the night came in Low-A, where the Pelicans were locked into a drama-filled game. Leading 9-4 late, the Woodpeckers began to rally, but the Birds found a way to get the job done. Nazier Mule delivered his best start of the season by going four innings, allowing just two runs and striking out five. He gave way to Nico Zeglin, who improved to 4-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.74 after three strong innings of relief. Leading 1-0 off a first-inning wild pitch, the Pelicans saw the Woodpeckers tie things up with a Yamal Encarnacion single in the third before they took the lead off an Alejandro Nunez single in the fourth. The Pelicans didn't waste any time retaking the lead as an Alexis Hernandez bunt was aided by a throwing error to help two runs come in. Cristian Hernandez followed that up with an RBI single as the Pelicans took a 4-2 lead. Errors continued to be an issue for both sides in the fifth, with the Pelicans committing an error that led to two runs. Again, this was a tie game, 4-4. The best way to respond to an error is to come out and send a message, and the Pelicans responded with five unanswered runs to open a 9-4 lead. Two of those runs came on a pair of sixth innings singles from Andy Garriola and Frank Hernandez as the Pelicans took the lead for good, 6-4. They added three more runs in the seventh off a pair of wild pitches and a passed ball as the Pelicans opened up a 9-4 lead. Fayetteville did their best to battle back in the eighth, with Will Bush picking up an RBI single ahead of two RBI groundouts to make things 9-7, but they would fall by that score. The Pelicans' box score was interesting, as they were outhit 9-5 in the win. They walked 14 times but struck out 15 times in what was a strange overall game. Gritty not pretty. We had fun on Friday!#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/KI99350rZr
Despite the Cubs loss to the Guardians, this was all about Ben Leeper who made his first apperance since undergoing a third Tommy John last season. Leeper lasted just one inning, allowing two hits and striking out one as he was very emotional on the mound. The Cubs also saw Luis Devers on the mound as he struck out four in two innings while allowing two runs. Joan Delgado paced the offense with three hits and two RBIs, and he is now hitting .327 this season. Yahil Melendez added two hits to give the Cubs two players with multiple hits in what was otherwise a slow offensive night for this team.
It has been a long time since either of the DSL teams has put together a complete game effort, but following their 10-1 win, this was a complete game win. Yander Maria got the start for the Cubs and set the tone by going three shutout innings, allowing one hit and striking out five. Maria was backed by some instant offense in the first as a wild pitch mixed with the Josias Ramirez single gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead. The Cubs would add two more runs on a fourth-inning single from Isaac Moscote and a sixth-inning single from Diego Gonzalez as they opened up a 4-0 lead. In the seventh, the Cubs offense exploded as they scored six times over the next two innings to break the game open. Four runs came in the seventh as the Julio Valdez double brought home one run, with Gonzalez plating two with a single. There was also an RBI forceout mixed in with that as the Cubs opened up an 8-1 lead. The Cubs tacked on two more runs in the eighth as Sandy Sanchez and Ramirez added RBI singles in their 10-1 win. Gonzalez paced the offense with three hits and three RBIs.
While the DSL Cubs Blue squad looked great, the same can't be said for DSL Red as they were held to three hits in a 4-0 loss to the Pirates. Emilio Ramos and Brayan Diaz each tossed three innings in the loss as they combined to strike out seven. The only run the Pirates would need came off a first-inning fielder's choice, as the Pirates never looked back. They added to their lead on the Andres Villafane homer in the third before pushing across two more runs in the sixth. Javier Acevedo had a single as part of that two-run sixth, with a wild pitch leading to the other run. Ezequiel Pena, Daniel Campos, and Leroy Escalante had the hits for the Cubs in their loss. IOWA CUBS 8 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 1
BIRMINGHAM BARONS 6 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 1 (F/5)
Box Score: https://t.co/5yagwutBV4 pic.twitter.com/1j3Li6NSB5SOUTH BEND CUBS at WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (Postponed)
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 9 - FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 7
We’re back on Saturday night at 6:35.#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/MhWuhuU0Be
ACL GUARDIANS 7 - ACL CUBS 6
DSL CUBS BLUE 10 - DSL RED SOX 1
DSL PIRATES 4 - DSL CUBS RED 0
