Cubs Minor League News: Wicks impressive, Mervis returns, Pertuz with walk-off bunt, more |
It was a great night overall for the Cubs and their Minor League system, as they posted a 4-2 overall record. That included a near-perfect 3-1 mark from the full-season squads, while the Rookie Leagues closed out their season by going 1-1.
In a bit of a surprise, the Iowa offense got an excellent lift on Tuesday as Matt Mervis was reinstated from the IL and inserted into the lineup. Mervis' return was positive as he picked up a pair of hits, including an RBI single in the 10th to push home the winning run in the Cub's 6-5 win. Jordan Wicks took the ball in what could be his final rehab start of the season, and after tossing four shutout innings and allowing just one hit, his next stop could be Wrigley Field. Wicks walked none and struck out four after what had been a rough go during his rehab. The Cubs needed Wicks effort to pull out the win as Ty Madden was equally as good through three innings before coming undone in the fourth. In the fourth, the Cubs grabbed a 3-0 lead as a pair of RBI singles from Luis Vazquez and Owen Caissie provided the damage in that inning. With Wicks coming out of the game in favor of Trey Supak in the fifth, the Toledo offense immediately capitalized as they tied things up 3-3. A pair of singles from Akil Baddoo and Justyn Henry-Malloy led to two runs, with a wild pitch aiding the other run. Both teams added a run in the seventh, with Caissie working a bases-loaded walk to give the Cubs a 4-3 lead before a Trey Wingenter wild pitch allowed for the tying run to score in the bottom of the seventh, which ultimately sent the game to extras. In the extra frame, the Cubs jumped in front first as the Kevin Alcantara double gave the lead for good, 5-4, while the Mervis single pushed home the winning run to extend their lead to 6-4. Toledo managed to get one of those runs back in their half of the 10th, but that was as close as they would get as the Cubs secured a 6-5 extra-inning win. Mervis was one of three Cubs to record multiple hits as Vazquez and Alcantara joined him. Keegan Thompson earned the win in relief as his incredible run of success continued. Extra-inning W! pic.twitter.com/FxoAB2lCQW
If there was ever a team that could potentially take it to the Smokies and help out the rest of the Southern League, Pensacola could be it. These teams have had a rich postseason history the past two years. This was one of those games where pitching dominated the stage, as a total of three runs were scored in this one. Two of those runs went to Tennessee, including the game-winning run in the ninth as the Smokies walked off the Blue Wahoos 2-1. Sam Armstrong has steadily been improving each time out since his promotion to AA, but after six innings of one-run, four-strikeout baseball, this was his best start to date. Armstrong was backed by a fifth-inning Casey Opitz single that broke a scoreless tie up to that point. It was also the only run Patrick Monteverde would allow as the right-hander allowed just two hits across six innings and struck out five. The only run Armstrong would allow came in his final inning of work as the Jared Serna groundout brought things back to even and was the only run scored until the ninth inning. Down to their final at-bats before extras, the Smokies came through in the clutch as the Fabian Pertuz single pushed home the winning run in the Smokies walk-off 2-1 win. The Smokies had five hits in the win, with Pablo Aliendo leading the way with two. Another day, another baseball game at Smokies Stadium! pic.twitter.com/hZbvd63W3b FABIAN PERTUZ WITH A WALKOFF BUNT! You love to see it. | @zips3mincarwash
For once, the pitching set the tone most of the night in the Cubs system, which has to be a pleasant sight to see. Things were the same in South Bend as they managed to keep Beloit off the board until the ninth before holding on 3-2. Grant Kipp deserves a ton of credit for that, as he earned the win after tossing six scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing just two hits. W, 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K's 🤩 Despite his efforts, this was a very strange game, as all the runs scored came in two innings. That includes all three by the Cubs, who broke a scoreless tie in the fourth and turned it into a 3-0 lead. That was huge when you look at how Karson Milbrandt pitched as he struck out eight across six strong innings. All it took for the Cubs offense to deliver was one big swing of the bat from Jordan Nwogu, who picked up a clutch RBI double to put the Cubs in front 2-0. They would tack on the third run later in the inning off a wild pitch, but with those being the only runs, it would be up to their pitching to finish things off. Kipp did his part on the mound, as did Nico Zeglin, as those two pitched flawlessly through 7 2/3 by not allowing a run. Then came the ninth inning when things got dicey and saw the Cubs lead quickly evaporate. Jay Beshears ended the shutout bid with an RBI single before the Colby Shade single made this a 3-2 game. That was as close as the Sky Carp would get as Jose Romero came in to put out the fire and picked up the save to hand the Cubs the win. Andy Garriola led South Bend with two hits, while the Cubs had just six hits in the win. Nwogu tacked on one hit, but also had both RBIs in the win. SING THE SONG!!!#CubsWin #FlyTheW pic.twitter.com/GyMwv4XlM2 We won one for 'The Kipper' 💪@GrantKipp earned his first #SBCubs win tonight with 6️⃣ shutout innings of work. He caught up after the game on the field with @MaxThoma! pic.twitter.com/yFYSbIMqtv
The lone loss among the Cubs full-season teams came in Myrtle Beach, where the Pelicans fell 8-3. At this point, it looks like their potential late-season playoff push could be over, as this team looks out of gas right now. Any time you have just four hits and allow three runs in the first few innings, you're asking for trouble, as the Birds didn't do themselves any favors. Yenrri Rojas was on the mound for the Pelicans, and after allowing a pair of runs in the second and third innings, it was the Jhon Diaz single that broke the game open in the fourth and put the Birds in a 3-0 hole. Charleston added a second run in that inning off a balk as that run went down as the winning run and gave the Riverdogs a 4-0 lead. That would be all of the support Drew Dowd would need, as he tossed five scoreless frames, allowing just two hits and striking out six. Trailing 6-0 in the eighth, Rookie Cam Smith made things interesting as he connected for his first professional homer in the eighth to pull the Pelicans within 6-3. HR No. 1 for Cam Smith! It was a great moment for him and the organization, but with those being the only runs scored in the game, it wasn't as joyous as it could've been with Charleston tacking on two more runs to win 8-3. Final.#MBPelicans pic.twitter.com/6mFEx1dFwW
In what is one of the best rivalries in the American Association of Professional Baseball, the Dogs came out on top in game one with a final score of 4-3. Brady Miller set the tone with his 6 2/3 scoreless innings before handing things off to Brian Schlitter the rest of the way. Miller was backed by plenty of early offense as the Marty Costas homer put the Dogs in front 2-0 in the second before Jacob Teter left the building for his 24th homer in the third to make this a 3-0 game. It was a lead the Dogs would maintain until the seventh as Teter picked up another RBI with a single to push the Dogs lead to 4-0. Little did anyone know that single proved crucial. The Milkmen got on the board with Roy Morales' two-run single in the eighth before cutting things to 4-3 in the ninth on a Griffin Doersching homer. That was the game's final run, as Schlitter found a way to recover and took care of the rest for the Dogs. DOGS W!
Speaking of rivalries, you have the inner-state rivalries of the Frontier League, as Windy City and Evansville are one of those. With the Bolts trailing by a pair late, the JJ Figueroa two-run single in the ninth brought things back to even 5-5. That momentum was short-lived, with Pavin Parks cashing in with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the Bolts 6-5. Neither Ruddy Gomez of Windy City nor Zach Smith (Evansville) was at their best, but with Smith striking out eight across six innings and allowing just two runs, he was better. Those runs came off a Christian Kuzemka solo shot in the first and a Brennen Dorighi single in the fourth, but with David Mendham delivering a three-run shot in the third, the Otters held a 3-2 lead. Adios ⚾️ courtesy of Christian Kuzemka pic.twitter.com/bxTjCKKPCB Robert Chayke managed to tie the game in the sixth as he came home on a wild pitch but with former Cub Delvin Zinn scoring on a wild pitch in the bottom of the sixth, it was the Otters still holding a narrow 4-3 lead. They would extend that lead to 5-3 in the eighth on the Gio DiGiacomo single as the Bolts were down to their final at-bats trailing by two. It was in their last at-bats when Figueroa nearly played the hero as his two-run base hit brought things back to even 5-5 and put the pressure back into the hands of the Otters offense. It was the type of pressure they were looking to handle as Parks cashed in with a walk-off sacrifice fly to give the Otters a 6-5 win. IOWA CUBS 6 - TOLEDO MUD HENS 5 (F/10)
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 2 - PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 1
Box Score: https://t.co/pJnLoRSbO2 pic.twitter.com/R2wsM7MAFwSOUTH BEND CUBS 3 - BELOIT SKY CARP 2
Grant Kipp was locked in. He took home tonight's PEGGS Player of the Game honor! pic.twitter.com/Q8cHoRSkq2
CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 8 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 3
A 418-foot three-run homer cuts the lead in half in the eighth!#MBPelicans | #YouHaveToSeeIt pic.twitter.com/F2MeIFlG19
DSL CUBS RED 4 - DSL PADRES 2
DSL DIAMONDBACKS 8 - DSL CUBS BLUE 2
CHICAGO DOGS 4 - MILWAUKEE MILKMEN 3
📺https://t.co/ZyIk7dOVpK |🌭#NoKetchup pic.twitter.com/8u7lN8D2kJEVANSVILLE OTTERS 6 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 5
