Cubs Minor League News: Thompson impressive, Verdugo smacks grand slam, Pels with walk-off
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Thompson impressive, Verdugo smacks grand slam, Pels with walk-off
by - Senior Writer - Sun Jul 16 10:00:29 GMT-04:00 2023

Although this may have been the final full slate of games this week, it was not a great night for the Cubs on the diamond. Not only did the full season squads go on to post a 2-2 mark, but two of the three rookie league teams lost their games, and some were not even competitive. That saw them finish the night 3-4, as most teams are trying to get back into the swing of things.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS 4 - IOWA CUBS 0

Saturday was all about the pitching from both Iowa and Columbus, as seven total hits were scored. The difference was a three-run inning from Columbus to bust the game open as they took game two of this weekend's series 4-0. Riley Thompson was the story of the day for Iowa as he made another start for the Cubs.

Thompson may not have been great with his command walking three and striking out three, but all that matters is he allowed just one run to keep things close. He was replaced by Adrian Sampson, who immediately allowed three runs in his first inning of work before tossing two scoreless innings after. Columbus only needed one run to win this game, with Oscar Gonzalez taking Thompson deep in the fourth to make things 1-0.

That score stood until the sixth, when a pair of RBI doubles pushed across three runs to make things 4-0. Jhonkensy Noel delivered the first of those doubles to make things 2-0, with Micah Pries finishing things off with his double in the 4-0 win. Iowa was held to just three hits in the win as Darius Hill, Matt Mervis, and Jake Slaughter had those hits.

MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 7 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 4

If there was one team excited to get the second half underway, you have to think Tennessee was one of them. After fading towards the end of the first half and allowing Chattanooga to take the first-half title, the Smokies have come out strong to begin the second half and currently lead the division.

Looking to clinch their weekend series with another win on Saturday, Tennessee struggled to put the hitters away as they fell 7-4. Walker Powell made the start for the Smokies and took the loss in this one. He gave Tennessee four innings and was charged with four runs, although three were earned. Trailing 1-0 in the third, Montgomery started to create some distance as they pushed across three runs to take a 4-0 lead.

A double steal aided one of those runs, but Tristan Peters picked up an RBI single to start the scoring, with Mason Auer going deep later in the frame. It took five innings for the Smokies to break through, with Scott McKeon playing long ball to make things 4-1. His homer ignited a homer barrage as Peters and Evan Edwards homered in consecutive innings to push the Biscuits lead to 7-1.

Despite trailing by six, the Smokies started to mount a late-game comeback, with Levi Jordan picking up an RBI single in the seventh. That was followed by a Jordan Nwogu sacrifice fly in the seventh, with Owen Caissie reaching on an error in the ninth to cap off a 7-4 loss.

Jordan paced the offense with three hits as the Smokies pounded out 11 hits in the game. Bradlee Beesley, BJ Murray Jr, and Pablo Aliendo added multi-hit games.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 6 - QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 1

Sparked by a four-run first inning, the Cubs made quick work of Quad Cities as they clinched the weekend series. For a team desperate to pick up wins, this was a crucial series for them, and it couldn't have started better.

Michael Arias was the starter and continued to do great work as he gave the Cubs four innings, allowing just one unearned run. He didn't strike out a ton or walk a lot, as that has yet to be part of his game with South Bend. Arias gave way to a trio of relievers, including Max Bain, who struck out two in two innings to pick up the win.

Looking to get their offense rolling early, the Cubs started things off in Grand fashion with Luis Verdugo connecting for a first-inning Grand Slam to make things 4-0. Although it was still early, the Cubs made that lead hold up as Ezequiel Pagan added a solo shot in the top half of the second to extend the lead to 5-0.

The lone run of the game for Quad Cities came in the third when River Town used an RBI groundout to make things 5-1. Moises Ballesteros capped off the scoring for the Cubs in the eighth as his RBI double lifted the Cubs to the 6-1 win. Those were the only three players with hits, with Pagan grabbing two and the others only one.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 6 - CAROLINA MUDCATS 5

After being the only full-season team not to win a game on Friday, the Pelicans were looking for some revenge on Saturday in hopes of evening up their series with Carolina. It didn't come easy, as Carolina used a late-game rally to score twice in the ninth to tie things up. However, the Pelicans got the last laugh as Pedro Ramirez delivered a walk-off single for the 6-5 win.

Drew Gray was back on the mound for the Pelicans as he continued to build up arm strength. Despite struggling with his command, he only allowed one hit in three innings while giving up no runs. Gray gave way to Koen Moreno and Kenyi Perez, who combined to allow five runs the rest of the way before Scott Kobos earned the final out for the Birds.

Regarding their offense, runs were difficult, as Logan Henderson was outstanding in his five innings. Sure, he did allow two runs, but he also struck out eight as his ERA sits at 2.95. With one swing of the bat from David Avitia, the Pelicans took a 2-0 lead in the third as he took Henderson deep for his first homer. Those were the only runs he would allow as both offenses struggled to get much of anything going early.

Carolina responded in the top half of the fourth when Jadher Areinamo took Moreno deep to make things 2-1, while Tayden Hall tied things up in the fifth off a double. The Mudcats continued to do damage off the Pelicans pen as Gregory Barrios put Carolina ahead with an RBI double in the seventh.

Trailing for the first time in the game, the Pelicans didn't waste much time to battle back as Avitia used an RBI forceout to tie things up in the bottom of the seventh. Later in that inning, there was a costly throwing error that allowed Reivaj Garcia to reach base and brought home two additional runs to make things 5-3.

Looking to finish things off in the ninth, the Mudcats wouldn't go away quietly as Areinamo continued his massive weekend with a clutch two-run single, bringing things back to even 5-5. With only three outs before extras, the Pelicans had a runner on, with Rafael Morel earning a one-out walk.

That walk would soon turn into a double when he stole second base and then continued to use his speed as Ramirez came through with a walk-off RBI single to score Morel and gave the Birds a 6-5 win. Five players had one hit for Myrtle Beach, with Avitia leading the way with three RBIs.

ACL CUBS 6 ACL DODGERS 5

DSL TIGERS 9 - DSL CUBS BLUE 5

DSL TIGERS 3 - DSL CUBS 0

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