Cubs Minor League News: Ed Howard homers in win, Canario impressive, Iowa gets one win, mo |
Even though the Cubs were postponed with a doubleheader set for Wednesday, that doesn't mean there was no baseball Tuesday night as the Cubs system was alive and well. In total, all seven teams were in action playing a total of eight games.
Despite one game getting suspended in the sixth, the Cubs put together a solid night on the diamond going 4-3 across the board. Those wins, and even in the losses, gave fans plenty to cheer about as the action on the farm is starting to heat up.
With a doubleheader set to open their series with Omaha, the Cubs played the Storm Chasers into extra innings before falling by two. Ryan Kellogg had a rough go of things on the mound surrendering six earned runs in just 3 2/3 innings of work as he put the Cubs offense in comeback mode from the start. Three of those six runs came from a Bobby Witt homer that had the Storm Chasers in front 3-0 in the third inning. After the Cubs stole home in the bottom of the third to get their first run, Omaha responded with singles by Witt and Erick Mejia to go with a throwing error as the Cubs trailed 6-1 in the fourth. In the fifth inning, the Cubs offense came to life as they used a five-run fifth to tie things up 6-6. Abiatal Avelino showed great patience at the plate, picking up a bases-loaded walk to make things 6-2. A Nick Martini single pulled the Cubs within 6-4 before the Alfonso Rivas double knotted the game up 6-6 and helped send things to extra innings. In the extra frame, the Storm Chasers wasted no time taking the lead with Mejia singling home the game-winning run before Lucius Fox added a sacrifice fly to close out the 8-6 win. Martini and Rivas led the offense with two hits and two RBIs each. Omaha got the first one, but we'll play again in half an hour! pic.twitter.com/683fsF7nbi
In a make-up game from a June Postponement, the Cubs had much better luck cruising to a split on the evening. ERA aside, Matt Swarmer is pitching much better and delivered a tremendous six-inning start to pick up the win. Swarmer allowed one run on four hits to go with seven punchouts before Brendon Little finished things off. The lone run Swarmer allowed came in the first inning when Rudy Martin connected for his fifth homer of the season and early `1-0 lead. One inning later saw the Cubs grab the lead for good, with Caleb Knight going deep for a two-run shot ahead of the Greg Deichmann double to make things 3-1. Jared Young added a solo shot in the third to extend the lead to 4-1 before the Cubs put the game away in the fifth. Your @EMCInsurance Player of the Game is Jared Young! pic.twitter.com/hmGanwvMVC Once again, it was Young coming through as his single extended the lead to 5-1. Later in the inning, Trent Giambrone connected for his third homer as the Cubs took an 8-1 lead and won by that score. Three home runs, one I-Cubs win! pic.twitter.com/Hu1ukJqaJS
Tennessee had a tough time containing the Lookouts offense as they pushed across seven runs in the first two innings. That was more than enough to give them the lead as they picked up the 8-3 win. Dakota Chalmers had a start to forget as the right-hander lasted just 1 2/3 innings surrendering seven runs in the process. Even with his struggles, the Smokies did their best to back him early, with Chase Strumpf connecting for an RBI single in the first to put the Smokies in front 2-0. After Wilson Garcia tied things up in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer, the Lookouts put the game away in the second using a five-run frame to get things done. Matt Lloyd got things started with a two-run shot, as that proved to be the difference in the game. Lorenzo Cedrola and Robbie Tenerowicz added RBI singles before Drew Mount capped off the inning with an RBI double, putting the Lookouts in front 7-2. The rest of the game was all about pitching, as no runs were scored until the eighth inning. It was in the top half of that inning when Delvin Zinn picked up an RBI walk to pull within 7-3, only to see the Lookouts close out the scoring with a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth to secure the 8-3 victory. Carlos Sepulveda and Christopher Morel led the offense with two hits, while Zinn, Strumpf, Nelson Velazquez, and Brennen Davis added one hit. Smokies win the series 4-3 with today’s second game! #SmokiesBaseball #GoSmokies pic.twitter.com/rsHA7vkxfl
Normally, if a team has the lead after five innings and rain comes through, the game would count as completed, with the leading team earning a rain-shortened win. South Bend wasn't that fortunate as they saw their contest Tuesday suspended in the sixth with the Cubs leading 7-2. Joe Nahas continues to be impressive, as the right-hander pitched all five innings allowing just two runs as his ERA has dropped to 3.38. The recently promoted Pablo Aliendo helped give the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the second after reaching on an error, while a bases-loaded walk to Luis Vazquez in the fourth put South Bend up 2-0. Jordan Walker was able to tie things up in the bottom of the fourth when he took Nahas deep for his third homer of the season. Two innings later saw the Cubs offense come to life as they pushed across five runs in the top of the sixth to give them a 7-2 lead as things stand. Alexander Canario just hit about 473 feet. He had a little wind behind him pic.twitter.com/gkUGV4co45 While a passed ball did aid in the runs, Tyler Durna picked up a two-run single before Alexander Canario ended a long homerless drought to make things 7-2. This game will be completed prior to Wednesday's regularly scheduled game. Tonight’s game has been suspended due to inclement weather. We will resume play in the sixth inning tomorrow at 5:00 CT
Sparked by a pair of three-run innings, the Pelicans did more than enough to pick up the 6-1 win. Richard Gallardo took the ball as he delivered a quality four-inning start allowing one run on five hits to go with six strikeouts. The first of those three-run frames came in the second inning when Ethan Hearn put the Pelicans on top with an RBI double. Ed Howard followed that up with his third homer of the season as that hit proved to be the game-winner. Ed Howard set the tone for the offense tonight, cranking a 2-run homer in the 2nd. The lone blemish on Gallardo's line came in the fourth inning when Diego Hernandez connected for an RBI triple to make things 3-1. Still holding that 3-1 lead in the eighth, the Pelicans picked up a huge insurance run off a wild pitch ahead of Jacob Wetzel, going deep for the seventh time this season to cap off the 6-1 win. Wetzel led the way with a pair of hits to go with two RBIs, while Howard, Kevin Made, Hearn, and Peter Matt had the rest of the hits.OMAHA STORM CHASERS 8 – IOWA CUBS 6 (Game 1)
IOWA CUBS 8 – OMAHA STORM CHASERS 1
CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 8 – TENNESSEE SMOKIES 3
SOUTH BEND CUBS 7 – PEORIA CHIEFS 2 (Suspended in the seventh)
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 6 – COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 1
Crack of the Bat Play of the Game presented by @VinesPlumbingSC pic.twitter.com/BKwPZKVXZT
ACL CUBS 9 – ACL ANGELS 4
The ACL Cubs have started to get on a roll once after a week of lackluster play topping the Angels 9-4. Most of the damage the Cubs did came in the first four innings, where they took a commanding lead and didn't look back. Three of their runs came in the second inning, with Miguel Fabrizio opening the scoring with an RBI double ahead of singles by Rafael Morel and Felix Stevens to give the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
Fabrizio added an RBI groundout in the third before the Cubs offense went back at it in the fourth. This time it was Stevens going deep for his sixth homer of the season before James Triantos added his second homer of the year to give the Cubs a 7-0 lead in the fourth. Werner Blakely put an end to the shutout with a solo shot in the bottom half of the fourth, but that was the brunt of the offense until late in the game.
Morel added an RBI groundout in the seventh to put the Cubs in front 8-1 ahead of a wild pitch that saw the Cubs grab the 9-1 lead. The Angels tried to battle back in the bottom of the seventh with Jorge Jimenez and Gabriel Rodriguez adding RBI singles, but it wasn't enough in the 9-4 loss. Once again, it was Stevens sparking the offense leading the way with three hits and two RBIs. Kevin Alcantara and Triantos added multi-hit games in the win.
DSL PIRATES 5 – DSL CUBS BLUE 1
The offense continues to be an issue lately for DSL Blue as they dropped another quiet game to the Pirates 5-1. The Pirates needed just one inning to get the job done, pushing across three runs in the third to take the lead.
Javier Rivas connected for the go-ahead RBI single to give the Pirates the lead before Ronny Sanchez provided the game-winning run with a two-run triple putting the Pirates up 3-0. Looking to keep things close, Wally Soto picked up a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth as the Cubs were within 3-1. That would be as close as the Cubs would get with Shalin Polanco adding an RBI single in the fifth ahead of Heiron Montalban and his single in the sixth en route to the Pirates 5-1 win.
Hits continue to be an issue as the Cubs tallied just three hits in the loss. Cristian Hernandez, Frank Hernandez, and Joanfran Rojas picked up the hits in the quiet afternoon.
DSL CUBS RED 5 – DSL GIANTS 2
Despite the DSL RED having the worst of the two records, they are the ones playing better baseball topping the Giants 5-2. Yonathan Ochoa got the start and gave the Cubs four strong innings of two-run ball, helping lower his ERA to 3.42 in the process. Ochoa was not only backed by two runs in the first, but two runs in the second as the Cubs grabbed a 4-0 lead and didn't look back.
Cristian More gave the Cubs the lead for good in the first, using a sacrifice fly to collect the game's first RBI. Anderson Suriel added an RBI single later in the first, putting the Cubs up 2-0. One inning later saw Pedro Ramirez connect for the game-winning RBI single ahead of another More sacrifice fly as the Cubs held the 4-0 lead through two innings of play.
Needing their fair share of offense the rest of the way, the Giants picked up a huge Mauricio Pierre single in the third to get them on the board before Juan el Urena singled home the Giants final run in the fifth to pull them within 4-2. Ramirez added an RBI double to cap off the scoring in the sixth as the Cubs picked up the 5-2 win.
Ramirez has been on a tear all season and did that once again, going a perfect 4-4 at the plate to go with two RBIs as he is hitting .365 on the season. Suriel continued his recent hot streak adding three hits of his own as they provided most of the team's offense.
