Cubs Minor League News: PCA with web gem, Two postponements, Preciado with four hits |
Not only was Thursday a light night on the diamond for the Cubs Minor League system, but it was also a rough night. With two games getting postponed due to rain, the attention shifted to the two teams in action as the Iowa Cubs looked to run their winning streak to five games while Myrtle Beach was hoping to build on a good Wednesday win.
Whether the offense chose the wrong time to go south or the pitching performance was terrible from top to bottom, Thursday saw the Cubs post an 0-2 mark. Before we get into the games, there was one move to keep an eye on as Jose Cuas was reportedly demoted to AAA Iowa, which means the Cubs must now make a move. Keegan Thompson and Hayden Wesneski seem logical, but the Cubs could also move Patrick Wisdom to the majors for some extra offense. SAINT PAUL SAINTS 5 - IOWA CUBS 2 The Iowa offense has mostly shouldered the load this season, but that hasn't been the case in this series. Sure, Iowa's offense continues to score a high volume of runs, but it has been the Cubs pitching that has stood out in this series. That was again the case in this one early on as Iowa held the Saints scoreless through five. Then came the next two innings, where Saint Paul pushed five runs across and used that to score the 5-2 win. While the early season rotation continues to be a work in progress, it has been nice to see Chris Clarke turn in some good starts. Despite the right-hander walking five and striking out one in just 3 2/3 innings, Clarke limited the damage to keep Saint Paul off the board, which made things easier for the offense early on. That resulted in the Cubs taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, as David Peralta made quite an impression in his first Cubs at bat with an RBI single. David Peralta's first hit and RBI four pitches into his season! pic.twitter.com/pMcGJWiZYW That was the only run of the game until the sixth inning, as the pitching dominated early. Following Clarke's outing, Edwin Escobar was called on in relief. He continued to keep things rolling with two-plus innings of scoreless work. Then came the fifth, when Escobar ran into trouble before allowing a Diego Castillo homer that put the Saints in front for good, 3-1. Iowa wouldn't go away quietly as Ali Sanchez connected for his first Iowa homer to pull the Cubs back within 3-2 in the seventh. Ali really stung that one 🐝 pic.twitter.com/IvGc4ksgYj That was as close as things would get as Saint Paul tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom half of the seventh as the DaShawn Keirsey Jr homer brought in one run, with the Patrick Winkel sacrifice fly capping off the scoring in the Cubs 5-2 loss. Iowa was held to four hits in the losing effort, with Sanchez, Peralta, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Luis Vazquez grabbing those hits. His name is Armstrong, what did you expect? pic.twitter.com/fs8iDqxAq4 Along with a strong pitching performance from Clarke, Cam Sanders continues to improve, tossing another scoreless to bring his ERA down to 2.57. First long ball as an I-Cub for Ali Sanchez! pic.twitter.com/cW6dveDGy1 4-1 in our last five. pic.twitter.com/yrUzQyvpiv TENNESSEE SMOKIES vs CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS (Postponed) 🚨Tonight’s game has been POSTPONED due to impending weather and current field conditions. The game will be made up later this season. SOUTH BEND CUBS vs WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS (Postponed) Due to the inclement weather, today's game has been postponed. COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 18 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 9 If you like offense, then this was the game for you, as plenty of offense was taking place. Unfortunately for Myrtle Beach, most of that offense went to Columbia who scored 11 times in the final three innings to double up the Birds 18-9. 2023 15th rounder Ty Johnson was making his first career Low-A start, and after allowing three runs in 2 2/3 innings, there wasn't much to get excited about. Allowing runs was the theme of the game for the Pelicans staff, as all six pitchers they called on allowed at least two runs. If your pitching isn't doing the job, you need your offense to back you up, and with Jefferson Encarnacion picking up a sacrifice fly followed by a strikeout wild pitch, it was the Pelicans jumping in front 2-0 early. That lead didn't last long as one swing from Austin Charles gave the Fireflies a 3-2 lead before Reggie Preciado knotted things up 3-3 in the second. That homer were the only runs Johnson would allow as he did an excellent job settling in after that first inning. Preciado continued his strong start to the season with a go-ahead RBI single in the fourth with an Andy Gariola sacrifice fly, making things 5-3. Alexis Hernandez would then add an RBI double in the fifth as the Pelicans continued to maintain a two-run advantage 6-4. Once the fifth inning rolled around, the Columbia offense started to kick things into high gear with a pair of RBI singles from Jhonny Perdermo and Derlin Figueroa, giving the Fireflies a 7-6 lead. That was followed by a seven-run sixth inning as the Pelicans found themselves down 14-6 and searching for answers. Following a bases-loaded walk in the eighth to extend their lead to 15-6, Perdermo closed out his massive game with a bases-clearing triple as the Pelicans came to bat for the final time behind 18-6. Myrtle Beach wouldn't go away quietly, with Carter Trice driving in a run via a groundout before the Jacob Wetzel triple made things 18-9. That would be all for the Pelicans, whose offense looked great, but the pitching struggled immensely. Preciado paced the offense with four of the team's 11 hits while being one of several players with two RBIs. Final. pic.twitter.com/VoeRF4mZ5k
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Game will be made up as part of a 7-inning double header on Friday, April 12. Gates open at 5:00 PM and first pitch of game 1 will begin at 6:05 PM.
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