Cubs Minor League News: DSL Cubs Red rally, DSL Blue walks it off |
Dustin Riese
· · 4 hours ago
In what will be the final day of the Rookie League showcase this week, Thursday marked a busier day on the diamond than what we have been seeing. For starters, all three rookie league affiliates were once again in action, but instead of three games taking place, there were four.
That is because the DSL Red Cubs had a makeup game with the DSL Arizona squad, giving them two games to play on Thursday. When it comes to the results, the Cubs continue to go through the motions, finishing with a 2-2 record, but also continue to receive some strong performances across the board.
The Cubs and Diamondbacks became quite familiar with each other, as three of the four games came from these two clubs. This has been a trying season for the ACL Cubs, and for their sake, it can't end soon enough, as their overall struggles continued with a 10-5 loss on Thursday. Most of the Diamondbacks' damage came in the first four innings as they used a pair of four-run frames to break the game wide open. Dawson Netz was the victim of the first big inning as he was touched up for four runs in three innings. All those runs came in the second inning with Bo Walker using an RBI single to open the scoring while Gian Zapata's blast pushed the Diamondbacks' lead to 4-0. The long ball played a significant role for both teams early, as Darlyn De Leon and Christopher Paciolla connected for a pair of solo shots in the third and fourth innings, pulling the Cubs within 4-2. Then came the bottom of the fourth when the Diamondbacks' offense exploded once more, pushing home four more runs to break things open 8-2. Ivan Luciano, Zapata, and Eliesbert Alejos all had RBI singles in that inning, with a wild pitch leading to the fourth run. Luciano added to his game by connecting for a solo shot in the sixth, while a seventh-inning RBI groundout closed out the scoring for the Diamondbacks as they held a 10-2 lead. Credit the Cubs for battling back late as they pushed across a run in the eighth to make things 10-3 before adding two more runs in the ninth. De Leon added his second RBI of the night with a groundout, but it was the Ismael Mena homer that brought the excitement, as that was his first homer of 2025.
As if two games weren't enough for DSL Red today, why not have game one go into extra innings? Trailing 5-1 after four innings, it was the DSL Red offense that took over, tying things up late before pushing across three runs in the eighth to secure the 8-5 game one win. Already with a massive week under his belt, Luis Leon kept that trend alive as he opened up the scoring with a solo shot to put the Cubs in front 1-0 in the first. That would be if the Cubs' offense had been struggling for quite some time, as Arizona took a bit to get to Emmanuel Madeira before touching him up for four runs in less than two innings. Three of those runs came in the bottom of the third as an Erick De La Cruz single tied the game, only to have the Juan Brima double put Arizona in front 3-1. They were just getting started as Arizona added to their lead with two more runs in the fourth off a pair of singles from De La Cruz and Victor Santana, as it was all Arizona 5-1. Credit the Cubs for taking their lumps and battling back, as their pitching staff didn't allow a run the rest of the way, which gave the offense a chance to make things happen. They started to make things happen in the fifth as a bases-loaded hit by pitch to Saul Ramirez jumpstarted a three-run inning with Jeury Ramirez coming through with a double to pull the Cubs within 5-4. One inning later, things were tied as the bases loaded walk to Wilfri De La Cruz made this a 5-5 game and helped send this one into extras. It was in the extra frame when the Cubs' comeback effort was complete as the Juan Capada three-run shot closed out the scoring for either side with the Cubs winning 8-5.
If you're a fan of offense, then this was the place to be on Thursday as Arizona found a way to outslug the DSL Red squad to earn a 16-15 victory. Lots of Cubs had big games, but this was the Fernando Lara show for the Cubs as he finished the day with a double and a triple, while leading the way for the Cubs' offense with six RBIs. The Cubs also watched Ivan Cespedes connect for a pair of homers en route to his three-RBI day, with Leonel Vivas also adding three RBIs. Those three men accounted for 12 of the Cubs' 14 RBIS, which is all you can ask from your offense. While the offense was on point, the pitching wasn't, as the Cubs' pitching was roughed up for 16 runs. Four of those RBIs came from Jose Rodriguez, who had added a three-run shot as part of his massive day. Alonso Gallegos chipped in with two RBIs, as those were the only two players with multiple RBIs for Arizona.
Thursday was all about non-stop drama and exciting finishes as the Cubs Dominican Summer League team answered the bell. After struggling to find wins earlier in the week, both DSL squads managed to grab late-inning victories, with the DSL Blue picking up a 6-5 walk-off win against the Guardians. This was a game that didn't start well for the Cubs, as the Guardians pushed across a pair of first-inning runs on an RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead. They extended their lead to 3-0 in the third on a Randy Martinez single, only to have the Cubs get one of those runs back in the fourth on a wild pitch that made this a 3-1 game. Still holding that lead in the sixth, the Guardians did their best to put this one away as Angel Abreu's triple pushed the Guardians' lead to 4-1 before Abreu came home on the Heins Brito single. In desperate need of some late-game offense, not only did the Cubs' bats deliver, but they delivered in a massive way as they scored four times in the sixth to tie things up 5-5. Ronnyel Espinoza played a massive role in the Cubs' late-game success, as his two-run single not only made it a 5-3 game but also seemed to be the momentum swing this team needed. A Juan Tomas double followed that single to pull the Cubs within one, only to have the Luis Santos groundout tie things back up, as this was going to come down to the final inning. With the Guardians going down in order in their half of the seventh, it was up to the Cubs' offense to deliver late, as they wanted to avoid extras. This is where the drama sets in as a pair of singles from Robin Ortiz and Ezequiel Pena were sandwiched around a walk as the Cubs had the bases loaded and two outs. That set the tone for Espinoza, who not only started things for the Cubs offense but also finished them as his bases-loaded walk brought home the winning run to give the Cubs a 6-5 win.ACL DIAMONDBACKS 10 - ACL CUBS 5
DSL CUBS RED 8 - DSL ARIZONA 5 (F/8) Game 1
DSL ARIZONA vs DSL CUBS RED 15 (Game 2)
DSL CUBS BLUE 6 - DSL GUARDIANS 5
