Cubs Minor League News |
Dustin Riese
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- 1 day ago
Talk about a busy night on the diamond. With three games being rained out on Tuesday, it meant that seven games would be played between the full-season teams on Wednesday. That is what you call a full slate of baseball, which is what every avid baseball fan hopes for.
This is one of those days when the results don't always matter, as it's challenging to post doubleheader sweeps. With that said, the Cubs still battled and put forth a combined 2-4 record for the night.
In the first of what was going to be a busy night of game action, the Iowa Cubs took to the mound as Connor Noland got the ball. While his final line doesn't tell the whole story, with him allowing three runs in six innings, only one of those runs was earned, as he continues to pitch well. The first of those runs came in the first inning off a Joey Meneses double that had the Mets on top for good, 1-0. That score held until the fourth when Hayden Senger and Luis De Los Santos connected for RBI singles to extend the Mets' lead to 3-0. That would be all the offense that Paul Blackburn would need as the right-hander got through 6 1/3 innings, allowing just two runs in the process. Trailing by three in the fifth, Iowa pulled within two as Dixon Machado drove home the Cubs' first run on a double-play grounder. Iowa then got within 3-2 in the sixth as Moises Ballesteros delivered his first homer since his AAA return, but the Cubs would fall by that score.
Not only were the Cubs Swept in their Wednesday doubleheader, but their offense was also nowhere to be found, as they combined to score only four runs in the two games. That took away another solid performance as Tommy Romero gave the Cubs five strong innings of two-run baseball. What was a 0-0 score heading into the third, Ben Cowles put an end to that as he ripped a two-run RBI single to put the Cubs in front. Not only were those the only runs off Nolan McClean, but they were also the only runs the offense would score, as it was held in check. Immediately after taking the lead, the Cubs gave it right back as Joey Meneses delivered an RBI double to pull the Mets within 2-1 before a groundout tied things up 2-2. The Mets continued their comeback bid in the sixth when Donovan Walton took Ethan Roberts deep for a two-run shot to cap off the 4-2 win. Iowa had two hits in the game, with Christian Franklin leading the way with two.
Talk about a game decided by pitching, the Knoxville Smokies kicked off their series with the Barons on a positive note as they took care of Birmingham 2-0. Jaxon Wiggins continues to do his thing on the mound as the hard-throwing righty gave the Smokies five shutout innings to pick up the win. Wiggins has impressed since his promotion to AA, lowering his ERA to 2.77 while striking out five. Wiggins was backed by some instant offense as the Corey Joyce double put the Smokies in front for good in the first 1-0. That was the only run they would muster against Jake Palisch, who struck out seven across five dominant innings. Knoxville did tack on a run later in the game on a BJ Murray sacrifice fly to close out the 2-0 win.
Several games on Wednesday night were decided by pitching, and the South Bend game was no exception. After nine innings wasn't enough with two combined runs being scored, it was the River Bandits getting the last laugh as they walked off the Cubs 2-1 in 10 innings. The loss took away what was by far the best pitching performance of the season for the Cubs, as Tyler Schlaffer was dealing. Not only did he toss a career-best eight innings, but he did so by allowing one unearned run on one hit. He also struck out eight before handing things to Luis Rujano. The lone run he would allow came in the third as an RBI fielder's choice put the River Bandits in front 1-0. South Bend responded in the fifth with Jefferson Rojas delivering an RBI double, which tied the game at 1-1. However, that was the extent of the Cubs' offense, as their bats remained quiet for most of the night. Felix Arronde was a big reason for that, as he gave the River Bandits five innings of one-run ball, striking out four. With nine innings not being enough, extra innings were on the horizon, and it was the Austin Charles 10th-inning sacrifice fly that was the difference as the River Bandits walked off the Cubs 2-1. Rojas was responsible for two of the team's five hits. Reggie Preciado added two hits as the offense struggled most of the night.
While most of the game was dominated by pitching, Game 1 in Myrtle Beach was not, as the Pelicans took care of Augusta 11-2. This was a game where the offense was tough to come by early on before the Birds erupted for 11 runs in their final three innings at the plate. Yenri Rojas continued his strong run of starts, as the right-hander took the no-decision but still managed to strike out four across four scoreless frames. It was in the fourth when the Pelicans broke through first as a pair of bases-loaded walks to Yahil Melendez and Christian Olivo made this an early 2-0 Pelicans lead. They would never look back as the Pelicans' offense erupted for six runs in the fifth to break things open 8-0. Jose Escobar and Leonel Espinoza started things off with a pair of RBI singles, while a bases-loaded hit by pitch made this a 5-0 game. The big hit of the inning was the two-run double from Olivo to push the game to 7-0, with an RBI grounder capping off the massive inning. The only two runs of the game for Augusta came in the sixth, and it came off Yoendris Gonzalez, who didn't have his best stuff. Colby Jones put an end to the shutout with an RBI single, which was followed up by an RBI groundout to make things 8-2. That was as close as the Greenjackets would get as the Pelicans added three more runs on a pair of doubles from Matt Halbach and David Avitia to close out an 11-2 win.
Although the Pelicans lost this game, it wasn't all bad, as they still played well throughout the game. In fact, all six of the Greenjackets' runs came in one inning, which was good enough to grab the win. After a promising start, Will Frisch saw the wheels fall off in the third as he was charged for all six runs. That came after Eriandys Ramon put the Pelicans in front 1-0 in the second after opening the scoring with an RBI single. A big reason for the massive third inning for the Greenjackets was the lack of command for Frisch, who walked in a pair of runs to put Augusta on top for good, 2-1. Then came the big blow as Douglas Glod connected for a Grand Slam to break things open 6-1. That would be all Jacob Kroeger would need, as the left-hander lowered his ERA to 1.88 after striking out six in five great innings. Ty Southisene closed out the scoring for the Pelicans with an RBI single in the seventh before falling 6-2.SYRACUSE METS 3 - IOWA CUBS 2 (Game 1)
SYRACUSE METS 4 - IOWA CUBS 2
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 2 - BIRMINGHAM BARONS 0
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES vs BIRMINGHAM BARONS (Game 2 Postponed)
QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 2 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1 (F/10)
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 11 - AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS 2 (Game 1)
AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS 6 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2 (Game 2)
