Cubs Minor League News

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 2 days ago

What was supposed to be a six-game slate across the diamond turned into a standard four-game night, as Mother Nature continued to cause problems in the South Carolina area. With that said, the Cubs Minor League system had a productive night as they came one walk-off away from a clean sweep and posted a 3-1 mark.

IOWA CUBS 8 - SYRACUSE METS 5

In what was one of the more anticipated AAA debuts of the season, the Iowa Cubs found a way to get it done against the Mets 8-5. Making his first career AAA start was top-20 prospect Will Sanders, who was freshly promoted from AA Knoxville. While Sanders was far from perfect, allowing four runs in five innings, he also walked two and struck out six, showing the potential he has on the mound.

Sanders was backed by some early offense, which does help a young pitcher settle in as a bases-loaded walk to Chase Strumpf ahead of the Dixon Machado sacrifice fly gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead in the second. Syracuse responded with three runs in the third as Drew Gilbert's double pulled the Mets within 2-1 before a Jon Singleton single made this a 3-2 Mets lead.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the bottom of the third, with Jonathon Long tying things up with a homer before the Cubs broke the game open with a three-run fourth to open up a 6-3 lead. It was the long ball yet again that played a role in the Cubs' comeback, as Kevin Alcantara's homer gave the Cubs the lead for good at 5-3, with Moises Ballesteros tacking on a single to make it 6-3 and prove to be the game-winning hit.

After a sacrifice fly pulled the Mets to within 6-4 in the fifth, Sanders was lifted from the game in favor of Nate Pearson, who went on to strike out four across two scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 2.87. Iowa then used a pair of solo shots from Long and Carlos Perez in the seventh to close out their scoring before picking up an 8-5 win. Long led the way with three hits and two RBIs, as he is now hitting .352 for the year.

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 8 - BIRMINGHAM BARONS 7

Nothing has come easy for the Smokies this season, as they have been put to the test more often than not. Tonight was no exception as the Smokies found themselves down late before scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the Barons 8-7.

Friday was another one of those "meh" type starts for Chris Kachmar, as he pitches well enough to keep his team in the game, but not well enough to win. Kachmar gave the Smokies four innings, allowing three runs, a pattern that has been consistent over his past few starts. After a Ryan Galanie single put the Barons on top 1-0 in the third, Birmingham continued to keep the pressure on in the fourth as the Caden Connor triple made this a 2-0 game.

Connor would come home to score on a sacrifice fly to extend their lead to 3-0, but given how Tommy Vail was pitching up to that point, three was looking to be plenty. The right-hander pitched into the sixth, allowing two runs, with both coming in the fifth inning on a Pedro Ramirez RBI forceout and the Corey Joyce single to make this a 3-2 game.

Knoxville managed to tie things up in the sixth off a wild pitch, but with Jacob Gonzalez picking up a double in the seventh, it was the Barons back on top 4-3. Rikuu Nishida continued to build on that lead with another double in the eighth, only to have BJ Murray Jr tie things up in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer.

That was only the start of what was a late-inning offensive barrage for both teams as another double from Calvin Harris brought home two more runs in the top of the night to give the Barons the lead yet again, 7-5. Not to be outdone, it was the Smokies offense roaring back as Murray Jr picked up right where he left off with an RBI single to make this a 7-6 game.

Ramirez kept the line moving with a single of his own to tie things back up as it was looking like extra innings was on the horizon. That was until Ethan Hearn came through with arguably his biggest hit of the season as he used the third RBI single of the inning to walk off the Barons 8-7. Murray Jr led the Smokies with three RBIs and was one of three Smokies to record multiple hits. He was joined by Brett Bateman and Hearn as the Smokies pounded out 11 hits in the win.

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 3 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2 (F/10)

If the start of this series has taught us anything, it is that the Cubs may not be as bad as their record suggests. This was the second time this week that they took the River Bandits to the brink before falling in extras. Erian Rodriguez was back on the bump for the Cubs and looking more like himself as he went five strong innings, allowing one run and striking out five.

Callan Moss did the damage off Rodriguez as his first-inning single was the lone run he would allow and had the River Bandits in front 1-0. That score would hold until the fifth when Cristian Hernandez came through with a clutch RBI single that gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead. Not only were those the only runs off of Josh Hansell, but they were the only runs of the game for the Cubs, as this would come down to the bullpen to hold the lead.

Unfortunately, it was the defense that led both the Cubs and the bullpen astray, as a costly throwing error from Joe Nahas helped tie the game in the eighth, setting the stage for extras, which ended in a 2-2 tie. Quad Cities used their new life to their advantage, and with Carter Frederick working a bases-loaded walk, it was the River Bandits coming away with a literal walk-off walk.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS vs AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS (Canceled)

ACL CUBS 6 - ACL REDS 2

Although the Chicago Cubs were unable to beat the Reds, the ACL version of the Cubs did, as they used a pair of three-run innings to post an identical 6-2 win. Jostin Florentino was on point from the start as the right-hander had a game to remember. Not only did he go six innings, allowing two runs, but he also did so by striking out a career-high 12.

His lone run allowed came on the Alfredo Alcantara single that gave the Reds a 1-0 lead in the third. The Cubs instantly responded in the fourth by scoring three runs to take the lead and never looked back. Jan Luis Reyes tied things up with a single, but it was Albert Gonzalez's big fly that proved to be the difference as the Cubs opened up a 3-1 lead.

Immediately following that three-run inning, the Cubs offense was at it again as they used a second three-run frame to break things open 6-1. Derik Alcantara and Hennial Alcala were responsible for two of those runs with a pair of doubles, while Christopher Paciolla's single drove home the Cubs' final run.

The Reds did manage to get closer in the seventh on the Anthuan Valencia single, but that was it in a 6-2 loss. Alcantara, Paciolla, and Gutierrez led the way with two hits in the win as Gutierrez also drove in two.