Cubs Minor League News |
Dustin Riese
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- 7 hours ago
You want to talk about a busy night on the diamond. Not only did the Cubs have a full slate of seven games, but with some double headers mixed in, there were nine games of Minor League action to keep tabs on. That makes it nearly impossible to break everything down in detail as the Cubs finished off the day with a painful 2-7 record.
This was a tale of two games for the Cubs as they fell behind by 6-0 early before battling back to lose 6-5. Peter Solomon took the loss by allowing six runs in 3 1/3 innings of work as he continues to search for his way on the mound. Apart from that, the Cubs pitching was lights out as Tom Cosgrove, Phil Bickford, and Riley Martin combined to strike out eight the rest of the way. MJ Melendez played a key role in the Storm Chasers' offense, connecting for a pair of RBI singles, including the game's first run and the eventual winning run, which gave Omaha a 6-0 lead. Dairon Blanco and Diego Castillo also added RBI singles, as those hits were responsible for four of the Storm Chasers' six runs. After pulling within 6-1 on a sixth-inning RBI grounder from Chase Strumpf, Ben Cowles pulled the Cubs closer as his two-run single made this a 6-3 game in the seventh. One inning later, it was Carlos Perez leaving the yard for a team-high 10th time, which were the final runs of the game in a 6-5 loss.
After picking up a win earlier in the day, the offense was tough to come by for the Smokies as they were held to just three hits in a 3-0 loss. Brett Bateman, Reivaj Garcia, and Ethan Hearn had the hits for the Smokies as the Smokies wasted an outstanding pitching performance from Nick Dean and Nick Hull. Dean got the start, going five innings and allowing three runs, with those runs coming off a second-inning Dominic Pirelli homer and a two-run Austin Hendrick homer. Dean walked none and struck out six before giving way to Hull, who struck out two in two innings.
In a continuation of Friday's suspended game, it was the Smokies holding off the Lookouts 4-3. This was one of those games where all seven runs came in two innings, as the Smokies used a four-run fifth to grab the lead before nearly giving it back in the sixth. Sam Armstrong earned the win by allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings to earn his first win of the season. He gave way to AJ Puckett, who locked down his 10th save of the season by striking out two in 1 2/3 and lowering his ERA to 2.18. Fresh off his promotion from Low-A, Eriandys Ramon opened the scoring for Knoxville as his RBI single put the Smokies on top for good, 1-0. The big blow of the game came off the bat of Pedro Ramirez as his three-run shot put the Smokies in front 4-0 and proved to be the winning hit. Chattanooga did their best to battle back, with Hector Rodriguez taking Armstrong deep in the sixth to pull within 4-3 before losing by that score.
Saturday was all about pitching for the Cubs as they allowed four total runs across two games. The only problem was watching their offense score two runs as they dropped a pair of 2-1 decisions. In the first game of the day, Erian Rodriguez did his best to battle through some command issues as he allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings, including an RBI double to former Cubs prospect Zyhir Hope in the first that put the Loons up 1-0. South Bend managed to tie things up in the bottom of the first, with Carter Trice picking up his third homer in as many games and his second consecutive leadoff homer to make this a 1-1 game. Logan Wagner delivered the winning hit in the third with an RBI single that gave the Loons a 2-1 win. Apart from Rodriguez and his efforts, the Cubs' pitching was outstanding, including a scoreless frame from Brayden Risedorf, whose ERA sits at 0.00.
It's hard enough to lose one game by a 2-1 score, but to lose two games like that is an extremely tough pill to swallow. This time, it was Ryan Gallagher taking the loss as the right-hander struck out seven across five innings, allowing two runs on three hits. Both those runs came off RBI doubles, with Jackson Nicklaus putting the Loons on top for good 1-0 in the second ahead of the game-winning double from Josue De Paula in the third. It took the Cubs seven innings to get on the board as Brian Kalmer put an end to the shutout with a seventh-inning single before losing by that 2-1 score.
A lack of offense was prevalent across the Cubs Minor League system, including in Low-A, where the Pelicans were held to just five hits in what was a 4-0 loss. The right-hander was far from perfect, walking four and striking out four, but with only two earned runs allowed through 4 2/3 innings, he did his part to try and win this game. Kannapolis took the lead for good on a second-inning error, while a Grant Magill third-inning single made this a 2-0 Cannonballers lead. Magill was just getting started as he added to his game with an RBI double in the fifth to make this a 3-0 game, while an eighth-inning sacrifice fly closed out the scoring. Cameron Sisneros was responsible for two of the Birds five hits in the loss.
Despite allowing a four-run inning early in the game, the Cubs found a way to battle back as they scored four times late to walk off the Guardians and picked up the lone Rookie League win. Dawson Netz made the start for the Cubs, allowing four runs in 4 1/3 innings before giving way to the pen. All four of his earned runs came in the fifth inning as it took a 2-1 Cubs lead and made it 5-2 Guardians. Dauri Fernandez and Yeifert Castillo were responsible for two of those runs off RBI singles, while a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch led to the other two. Still trailing 5-2 in the eighth, the Cubs began to battle back in the eighth and scored three times to tie things up. Christopher Paciolla drove in the first two with an RBI double, while the Joan Delgado triple made this a 5-5 ballgame. The Cubs capped off their comeback bid in the ninth when Eli Lovich connected for the walk-off homer to lift the Cubs 6-5.
Five games into the season, and it's the Cubs still searching for their first DSL win. This was a rough go on the diamond as the Tigers scored eight times across the third and fourth innings to break the game open before rolling 9-1. Abraham Sanchez picked up the lone run for the Cubs in the fifth on a steal of home.
Despite picking up eight runs, it was the Cubs on the losing end of this one as the Orioles scored 10 runs on a pair of five-run innings to grab the win. Darlyn De Leon had the big day for the Cubs offense, collecting two hits and driving in three. Two of his RBIs came on a single, with the final RBI stemming from a solo shot. Breyner Figueroa also had two RBIs for the Cubs as he gave DSL a 2-0 lead in the first with a single.OMAHA STORM CHASERS 6 - IOWA CUBS 5
CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 3 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 0
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 4 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 3
GREAT LAKES LOONS 2 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1 (Game 1)
GREAT LAKES LOONS 2 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1 (Game 2)
KANNAPOLIS CANNONBALLERS 4 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 0
ACL CUBS 6 - ACL GUARDIANS 5
DSL TIGERS 9 DSL CUBS RED 1
DSL ORIOLES 10 - DSL CUBS BLUE 8
