Cubs Minor League News

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 8 hours ago

There is no question that this week has been one of the best, if not the best, overall weeks for the Cubs Minor League system. Not only have they won plenty of games this week, but the Knoxville Smokies also headlined the week with a No-Hitter on Saturday, their first since 2022.

Looking to close out the week in style, the Cubs continued to go about their business as there were five games to keep tabs on throughout the day. Although the wins weren't as frequent as earlier in the week, the Cubs still have to love the way their system performed, as they finished the week with a 3-2 record.

IOWA CUBS 3 - LOUISVILLE BATS 0

Despite getting out hit 6-3 on the afternoon, it was more of the same for Connor Noland as the right-hander took care of business in a 3-0 Cubs win. Noland gave the Cubs six strong innings, walking two and striking out one to lower his ERA to 3.74 before the trio of Luke Little, Nate Pearson, and Riley Martin took care of the rest.

A pair of homers backed Noland, as that is all the offense Iowa would need to pick up the win. The first of those homers came off the bat of Owen Caissie in the third, whose two-run shot made this a 2-0 Cubs lead. Dixon Machado added the second homer to close out the scoring in the fifth as the Cubs picked up a 3-0 win. Darius Hill had the other hit for the Cubs.

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 9 - COLUMBUS CLINGSTONES 2

Coming off their first no-hitter since 2022, many were wondering what the Smokies had in store for an encore. Although this was far from a no-hitter, it was still an excellent performance nonetheless, as the Smokies dominated the Clingstones 9-2 to close out their week.

It may not have been Jaxon Wiggins on the mound, but Grant Kipp did his best impersonation of him, striking out eight across 5 1/3 no-hit innings to pick up the win. That performance alone is worth nothing, as Kipp was backed by plenty of run support and lowered his ERA to 2.98 for the season.

With an RBI fielder's choice paired with an error leading to the game's first two runs for the Smokies in the third, they broke the game open in the fourth as Pablo Aliendo unloaded for a Grand Slam to open up a 6-0 lead. That was only the start for the Smokies offense, who added three more runs, with Pedro Ramirez adding to their lead with a fifth-inning sacrifice fly that gave the Smokies a 7-0 lead.

As if having one catcher homer isn't enough, why not make it two with Ethan Hearn tacking on a two-run shot in the sixth to close out the Smokies scoring with Knoxville on top 9-0. Columbus managed to put an end to the shutout in the seventh on a Chandler Seagle single, but that was it as Knoxville rolled to a 9-2 win. Brett Bateman paced the Smokies with three hits as three other players had multi-hit games in the win.

FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 5 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 4

Don't look now, but the South Bend Cubs have become one of the hottest teams in the Midwest League and a team no one wants to face. After winning the first five games of their series with Fort Wayne, the Cubs came into Sunday with a chance to sweep the Tin Caps.

Although they were unable to secure the sweep, falling to the Tin Caps 5-4, it was still a great week overall, as the Cubs finished the series with a 5-1 record. Kenten Egbert got the call for the Cubs, and despite walking four and striking out one over 4 1/3, he did what he had to do to keep things close as he was charged with three earned runs.

The first of those runs came on an Oswaldo Linares single in the second to tie things up 1-1, while a Brandon Butterworth single brought things back to even 2-2 in the fifth. That single came after Jefferson Rojas put the Cubs on top 2-1 with a third-inning RBI double, but with another run coming home on a bases-loaded hit by pitch, it was the Tin Caps grabbing the lead 3-2.

Still trailing by that score in the seventh, James Triantos came through in a massive way as he connected for an RBI double that not only tied the game, but put the Cubs on top 4-3 as they were within nine outs of completing the sweep. That lead was short-lived for the Cubs as Butterworth tied things back up with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh, only to have Kai Roberts add a second sacrifice fly to lift the Tin Caps 5-4.

HICKORY CRAWDADS 12 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2 (Game 1)

Ernie Banks once said, "Let's Play Two," which is what the Pelicans were set to do on Sunday. Game one was a bit of a letdown for the Birds as a pair of big innings, including an eight-run seventh inning, led to a 12-2 loss to Hickory.

Making his second career Low-A start was Jostin Florentino, and despite striking out four over five innings, he was roughed up for four runs, all coming in the first inning. Rafe Perich opened the scoring with an RBI forceout, but it was the RBI singles from Yeremy Cabrera and Hector Osorio that broke the game open and put the Pelicans in an early 4-0 hole.

Myrtle Beach did their best to battle back, receiving a Matt Halbach homer in the fourth to pull within 4-2. That was all the Pelicans could do offensively, as Mason Molina struck out seven across his five strong innings. Still leading 4-2 entering the seventh, it was the Crawdads putting the game away for good as they erupted for eight runs in the seventh to take a 12-2 lead.

Four bases-loaded walks and an error led to five of those eight runs as the Pelicans shot themselves in the foot during that inning. Perich added an RBI triple and an RBI single as part of that big inning, as did Cabrera, who also had a single as part of that huge inning.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 4 - HICKORY CRAWDADS 1 (Game 2)

Even though Game 1 didn't go the Pelicans' way, they still had an opportunity to split their doubleheader, which they did with a 4-1 victory in Game 2. This was a game dominated by the Pelicans' pitching while their offense used a pair of two-run innings to secure the victory.

After missing more than a month with an injury, Nazier Mule was back on the mound, looking to pick things up where he left off. Mule struggled with his command, walking three and striking out three across 2 2/3, but with no hits allowed, he looked good in his return. Hayden Frank took over from there, allowing just one run in 3 1/3 with three strikeouts as he earned the win in relief.

Not only was the offense tough to come by early, but so were the hits, as neither team had a hit through three innings. That changed in the bottom of the fourth when the Pelicans not only picked up the game's first hit, but had three hits in their first four plate appearances, including an RBI double from Matt Halbach to put the Birds on top for good. Owen Ayers added his first of two triples to score Halbach, as that proved to be the game-winning run.

As good as Frank was most of the night, he did have some command issues during the fifth, which set up an Esteban Mejia single to pull the Crawdads within 2-1. They wouldn't get any closer as the Pelicans pushed across two more runs in the bottom of the fifth off a wild pitch and an RBI forceout to secure the 4-1 win.