Cubs Minor League News |
Dustin Riese
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- 5 hours ago
Thursday marked another busy night on the diamond for the Cubs and their Minor League system, as all seven teams were in action, playing a total of eight games. That was until one of those games got rained out, pushing the total from eight down to seven.
Many of the contests featured Cubs vs. Brewers affiliates, which, considering the two clubs met on the big stage, made the rivalry even more intense on Thursday. The Cubs had their struggles at times, but still managed to put forth a respectable 3-4 showing.
Making just his third appearance since signing with the Cubs, Jake Woodford put forth his best outing yet as part of the Cubs 6-1 win. Although he didn't get the start, Woodford came in to pitch in the fourth and went on to toss six strong innings of one-run baseball, racking up seven punchouts. He took over for Jordan Wicks, who was making his first start in over a month, and gave the Cubs three scoreless frames with four strikeouts in his first game back. What made things easier for Wicks and Woodford was an offense that came out fast, as Moises Ballesteros and Carlos Perez connected for a pair of first-inning homers that gave the Cubs a quick 2-0 lead, and they would never look back. Perez added an RBI double in the third, with Ballesteros picking up an RBI single in the fifth to put the Cubs on top 4-0. It took Nashville seven innings to get on the board, with Bobby Dalbec coming through with an RBI single to make this a 4-1 game. That was as close as things would get as Dixon Machado tacked on an eighth-inning RBI single ahead of a wild pitch to give the Cubs a 6-1 win. Ballesteros led the way with three hits and two RBIs to push his average to .340.
Despite holding the lead late, it was the Smokies' pen who let this one get away as the Shuckers rallied for two late runs, including one in the ninth to walk off the Smokies 5-4. It was a painful way for Antonio Santos to go out as the starter made his first relief appearance of the season and wound up giving up the final two runs. That took away from another solid start from Nick Dean, who walked two and struck out seven across five innings of three-run baseball. Like in their AAA club, Dean was backed by some early offense as the Corey Joyce single put the Smokies on top 1-0 in the third before doubling their lead off an error later in the inning. It was a lead that was short-lived for the Smokies as all three runs charged to Dean came in the fourth, with Ethan Murray tying things up with a two-run single before a sacrifice fly put the Shuckers on top. That lead didn't last long for Biloxi as Pablo Aliendo laced a go-ahead RBI double in the fifth to put them back in front 4-3. That lead would hold until the later innings when the Shuckers tied things up on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly before walking the Smokies off in the ninth on the Mike Boeve single to pick up the 5-4 win. Joyce has had a massive series and, with three more hits, is now hitting .306 for the season.
Thursday saw the Cubs get jumped on early and often by the Captains as a pair of crooked innings early in the game was all Lake County needed to pick up the 6-2 win. Evan Aschenbeck took a step back on the mound, allowing five runs in four innings after dominating in his last two starts. Three of those runs came on one swing, with Juan Benjamin taking him deep for a three-run shot in the second to put the Captains on top for good, 3-0. South Bend did their best to rally back in the third, scoring their first run on an error, while an Andy Garriola sacrifice fly made this a 3-2 game. That was as close as they would get as Lake County tacked on two runs in the fourth off a Kyle Dernedde double and a double play, before tacking on a late run on the Kenyi Perez wild pitch. South Bend was held to four hits, with Triantos leading the way with two. The Cubs also saw Burl Carraway make his long-awaited return to full-season ball as the lefty tossed a scoreless inning.
Similar to what happened in AA, the Pelicans opened up a massive early lead against the Woodpeckers, only to see their lead evaporate in the seventh inning before falling 5-4. It was a tough pill to swallow for Ethan Flanagan, who was very good through five innings, allowing just one run on three hits and six punchouts. He was backed by an offense that didn't waste any time, as a Christian Olivo single gave the Pelicans a 1-0 lead in the second. They would build on that lead in the third, with Leonel Espinoza doubling the lead with another single before a pair of RBI doubles from Matt Halbach and Jose Escobar made this a 4-0 lead. Unfortunately, that was it for the Pelicans' offense, but given how Flanagan pitched, it looked like four runs would hold. Kedaur Trujillo put an end to the shutout with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, and that seemed to awaken the Woodpeckers' offense. Then came the sixth, where Alberto Hernandez tacked on another RBI single ahead of a sacrifice fly that had this game within 4-3. The Woodpeckers capped off their comeback attempt in the seventh as Hector Salas tied things up with another RBI single, only to have Jancel Villarroel deliver the game-winning single in the 5-4 Woodpeckers win. Yahil Melendez had another big game with three hits and was one of three Pelicans to have multiple hits. Olivo and Halbach joined him as Angel Cepeda was the only player without a hit.
A lot of eyes were on the ACL Cubs game on Thursday as right-hander Brandon Birdsell made his first start of the season. Nursing a shoulder injury he sustained in Spring, Birdsell looked good as he struck out five across two scoreless innings. Birdsell was backed by the Jairo Diaz show in the first as Diaz opened the scoring with an RBI single before stealing home later in the inning. He would add another RBI single as part of a three-run fifth as singles from Cesar Lugo and Derik Alcantara helped push the Cubs' lead to 5-0. An Edgardo De Leon double in the sixth extended the Cubs lead to 6-0 as they would go on to win 6-2.
Despite another great pitching effort from Luis Ghisays, it was the Cubs' offense that went silent as they were held to two hits in the loss. Ghisays only lasted three innings, but with five strikeouts and no runs, his ERA is now 1.64 for the year. The lone run of the day for the Cubs came in the fifth, and it came off a wild pitch that tied the game before the Diamondbacks scored three unanswered runs to win it. Jhon Lucena and Freiker Betancourt had the hits for the Cubs.
DSL CUBS BLUE 8 - DSL REDS 3: Backed by a trio of two-run innings late in the game, the Cubs overcame an early deficit to win 8-3. Ariel Ramos got the start and lowered his ERA to 2.70 after tossing four scoreless innings with five strikeouts. He was backed by an offense that scored two runs in the first two innings before a three-run fifth by the Reds put the Cubs in a 3-2 hole. It was in that moment that the Cubs' offense came to life again, scoring six runs over their next three innings to put the game away, 8-3. Luis Sanchez (Triple) and Breyner Figuero (Single) provided four of those runs on their hits, with a pair of bases-loaded walks in the eighth leading to the other two. MILWAUKEE MILKMEN 4 - CHICAGO DOGS 1 (Game 1) CHICAGO DOGS 6 - MILWAUKEE MILKMEN 1 (Game 2) MISSISSIPPI MUD MONSTERS 2 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 1 (game 1) MISSISSIPPI MUD MONSTERS 6 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 2 (Game 2)IOWA CUBS 6 - NASHVILLE SOUNDS 1
BILOXI SHUCKERS 5 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 4
LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2
FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 5 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 4
ACL CUBS 6 - ACL BREWERS 2
DSL DIAMONDBACKS 4 - DSL CUBS RED 1
DSL DIAMONDBACKS vs DSL CUBS RED (Postponed)
