Cubs Minor League News: Bats beat I-Cubs, Bullpen burns Smokies & Trice goes deep twice

Patrick Gorski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 18 hours ago

For the final time in 2025, there will be a full slate of Minor League action as Thursday marks the end of the Arizona Complex League. That means from here on out, barring doubleheaders and such, there will be no more than six affiliated games per night on the diamond for the Cubs Minor League organization.

Looking to cap off the final full game slate of the season in style, the Cubs were looking to build off a 3-2 showing on Wednesday to keep the good vibes going.

LOUISVILLE BATS 4 - IOWA CUBS 2

Thursday was a much different night on the diamond for Iowa, as they were doubled up by the Bats 4-2. Taking the ball for the Cubs was left-hander Jordan Wicks, who looked to continue his strong run in AAA. Wicks had some moments, but with three runs allowed (2 ER) in four innings, he didn't have his best stuff.

Adam Plutko, on the other hand, set the tone right from the jump, and despite having just two strikeouts in five innings, he allowed two runs to pick up the win. Most of the damage charged to Wicks came in the first inning as the Bats pushed across two runs and never looked back. Rece Hinds opened the scoring with an RBI single, only to have an Edwin Rios groundout make this a 2-0 game.

The Cubs got their first run of the game on a Hayden Cantrelle groundout in the third to pull them within 2-1 before another Hinds RBI in the bottom of the inning had the Bats in front 3-1. The Cubs continued to keep things close in the fourth with Moises Ballesteros connecting for a solo shot to make things 3-2.

Big fly from Bally! pic.twitter.com/jODyFKlVZu
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) July 24, 2025

That was it when it came to the Cubs' offense as Hector Rodriguez's eighth-inning double was the game's final run in a 4-2 Bats win. Iowa had seven hits in the loss, three coming from James Triantos, who was put in the leadoff spot on Thursday.

PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 10 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 7

This is a game that AJ Puckett and the Smokies want back as they let one get away. Not only did the Smokies score seven times in the first two innings, but they still managed to lead 7-3 late only to have the pen allow seven runs down the stretch. Four of those runs came in the ninth inning, which was all Pensacola needed to secure the win.

Although this is another loss for Knoxville, Tyler Schlaffer continued to pitch well as the right-hander struck out two across five innings of three-run ball. All of his runs came in the second inning, but it came after BJ Murray Jr and Jefferson Rojas struck first to have the Smokies on top 2-0 after one.

As good as Schlaffer has been since his promotion, this wasn't his best start, and with a pair of RBI hits from Johnny Olmstead and Mark Coley II, this was a 2-2 game in the top of the second. Jake Thompson added to that inning with an RBI groundout as the Smokies were down 3-2 early. It was in the bottom of the second when most of the Smokies' damage came as they scored five times to take a 7-3 lead.

A wild pitch started the big inning before the two-run Pedro Ramirez triple had the Smokies back in front 5-3. Murray Jr closed out the big inning with a two-run single to push the Knoxville lead to 7-3. That was all when it came to the Smokies' offense, but given how strong the pitching was early, it was looking as if their lead would hold.

After Nathan Martoella made this a 7-4 game with his sixth inning homer, you started to see the momentum shift as a Jake Thompson single in the seventh and a Joel Zamora eighth inning sacrifice fly had the Blue Wahoos within one late. Looking to lock down another save in the ninth, Puckett was called on to take the ball, as he has been one of the better relievers in AA.

It has been a while since he had a rough day, but this could be the worst showing of the season for Puckett, who allowed a game-tying RBI single to Michael Snyder in what was the beginning of a massive inning. Kemp Alderman and Martoella added RBI singles with Jared Serna tacking on a double as part of a four-run inning that saw the Blue Wahoos take a 10-7 lead and win by that score.

Jaylen Palmer was in the leadoff spot for the first time in nearly two months and held his own by picking up three hits. Murray Jr also had a big night with two hits, but drove in three to lead the Smokies' offensive attack.

h2>DAYTON DRAGONS 7 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 4

All it took for the Dragons to put an end to the Cubs' success was a pair of big innings as two separate three-run frames would be the difference in a 7-4 win. Kevin Valdez took the ball for South Bend, and despite allowing four runs in five innings, none of those were earned as the defense didn't make things easy for him.

Three of the runs he allowed came in the second as a costly error not only let the first run come home, but opened the door for two additional runs as the Cubs were down 3-0 early. After Drew Bowser made this a 3-1 game with a sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth, the Cubs' defense continued to struggle as another error led to a fourth run that had the Dragons on top 4-1 through three.

Carter Trice continued to keep things close, connecting for a solo shot in the top of the fourth to make this a 4-2 game. Apart from that, Nick Sando was locked on as those were the only two runs the lefty would allow through five innings, striking out five. Trice provided most of the offense in this one, as he went deep for a second time in the sixth, and just like that, this was a 4-4 game.

That was it for the Cubs and their offense as the Dragons put the game away with a three-run bottom of the sixth, capped off by the John Micahel Faile two-run homer to deliver the 7-4 win. With two hits and three RBIs, Trice paced the Cubs and the offense as the Cubs were quiet most of the night.

COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 4 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1

For the first time in what feels like forever, the Pelicans lost a game, and it was a game where they were beaten at their own game. Behind seven strong innings from David Shields and Dash Albus, it was the Fireflies handing the Pelicans their first loss of the series 4-1.

Shields and Albus allowed one run in their seven innings, walking none and striking out 10 as the Pelicans had no answers. That alone made life difficult for Kevin Camacho, who struck out three and allowed two runs in 4 2/3 innings in his Low-A debut. It didn't take long for the Fireflies to grab the lead as they pushed across the game's first run with a second-inning RBI groundout.

That lead would hold until the bottom of the fourth when an errant pickoff throw forced in a run and saw things tied 1-1. That was the only run of the day for Myrtle Beach, which saw the Fireflies grab the lead for good on the Aldrin Lucas triple to make this a 2-1 game in the fifth. Josi Novas added an RBI single in the seventh to extend the lead to 3-1 before a late-game error brought home the final run in a 4-1 Fireflies win.

ACL ATHLETICS 9 vs ACL CUBS 8 (F/8)

Without getting into too much detail, the story of this game was Javier Assad, who took the ball for the first time in two months. Hoping to return to the Cubs at some point this season, this was a step in the right direction as Assad struck out six across three near-perfect frames.