Cubs Minor League News: Big wins from Iowa, Tennessee, South Bend |
Dustin Riese
· · 5 hours ago
The unofficial first half of the Minor League season came to a close on Sunday as the all-star break is set to begin. While the second half has been underway for several weeks, the all-star break gives every organization a chance to rest and reset for the stretch run.
When it comes to the Cubs, they couldn't have asked for a much better day on Sunday, as strong pitching and timely hitting led to a 3-1 record to close out the week. That capped off what was a very strong week, which is all this organization can ask for.
Now that's more like it. Despite an offense that was silent until the fifth inning, this was all about Ben Brown as the Cubs' right-hander is starting to round back into form in the Cubs' 8-2 win. Brown has been dialed in over his two Minor League starts and has allowed one run in nine innings. That included five shutout innings on Sunday as Brown scattered two hits and struck out five. The Cubs needed every bit of that performance as Zebby Matthews dominated the Iowa offense through four innings, allowing one hit and striking out nine. Once Matthews was lifted from the game, the Cubs offense began to take off as an RBI forceout from Caleb Knight in the fifth put the Cubs on top for good. Dixon Machado added a sixth-inning homer to extend the lead to 2-0 before adding another RBI in the seventh. Chase Strumpf added an RBI in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly, extending the Cubs' lead to 4-0. It took Saint Paul seven innings to push a run across, with Payton Eeles taking Will Sanders deep to make this a 4-1 game. It was the first of two homers Sanders would allow as he allowed an eighth-inning homer to Noah Cardenas. That was it for the Saint's offense. Leading 4-1 in the eighth, Ben Cowles continued to build on that lead with an RBI double before Iowa tacked on three runs in the ninth to pick up the 8-2 win. Greg Allen and James Triantos drove in two of those runs off singles, with Jonathon Long adding a sacrifice fly.
Unlike years past when the Smokies were running away with the Division at this point, things have been a struggle this season. Struggles or not, they have been showing some improvement over the second half and continued that with a four-hit shutout over the Biscuits. Sam Armstrong has not only turned his season around, but after striking out six over five innings of one-hit baseball, this was by far his best start of the season. The only downside from his outing was seeing him get a no-decision as the Smokies' offense was held scoreless until the sixth. It was in that inning when BJ Murray Jr broke the scoreless tie as his RBI single proved to be the game-winning hit. Felix Stevens would tack on a two-run shot in the seventh to extend the lead to 3-0, which is how things would end. Pedro Ramirez was the lone Smokies with multiple hits, leading the way with two.
Talk about an exciting week for the Cubs. Not only did they travel North to Wisconsin, but they dominated the Rattlers in nearly every facet of the series to take this series. That included a gutsy win on Sunday, 5-4, to enter the all-star break with tons of momentum. Connor Schultz was far from perfect, but with three runs (2ER) allowed in five innings, it was good enough for him to get his first win of the season. He walked one and struck out six as his ERA fell to 4.96. Schultz was backed by a second-inning RBI from Reggie Preciado, but with Wisconsin responding for two runs in the bottom of the second off a Blayberg Diaz single and a sacrifice fly, the Cubs found themselves down early 2-1. That score would hold until the fourth when Miguel Useche tied things up on a sacrifice fly, only to have Rafael Morel's single put the Cubs back on top 4-2. Like the last time the Cubs had the lead, Wisconsin didn't wait long to respond, using an Eduardo Garcia homer in the fifth to make this a 4-3 game. Those would be the final runs for either side until late, as the Cubs pushed across the winning run in the top of the eighth on the Preciado double. Wisconsin continued to battle back late in the game, using an eighth-inning Juan Baez single to pull within 5-4, but that was it for the offense as the Cubs held on for the win.
The lone loss for the Cubs on the afternoon came in the Carolina Leagues, where the Cannonballers doubled up the Pelicans 4-2. Despite his struggles most of the season, Nazier Mule continues to show potential as he was touched up for three runs in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five but also walked four, highlighting his ongoing command issues. Two of the runs charged to Mule came in the first inning as a bases-loaded walk put the Cannonballers on top 1-0, with the Mikey Kane single making things 2-0. After starting slow, the Pelicans' offense began to show signs of life in the fourth as Eli Lovich's single not only put Myrtle Beach on the board but brought things back to even 2-2. Unfortunately, that was it for the Pelicans and their offense as the Cannonballers took the lead for good on a fifth-inning Nathan Archer single before tacking on an eighth-inning run on the TJ McCants homer to close out the 4-2 win.IOWA CUBS 8 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 2
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 3 - MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 0
SOUTH BEND CUBS 5 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 4
KANNAPOLIS CANNONBALLERS 4 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2
