Cubs Minor League News: Five wins on the farm

Patrick Gorski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 7 hours ago

The Fourth of July holiday was an extra special one this season as the Cubs brought plenty of fireworks throughout the day. Not only did the Chicago Cubs set a franchise record with eight homers against the Cardinals on Friday afternoon, but the Minor League system followed that up by going 5-2 on the night.

IOWA CUBS 7 - OMAHA STORM CHASERS 2

In a night of debuts, two pitchers made their season debut at a new level, including Iowa starter Chris Kachmar. After emerging as the ace of the Smokies staff after Will Sanders departure, Kachmar continued to go about his business as he helped set the tone in the Cubs 4-2 win.

The right-hander only lasted five innings due to a high pitch count, but with nine strikeouts and only one run allowed, the potential for big things was there. Opposing him was former St. Louis Cardinals farmhand John Gant, who not only went pitch for pitch against Kachmar but had the advantage as he held the Cubs scoreless through five with four strikeouts.

Gant managed to exit with the lead as Dairon Blanco opened the scoring with a long homer in the fourth to put the Storm Chasers on top 1-0. That score would hold until the sixth when Jonathon Long put the Cubs on top with his 12th homer of the season 2-1. That was only the start of what was a four-run sixth inning for the Cubs as Dixon Machado came through with a massive two-run double that proved to be the game-winning hit.

To show the importance of that double, Carter Jensen homered for the fourth time this week in the bottom of the sixth to pull within 4-2 as this was going to come down to the bullpens. Following two impressive innings from Ethan Roberts, who struck out four in his outing, the Cubs put the game away as a wild pitch mixed with a second Long homer led to three ninth-inning runs in the Cubs 7-2 win.

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 8 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 3

It was another day at the office for Tyler Schlaffer as the right-hander continued to roll. Making his first AA start after an impressive five-start run in South Bend, Schlaffer did all that was asked of him and more as he gave the Smokies six innings of one-run baseball before handing things off to Tyler Santana to finish things off.

Anytime you get instant offensive support, things become easier as a pitcher, as Jordan Nwogu drove home the game's first run on a first-inning double play. Nwogu was a massive part of the Smokies early offense as he tacked on a two-run single in the third to make this a 3-0 lead. With Schlaffer keeping the Trash Pandas offense in check through four, Rocket City started to show signs of life in the fifth to make this a game again.

That all started with the Myles Emmerson triple to put an end to the shutout, while a Travis Blankenhorn single pulled Rocket City to within 3-2 in the sixth. That was as close as the Trash Pandas would get as the Smokies offense got to the Rocket City pen late to push across five additional runs.

Three runs came home in the sixth, with Pedro Ramirez tacking on a two-run single before a BJ Murray Jr walk made this a 6-2 game. Murray was just getting started as he added an RBI double in the eighth to bring home the final two runs for the Smokies as they led 8-2 before winning 8-3.

PEORIA CHIEFS 9 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 4

With the Fourth of July now shifting venues, it was the Cubs hoping the home cooking would get them back on track. Instead, it was the Chiefs scoring early and often as they used a seven-run fourth inning to break the game open before cruising to the 9-4 win.

Erian Rodriguez was the victim of that rough inning as he allowed seven of the eight runs. The only thing that helped his cause was the defense, as six of those seven runs were unearned, making his line look much better than it actually was. Trailing 1-0 after the Chiefs opened the scoring in the third, things went south quickly for the Cubs as they allowed seven runs in the fourth to fall behind 8-0.

Tre Richardson started the big inning with an RBI double before coming home on the Jon Jon Gazdar single. Throw in a bases-loaded walk and a bases-loaded hit by pitch, and this was a 5-0 game, only to have Graysen Tarlow clear the bases with a double to make this an 8-0. To the Cubs' credit, they refused to back down and started to make a game of things late, which is all you can ask for.

Jefferson Rojas put an end to the shutout with a two-run shot in the fifth, with Rafael Morel adding a bases-loaded walk in the sixth.

Cameron Sisneros continued the comeback bid with an RBI single in the seventh to pull the Cubs within 8-4, but that was it for their offense as the Chiefs tacked on a late-game run to win 9-4.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 6

It's amazing what happens when you can get great starting pitching as the Pelicans continue to produce on the mound. This one didn't come easy as the Pelicans pen blew a 5-1 lead only to battle back for an 8-6 victory. Jostin Florentino was the tough luck starter in this as he struck out six across five dominant innings of one-run ball.

Florentino was backed by a pair of first-inning sacrifice flies from Owen Ayers and Leonel Espinoza to put the Pelicans in front 2-0. That score would hold until the third when homers by Jose Escobar and Matt Halbach broke the game open as the Pelicans now led 5-0. It took four innings for the Riverdogs offense to come through, with Larry Martinez picking up an RBI double to make this a 5-1 game.

That score would hold until the seventh inning, which is when things went south for the Pelicans as Charleston pushed across five runs to take a 6-5 lead. Three of those runs came from RBI singles from Narcisco Polanco, Connor Hujsak, and Angel Mateo, while the remaining runs came off bases-loaded walks.

Down, but not out, the Pelicans offense had one last run left in them as Ayers put the Pelicans on top for good with a two-run single in the seventh. The Pelicans added a huge insurance run in the eighth on an Espinoza single as they went on to win by that 8-6 score.

ACL ROCKIES 4 - ACL CUBS 2

After getting blanked by the Rockies on Thursday, the Cubs had another crack at them on Friday as they looked to get back on track. Despite their early offensive production, the Cubs offense was held in check yet again as the Rockies used a four-run fifth to pick up the win.

Darian Rivero got the start for the Cubs and delivered a great outing by tossing four scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 3.13. He was backed by a pair of first-inning runs as a Ludwing Espinoza homer and Albert Gutierrez single put the Cubs on top early, 2-0. Little did they know, but that would be the only run they would score, as Rivero and the pitching held up for most of the game.

That was until the fifth inning when the Rockies broke through for four runs to take the lead for good. All it took was an Ashly Andujar single to get things started, as this was a 2-2 game. Wilder Dails put the Rockies on top for good with an RBI groundout, while an error led to the game's final run in a 4-2 Rockies win.

DSL CUBS RED 6 - DSL DIAMONDBACKS 5

With both teams getting off to a slow start offensively, things began to pick up late as the Cubs pulled out a 6-5. Skipping ahead to the fourth inning, it was the Diamondbacks opening the scoring with a sacrifice fly, only to have the Cubs answer with two runs in the bottom of the fourth on a pair of doubles from Saul Ramirez and Leonel Vivas.

Just as quick as the Cubs grabbed the lead, things were tied once again, with Santiago Gil picking up an RBI double of his own. That was only the start for the Diamondbacks as an Erick De La Cruz single put the Diamondbacks back on top 3-2, only to have Elian De La Cruz homer shortly after to make this a 5-2 game in the sixth.

From that moment on, it was all Cubs as they ended the game with four unanswered runs to take the win. Two of those runs scored in the bottom of the sixth, with the other two coming in the ninth to walk off the Diamondbacks. Freiker Betancourt tied things up in the ninth with a double before the Wilfri De La Cruz single ended things with the Cubs taking a 6-5 win.

DSL CUBS BLUE 4 - DSL PIRATES 3 (F/8)

Despite a three-run inning in the middle innings for the Pirates, it was the Cubs finding a way to get it done in extras to give the Cubs a clean sweep in the DSL. The Cubs received a strong pitching performance throughout, finishing the game with one walk and 11 strikeouts, as the hits were tough to come by.

Leading 1-0 after a second inning, Daniel Campos RBI, it was the Pirates offense that got rolling in the third, scoring three times to take the lead. Darell Morel got things started with an RBI double while a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly put the Cubs in a 3-1 hole.

Fortunately, those were the only runs of the day for the Pirates, as the Cubs' pitching kept them in the game, giving the Cubs' offense a chance. After pulling within one on a fifth-inning wild pitch, Julio Acosta came through with a massive RBI single to make this a 3-3 game. That was the final run of regulation, as extra innings were needed to decide this one, with Campos finishing it off with a game-winning sacrifice fly.