Cubs Minor League News: Iowa and Knoxville toss shutouts, Myrtle Beach drops game one |
Dustin Riese
· · 5 hours ago
It wasn't a perfect night on the diamond, but close to one as the Cubs opened a brand new week of Minor League action with a 2-1 record. What stands out in the victories is the overall quality of pitching, as both Cubs wins came via the shutout, while the lone loss was at the hands of Myrtle Beach, who will now face an elimination game on Thursday.
Talk about a strange outcome to what was otherwise a fabulously pitched game. After neither team could score a run through nine innings, extra innings were needed as this was a rare AAA pitchers' duel. That continued into the 11th until the Cubs erupted for seven runs in the 11th to grab a 7-0 win. Connor Noland got the ball for the Cubs, allowing five hits in five shutout innings, walking three, and striking out six. His ERA is now down to 3.89 for the season as he continues to pitch well in AAA. After that, it was a steady combination of relievers as Keegan Thompson, Zach Pop, Tom Cosgrove, Caleb Kilian, and Joe Ross all saw action on the mound as the Cubs staff combined to strike out 15 batters. Although Eddy Yean was impressive in his three innings, scattering two hits and striking out seven, he didn't last long, which put tons of pressure on the Indians and their staff. For the most part, they lived up to that pressure, but once the 11th inning rolled around, you started to see the fatigue setting in. It was in the 11th when the Cubs offense finally broke through as an RBI fielder's choice by James Triantos pushed home the winning run, only to have a Jonathon Long single extend the lead to 2-0. That was only the beginning of what was a massive inning as Carlos Perez added an RBI single to make this a 3-0 game, while the Chase Strumpf bases-loaded walk had the Cubs in front 4-0. Iowa capped off the massive 11th inning on a two-run Rafael Morel double, followed by the Parker Chavers single, as the Cubs came through late, 7-0. For Morel, those were his first two career AAA RBIs, which came in a pinch-hit spot as Owen Caissie and Chavers led the Cubs with two hits.
Although you would've loved to have things go differently this season, it's at least nice to see the Smokies finish the season strong as they knocked off the Biscuits 10-0. Tommy Romero has been dominant since his promotion to AA, and with seven shutout innings of seven strikeouts, his ERA is now down to 2.00. As good as Romero was, he didn't need to be at his best as the Smokies offense came out on fire to put up four first-inning runs and never looked back. A wild pitch contributed to the first of those runs, but it was the BJ Murray Jr homer that made things 2-0, with Jordan Nwogu tacking on a two-run shot later in the inning. After an RBI single from Pedro Ramirez in the fourth that pushed the lead to 5-0, things slowed down a bit for the Smokies offense until the later innings, as the Smokies offense erupted for five late-game runs. Reivaj Garcia started that with an RBI single in the seventh to push the Smokies' lead to 6-0 before a pair of RBI knocks from Ramirez and Murray Jr made this an 8-0 game through eight. The Ramirez/Murray Jr. duo wasn't quite done, as Ramirez tacked on his third RBI hit of the game in the ninth, which was followed by Murray Jr.'s bases-loaded walk, as the Smokies dominated the Biscuits 10-0. Knoxville had 14 hits in the victory as Ramirez led the way with three hits and three RBIs. Garcia added three hits to lead Knoxville as Murray Jr and Nwogu chipped in with two.
In the beginning of their Carolina League Divisional series, the Fireflies took game one, putting the Pelicans on the verge of elimination. This was an especially painful loss for the Birds as Alfredo Romero took the ball in game one and delivered a strong start. Romero didn't last as long as the Pelicans would've liked him to, going just 4 1/3, but with one run allowed, he did his part on the mound. David Shields opposed Romero on the mound, matching him with one run allowed and striking out eight as he was dialed in from the start. It didn't take the Pelicans long to get their offense rolling as Cole Mathis connected for a first-inning RBI double to put the Pelicans on top 1-0 and had the crowd buzzing. Unfortunately for them, that was it for their offense as the Fireflies pulled even on a fourth-inning RBI groundout. It was in the sixth when the Fireflies grabbed the lead for good as the Pelicans' killer himself, Stone Russell, came through with an RBI double as Columbia had the lead 2-1. They extended their lead in the seventh off another Jose Cerice groundout and a sacrifice fly as the Fireflies took one from Myrtle Beach 4-1. Myrtle Beach had just three hits in the loss as Alexey Lumpuy and Ty Southisene joined Mathis in the hit category. Both teams will have the day off on Wednesday before picking things up on Thursday for what could be the final game of the year for the Birds.IOWA CUBS 7 - INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 0 (F/11)
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 10 - MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 0
COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 4 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1 (Game One)
