Cubs Minor League News: Iowa Cubs’ bats go quiet in loss to Mud Hens |
Dustin Riese
· · 4 hours ago
DES MOINES - The Iowa Cubs have picked the worst time to go into an offensive slump, as runs have been challenging to come by against the Toledo Mud Hens this week. Entering Saturday's game at Principal Park, the Cubs lost three of four to start the series, but it goes much deeper than that.
Not only has the bullpen let them down twice, but their offense has been next to non-existent as they have failed to score more than four runs in any one of the five games in this series. Those struggles continued on Saturday as the Mud Hens ensured themselves no worse than a series victory as they took care of the Cubs 4-2. Making his final start of 2025 was Jaxon Wiggins, as he will be a topic of conversation next week. Since starting the year in High-A with the South Bend Cubs, Wiggins has proven to be the Cubs' top Minor League arm and pitched his way all the way to AAA to finish the season. Known for a triple-digit heater and an elite breaking ball, Wiggins could be added to the Cubs roster for the final week of the season in an effort to see if he can become a playoff X-Factor. While the thought process is smart, this was one of those starts that proved Wiggins still has a lot of developing to do, as the right-hander lasted just four innings, allowing four runs. Wiggins did manage to strike out his highest total since reaching AAA with six, but he also walked four, which can't happen. Most of the damage from Wiggins came in the first inning as the Mud Hens came out on a mission and delivered. With two runners already on base, it was Eduardo Valencia providing the big blow as his three-run shot put the Mud Hens in front 3-0, and they never looked back. A three-run homer in the first rarely gets credit for the game-winning hit, but that was the case as Troy Watson was impressive. The right-hander had the Cubs guessing most of the night, lasting 5 2/3 innings and allowing two runs as he picked up his fifth win to go with a 3.12 ERA. He walked one and struck out two, as this was one of those outings where he preferred to pitch to contact over putting guys away. Following the first-inning barrage, the Mud Hens' offense was held in check, although they managed to tack on their final run in the top of the fifth, as a costly throwing error made this a 4-0 game. Apart from that, they couldn't do much of anything, as the Cubs' bullpen deserves a ton of credit for keeping them in check for the rest of the way. That fifth-inning run was charged to Daniel Palencia, who is looking to get healthy enough to return to the Cubs' pen by October. Palencia did allow that run, but also struck out a pair, but the real story was seeing Austin Gomber toss three shutout innings out of the pen as his ERA fell to 0.47 since arriving in Iowa. Trailing by that 4-0 score in the bottom of the fifth, James Triantos took it upon himself to put an end to the shutout as his solo shot made this a 4-1 game. Iowa continued to battle back throughout the bottom of the fifth, using a Nicky Lopez single to chase Watson, and pulled the Cubs within 4-2. They wouldn't get any closer as the Mud Hens pen came in to toss 3 1/3 scoreless frames, leading to another 4-2 defeat. Iowa picked up seven hits in the victory, with Triantos leading the way with two. Iowa also picked up hits from Lopez, Caleb Knight, Carlos Perez, and three others in the win as they will look to salvage their season finale on Sunday.
