Cubs Minor League News: Iowa powers back, Smokies explode for 13 runs, more |
Dustin Riese
· · 4 hours ago
The Cubs came within one run of a perfect ending to the week, which is something that hasn't happened for a while. Despite that, they still posted a 3-1 record to close out another week of competition as the Cubs ended what was an overall strong week with a bang.
This was a challenging week for the Cubs as the Red Sox took it to their pitching more often than not. This was another one of those days, but on this day, it was the Cubs' offense finding a way to get things done to secure a series-ending win. You couldn't have asked for a worse start from Chris Kachmar, who was roughed up in just 2 2/3 innings. Kachmar allowed five runs in his outing, four of which came in the first inning as the Red Sox opened up a quick 4-0 lead. Jhostynxon Garcian and Chadwick Tromp connected for a pair of RBI singles, leading to three runs, with a bases-loaded walk pushing across another. After watching Forrest Wall put the Cubs on the board with a second-inning RBI single, it was Tromp adding to his game with a third-inning sacrifice fly as the Cubs were down 5-1. From that moment on, it was all Iowa as the Cubs closed out the game with seven unanswered runs to pick up an 8-5 win. Caleb Knight played a massive role in that by using a three-run homer in the third to pull within 5-4 only to have Hayden Cantrelle put the Cubs on top for good with a two run shot in the fourth to make this a 6-5 Cubs lead. The Cubs managed to tack on two runs in the sixth off a wild pitch and an RBI fielder's choice to close out their 8-5 win. James Triantos was one of four Cubs to record multiple hits as he continues to round back into form. Knight, Wall and Cantrelle all had multi-hit games as the Cubs offense was alive and well.
Anytime you can score seven runs in the first inning, you're setting yourself up for success, and that was the case in Sunday's series finale. Not only did the Smokies come out swinging for seven first-inning runs, but they scored all 13 of their runs in the first five innings, leading to a 13-5 win. Grant Kipp got the start, allowing just one hit in three innings as he took home another no-decision. He gave way to Nick Hull and the rest of the Smokies pen, as it was the offense that stole the show. When you talk about hot starts, look no further than the first inning as BJ Murray Jr. and Reivaj Garcia took it upon themselves to deliver a pair of RBI singles to put the Smokies on top for good, 3-0. That was only the start of a massive inning as a bases-loaded hit by pitch and a fielder's choice led to two more runs, only to have Brett Bateman cap off the big inning with a two-run single to make this a 7-0 game after one. Bateman was just getting started, adding a second RBI single in the third to push the Smokies' lead to 8-1, only to have Murray Jr follow suit with a homer to put Knoxville in front 10-1. Knoxville continued to keep the pressure on in the fourth as Jordan Nwogu laced an RBI double that brought home two more with Pedro Ramirez adding another RBI single that had the Smokies on top 13-1 in the fourth. That would be it for the high-powered Smokies offense as Rocket City ended the game with four unanswered runs to make this a 13-5 game. Matt Coutney delivered one of those runs with an RBI single in the sixth, but it was the two big flies from Ben Gobbel and Ryan Nicholson in the ninth that did the most damage as Knoxville closed out the series in a big way. Garcia paced the Smokies offense with three hits, but it was Murray Jr leading the charge with four RBIs.
Sometimes you have to tip your cap to your opponent, and this was one of those days. Despite a strong pitching performance from Yenrri Rojas, who allowed one run in six innings, it was the only run that was needed as the Sky Carp moved back into a first-place tie with the Cubs following a 1-0 victory. As good as Rojas was with his ERA falling to 0.82, Brandon White was slightly better as he matched Rojas with six innings, striking out six and allowing no runs. The lone run in this one came on a third-inning RBI grounder from Aiva Arquette, which was all Beloit needed to get the win. South Bend had four hits in the loss.
Now that's more like it. Despite a late-game rally that saw the Fireflies score four runs in the eighth, it wasn't enough as the high-powered Pelicans offense scored early and often to pick up another win. This was one of those games that was over as quickly as it started, as the Pelicans jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead after one. Matt Halbach opened the scoring with a two-run single, only to have Eli Lovich follow suit with another single to push the lead to 3-0. Dilan Granadillo closed out the big first inning with a sacrifice fly as the Pelicans were in control early. Those were the only runs until the fifth, when the Pelicans' offense came to life again for another big inning. It was the Halbach and Lovich duo playing a role once again, as an RBI groundout from Halbach was the start of another big inning, as Lovich added an RBI triple shortly after. That was followed by an Angel Cepeda triple to drive home another run as the Pelicans added three more runs to push their lead to 7-0. That would be all the offense Dawson Netz and Ronny Lopez would need as they were locked in from the start. Lopez got the ball for the Pelicans, going 4 2/3 and giving up one run before handing things off to Netz, who tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings. The only run charged to Lopez came in his final inning of work when Ramon Ramirez put an end to the shutout with an RBI single to make this a 7-1 game. Trailing 8-1 in the eighth after Kane Kepley added another run for the Pelicans, it was time for the Columbia offense to make things interesting as they started to show signs of life. Three of those runs came without a hit, while the Luke Nowak double was the only hit that brought home a run that inning in what wound up being an 8-5 Pelicans win. Lovich and Christian Olivo led the Pelicans with two hits, with Lovich adding two RBIs.IOWA CUBS 8 - WORCESTER RED SOX 5
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 13 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 5
BELOIT SKY CARP 1 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 0
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 5
