Cubs Minor League News: Maeda shines, Opitz slams, but wins hard to find

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 20 hours ago

It was not a great day on the diamond for the Cubs as their Minor League system had a rough go of things. Sure, there were some strong pitching performances, but with an overall record of 2-4, 2-5 if you count the Chicago Cubs loss, and the wins were tough to come by on Tuesday.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 5 - IOWA CUBS 3

What was looking to be another win for the Iowa Cubs turned sour quickly as the Indians ripped off a four-run seventh inning to take the lead and held on for the 5-3 win. What stings even more was watching Porter Hodge serve up those four runs, as his ERA is now just under 25.00 in AAA, and he seems to be miles away from being MLB-ready again this season.

While the loss stings, Iowa did receive another strong outing from Kenta Maeda, and that is something to watch depending on what the Cubs do at the deadline. Maeda lasted six innings, allowing just one run, no walks, and a season-best seven strikeouts as this was as good as he has looked all season.

His lone run came in the second inning when Cam Devanney took him deep for a homer that made this a 1-0 game. Not to be outdone, Jonathon Long tied things up in the bottom of the first with a solo shot as both offenses were coming out strong. The Long homer was also the only run Johan Oviedo would allow as the right-hander struck out five in five strong frames.

Still tied 1-1 in the sixth, it was the meat of the Cubs' order putting Iowa in front as a Moises Ballesteros single put the Cubs on top 2-1, only to have Long make this a 3-1 game with an RBI forceout. That was it for the Cubs' offense, as it's going to come down to Hodge and the pen to close this out. Hoping to make it back to the bigs soon, Hodge not only continues to struggle, but he has nothing to offer for the Cubs this season, as he was charged with four runs in the seventh.

Singles from Jared Triolo and Nick Solak led to two of the runs, while the Ronny Simon RBI double brought home the tying and winning runs for the Indians in their 5-3 win. On a side note, it has been reported that Ballesteros is back on his way to Chicago and has been called up as a roster move is coming.

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 13 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 6

You want to talk about punching a team in the mouth, look no further than Knoxville, which fell behind early before scoring 11 runs in the first three innings to pick up an impressive win. Neither Sam Armstrong nor Tyler Santana was perfect on the mound, but they didn't have to be, as the offense took care of the rest.

For Armstrong, he got the start, allowing two runs in four innings to earn a no-decision. Those runs came in the first inning when Leo Balcazar took him deep to make this a 2-0 game. Apart from that, it was all Knoxville, and that all started with an impressive six-run second inning that saw the Smokies open up a 6-2 lead.

Corey Joyce got things started with an RBI double, only to have an Andy Garriola single tie things up. Knoxville took the lead for good on the Parker Chavers double while a Casey Opitz single kept the line moving and had things sitting at 4-2. Jefferson Rojas closed out the massive inning with another double, pushing across two more runs to push the lead to 6-2.

That was only the start for the Smokies' offense as they responded from that six-run inning by adding five more runs in the third to break things wide open, 11-2. This time it was one massive swing that did most of the damage as a bases-loaded walk to Chavers brought home the first run, only to have Opitz answer with a Grand Slam as it was all Knoxville.

That score would hold until the fifth inning when the Lookouts started to chip away at the Smokies' lead. Balcazar played a role in that by picking up an RBI single which was followed by the Cam Collier RBI double. Chattanooga also had an RBI groundout mixed in there as they pushed across three runs to make this an 11-5 game.

Leave it to BJ Murray Jr to erase any attempt at a comeback as his two-run blast in the sixth capped off the scoring for Knoxville and had them in front 13-5. Chattanooga would add another run late on a Balcazar single as he finished the day with four RBIs in the loss. Several Smokies had massive days at the plate, but it was Opitz leading the way with two hits and five RBIs.

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 2 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 0

Despite a strong pitching performance from Connor Schultz, it was the Cubs' offense that was held in check as they were blanked by Quad Cities 2-0. Schultz did more than enough on the mound to earn the win, going six innings and striking out five while allowing just one run.

That run came on a Nolan Sailors RBI in the second, as that would be the only run the River Bandits would need. Still holding a 1-0 lead in the eighth, Quad Cities tacked on a huge insurance run as Trevor Werner's sacrifice fly made this a 2-0 game, which is how things would end. South Bend had three hits in the loss.

CHARLESTON RIVER DOGS 4 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2

What was a pitching duel most of the game turned into an offensive showing late, as both offenses came to life in the later innings. All it took was one big inning to get the job done as the Riverdogs scored four times in the eighth to pick up the 4-2 win.

If you are a fan of pitching, then this was a game for you, as Ronny Lopez and Trevor Harrison were dialed in. Lopez gave the Pelicans five scoreless frames, striking out three while Harrison pitched in to the seventh, before finishing with two earned runs and six strikeouts. With things knotted 0-0 entering the seventh, it was the Pelicans' offense finally coming through as the Leonel Espinoza double brought home the game's first run and had the Birds up 1-0.

Jose Escobar added to that lead with an RBI single as the Pelicans were now on top 2-0. Those were the only runs of the day for Myrtle Beach, but given how well they have pitched over the past month, you had to like their chances. Then came the eighth inning, where the Riverdogs' offense not only showed signs of life, but put together a massive inning to take the lead.

All it took to get things rolling was a wild pitch to end the shutout while an Angel Mateo single brought things back to even 2-2. The big blow of the game came from Alberth Palma, whose late-game RBI single brought home the winning runs in what was a 4-2 Riverdogs win. Ty Southisene paced the Pelicans with two hits as they had six hits total.