Cubs Minor League News: Shaw homers, Fulmer impressive, Murray Jr. with four hits, more |
Dustin Riese
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- 7 hours ago
At least the Chicago Cubs figured out a way to win last night. Had they not, it would've been an extremely rough night on the diamond as every one of the Cubs Minor League affiliates took an L for the night. That includes the ACL Cubs, who remain winless through eight games, as Tuesday night was a painful night to watch.
If you missed it, Moises Ballesteros has been promoted from AAA to the Show as he replaces an injured Ian Happ in their lineup. With his promotion, it does leave a gaping hole in the Iowa lineup, and one they are going to have to fill on the fly. Congratulations Moises Ballesteros on your Major League debut! pic.twitter.com/4yc3DJcDzA In their first game without their big bopper, the Cubs' offense battled early before cooling off late in the 6-4 loss. Jordan Wicks took the loss for the Cubs as the left-hander allowed four runs in 4 2/3. He walked one and struck out six, which was promising, but once again he got roughed up on the mound. Wicks took a bit to settle in, allowing a two-run double to Mike Ford in the first to put the Saints in front 2-0 early. Iowa wasted no time responding, as the Carlos Perez double pulled the Cubs within 2-1 before Kevin Alcantara tied things up at two. A Jaguar blooper ties the game 2-2! pic.twitter.com/KQnhAix4Bv That score would hold until the fifth inning when the Cubs' killer, Carson McCusker, came through with another clutch hit, delivering the go-ahead RBI double to make things 4-2. Iowa kept things close in the bottom of the fifth with Jonathon Long adding an RBI double to pull Iowa within 4-3. Long cuts the deficit down to one run That was as close as the Cubs would get as Ryan Fitzgerald delivered a game-winning RBI double in the sixth with McCusker tacking on another RBI late. Matt Shaw did add a solo shot in the seventh, but it wasn't enough as the Cubs fell to the Saints 6-4. MATT SHAW CRUSHES A HOMER Long was one of four players to record multiple hits, joining Owen Caissie, Perez, and Christian Franklin. Michael Fulmer continued his excellent start with Iowa, striking out three in two innings. Final. pic.twitter.com/qBUCv8qF0u
Although the result wasn't what the Smokies were hoping for, this was still one of the more exciting games of the night as Knoxville fell in extras. As good as Chris Kachmar has been this season, this wasn't one of his better starts as he lasted just four innings, allowing four runs to raise his ERA to 4.01. Kachmar was victimized by an Ethan Workinger homer in the first, but with Jaylen Palmer answering with a grand slam in the second, it was the Smokies in front 4-1. GRAND SLAM JAYLEN PALMER pic.twitter.com/LCTIF3KgWu Following an RBI double from Drew Compton to pull the Clingstones within 4-2 in the third, the Columbus offense came to life in the fifth as they began to size up Kachmar. What started with a Cal Conley single to make this a 4-3 game was followed by the David McCabe homer, and just like that, it was the Clingstones in front 6-4, closing out a four-run fifth. Not to be outdone, Hayden Cantrelle brought things back to even in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single, but after Stephen Paolini tacked on a single in the eighth, it was the Smokies needing to rally as they down 7-6. IT'S TIED! pic.twitter.com/VS6um1RksN Down to their final at-bats and still trailing by one, it was BJ Murray Jr coming up clutch as his RBI single tied the game up 7-7 and sent things into extras. That was the game's final run for the Smokies as the Clingstones used a pair of RBI singles from Kobe Kato and Kevin Kilpatrick to push across two runs for the 9-7 extra-inning win. Murray Jr. had an impressive game as he paced the Smokies with four hits and is now hitting .274. Corey Joyce added three hits, with Brett Bateman and Pedro Ramirez adding two hits each. See you tomorrow. | @zips3mincarwash
Tuesday was once again par for the course regarding South Bend, as you're starting to feel for them. Despite giving the Lugnuts all they could handle throughout, this team simply couldn't find a way to win games, as it was the Lugnuts walking them off in 10 innings, 7-6. This is one of those games where Tyler Schlaffer showed promise on the mound, but still took away a no-decision. Schlaffer gave the Cubs five innings, allowing three runs and giving up four hits. He walked two and struck out none as the Cubs' entire staff failed to strikeout a batter in the game. Schlaffer fell behind early after allowing an RBI groundout in the second, but once the third inning rolled around, their offense started to come to life. Andy Garriola opened the scoring for South Bend with an RBI double, which was followed by a two-run double from Miguel Pabon that put the Cubs in front 3-1. The Cubs' lead didn't last long as Cole Conn struck again with a two-run shot to tie things up 3-3 as he had all three of the Lugnuts' RBIs through four innings. The long ball continued to play a role for the Lugnuts with Clark Elliott adding a solo shot in the sixth to put Lansing back in front 4-3. As was the case the first time the Cubs fell behind, they managed to strike back quickly as the Reginald Preciado double put the Cubs back in front in the seventh, 5-4. Ivan Brethowr added an RBI single in the eighth as the Cubs were sitting in front 6-4. Still holding that lead in the ninth, the Cubs' pen let them down as Joe Nahas served up a game-tying RBI double to Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, and this one went to extras, knotted up 6-6. Lansing was just getting started as Rodney Green Jr came away with an RBI single off Sam Thoresen to bring home the winning run in the 7-6 walk-off win. Jefferson Rojas continued his recent hot streak by picking up three hits, as he is hitting .318. Pabon, Preciado, and Reivaj Garcia added two hits as the Cubs had one of their better offensive performances of the season. A close one goes the way of the Lugnuts in 10 innings tonight.
Although this game did last long enough to become an official game, it was nice to see one of the Cubs teams hold the lead when things ended, as the Pelicans will resume play on Wednesday with a 2-0 lead. Brooks Caple couldn't have asked for a better start to his outing as he allowed two hits across four scoreless frames, adding four strikeouts. Caple has lowered his ERA to 2.25 for the season as he is becoming one of the better pitchers in Low-A. Jervis Alfaro was equally as good through four innings, but in the fifth inning, he began to come undone as the Jose Escobar single brought home the only runs of the game up to this point. Escobar has two of the Pelicans' five hits thus far and will look to add on when things resume.
The Cubs can't buy a win in the ACL right now as they have fallen to 0-8 on the season. This game was especially frustrating as the Cubs held a 7-5 lead late, only to have the Angels score three runs in the bottom of the eighth to secure the win. Despite the pitcher's struggling most of the night, Yenrri Rojas had a great outing as he lasted just 2 1/3 innings, but didn't allow a run. Had it not been for the Anyelo Marquez sacrifice fly in the third, this game would've been tied 0-0 entering the fifth, but instead it was the Angels in front 1-0. Ronny Cruz took it upon himself to tie things up in the top of the fifth with a solo shot, but with the Angels responding for four runs in the bottom of the inning, the Cubs were again down 5-1. Edgar Alfonso had the first of those four runs with an RBI single, while the Marquez homer was the big blow in that inning. Forced to play catch-up in the sixth, Eli Lovich did his part with an RBI double, but in the seventh inning, the Cubs' offense started to take over. What began with an Adan Sanchez single to pull the Cubs within 5-3 ended with three additional runs as the Cubs scored four times to take a 6-5 lead. Derik Alcantara added an RBI single in the inning and an Edgardo De Leon sacrifice fly as the Cubs were doing a little of everything in this inning. There was also a wild pitch mixed in that led to the final run to give the Cubs their first lead of the day. The Cubs continued to add to their lead in the eighth with an error, extending their lead to 7-5, but the Angels would have the last laugh as they scored three times in the eighth to close out the 8-7 win.SAINT PAUL SAINTS 6 - IOWA CUBS 4
4-3 St. Paul pic.twitter.com/fKmWprJW8H
5-4 St. Paul pic.twitter.com/faqLXpFu4g
COLUMBUS CLINGSTONES 9 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 7 (F/10)
Box Score: https://t.co/D7YimCwVv3 pic.twitter.com/VdjCLqwezfLANSING LUGNUTS 7 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 6 (F/10)
RECAP ⬇️https://t.co/57xjnDkjYrMYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 2 - LYNCHBURG HILLCATS 0 (Suspended in the fifth)
ACL ANGELS 8 - ACL CUBS 7
