Cubs Minor League News: Taillon strong in rehab, Armas stays hot for South Bend

Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 5 hours ago

Friday couldn't have gone much better for the Cubs' full-season squads. Not only did they go 3-1 in their regularly scheduled games, but a suspended victory from Thursday gave them a 4-1 overall record for full-season ball. Throw in a pair of Rookie League losses, and the work the full-season teams did was enough to give them a winning record as the Cubs went 4-3 for the day.

Photo by Joshua S. Kelly / Imagn Images

IOWA CUBS 10 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 5

Another day and another big offensive explosion for the Cubs who doubled up the Saints 10-5 for the win. While the offense stole the show in this one, all eyes were on starting pitcher Jameson Taillon who was making what could be his final rehab start before returning to Chicago.

Taillon was much better this time around, allowing just one run in 4 2/3 innings, and striking out six to earn a no-decision. Will Sanders took over from there and went on to finish off the final 4 1/3 innings to secure another win, as he still has yet to lose a game for AAA Iowa.

It didn't take long for the Cubs to grab the lead as a second-inning RBI single from Darius Hill put the Cubs on top for good, 1-0, only to have Kevin Alcantara add a double in the third to push the lead to 2-0. The lone run off Taillon came in the bottom of the third on the Kyler Fedko double to make this a 2-1 game before the Iowa offense began to take over in the fourth.

Over the next two innings, the Cubs' offense broke out in a big way as they scored seven times in the next two frames, three coming in the fourth inning with Miguel Amaya starting things off with an RBI single, only to have the two-run Jonathon Long double make this a 5-1 lead. Then came the fifth, where a bases-loaded walk from Hill got things started, while the two-run Owen Caissie single was the big blow that made things 8-1.

Iowa would add a sacrifice fly later in the inning to push their lead to 9-1 as it was all Cubs. Carlos Perez kept the line moving for the Cubs as his solo blast closed out the scoring for the Cubs in the sixth and gave them a commanding 10-1 lead. Saint Paul did their best to battle back, picking up a late-game homer from Fedko, paired with a DaShawn Keirsay single and a sacrifice fly as the Saints added four late-game runs to fall 10-5.

BILOXI SHUCKERS 2 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 1

After Brett Bateman delivered a game-winning two-run single in the eighth to close out their suspended game, the Smokies were back on the field Friday night as they looked to keep the good vibes going. Despite an outstanding pitching performance across the board, the Smokies' offense was held in check as they fell to the Shuckers 2-1.

Making his first AA start of the season was Walker Powell, and although he wasn't perfect, he is starting to look like the pitcher the Smokies had in 2023. Powell gave Knoxville four innings of three-strikeout baseball, allowing one unearned run on five hits in what was a no-decision. That run came on a first-inning sacrifice fly that put the Shuckers on top 1-0, only to have Knoxville tie things up in the bottom of the first on the Corey Joyce single.

Apart from that, runs were tough to come by as that was the only run Alexander Cornielle and the Shuckers staff would allow, as the Blake Burke fifth-inning sacrifice fly proved to be the game-winning run in the Shuckers' 2-1 win.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 8 - FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 5

This may go down as a lost season for the Cubs based on the start they got off to. However, if the second half is any indication of what is to come, the future is going to be bright in South Bend. Believe it not, but at nearly 20 games under the .500 mark, the Cubs still have an outside shot to make the playoffs as they are within striking distance to win the second half.

A big reason for that is winning three of their first four to open this series, including another big 8-5 win on Friday. This was a game decided by two big innings, including a four-run eighth inning that put the Cubs on top for good. Brooks Caple continues to improve from one start to the next as he gave South Bend five innings of two-run (1ER) baseball, walking one and striking out five.

Those runs came in the third and fourth innings with Braedon Karpathios delivering the game's first run with a third inning single while the Tin Caps added a fourth inning sacrifice fly for their second run. Ariel Armas had an RBI groundout mixed between those runs as the Cubs found themselves down 2-1 early.

With one swing from Edgar Alvarez, it was the Cubs taking the lead in the fourth as his two-run single put South Bend on top 3-2 with a third runner coming home on that same single to make this a 4-2 Cubs lead. That score would hold until the seventh when Luis Rujano allowed a pair of runs on a Kai Roberts single and the Ryan Jackson sacrifice fly, making it a 4-4 game.

Looking to put the game away late, it was the Cubs' offense delivering as a four-run eighth inning opened up an 8-4 lead for South Bend. Leonel Espinzona added the first run of the inning with a single, while Cristian Hernandez's sacrifice fly proved to be the game-winning run. Then came the Armas single to deliver the final two runs for the Cubs, as he now has 11 RBIs in the series, as the Cubs pick up another big win, 8-5.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 9 - FREDERICKSBURG NATIONALS 7

While it may be the pitching that has gotten the Pelicans back on track, their offense is no slouch as they used an eight-run sixth inning to break things open before holding on for the 9-7 win. Jostin Florentino benefited from the big inning as the right-hander struck out seven across 5 2/3, allowing two runs to bring his ERA to 1.86 with the Birds.

Both those runs came in the third inning, and went after a first-inning Matt Halbach sacrifice fly put the Pelicans on top 1-0. Luke Dickerson provided the early thunder with a sacrifice fly, while Brenner Cox tripled to bring home another run to put the Nationals in front 2-1. Given how Liam Sullivan was pitching, striking out eight across 4 2/3 innings, the two runs would be enough, as that score would hold until the sixth inning.

It was in that inning when the Pelicans' bats came to life as Alexey Lumpuy's two-run blast put the Pelicans on top for good and started what was a massive eight-run inning. Dilan Granadillo and Ty Southisene drove home three more runs on a pair of singles with an error and a steal of home from Kane Kepley, leading to the other runs as the Pelicans opened up a commanding 9-2 lead.

Credit the Nationals for battling back as a trio of RBI singles from Elijah Nunez, Cristhian Vaquero, and Dickerson led to four late-game runs while a wild pitch led to another as the Nationals pulled within 9-7 in the ninth before falling by that score.