Cubs Minor League News: Triantos homers, Smokies dominate, Bullpen woes in Iowa

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Brandon Rink · Staff Writer · 5 hours ago

Another day has come and gone for the Cubs and their Minor League system, as once again it was a full slate of games. With the Chicago Cubs enjoying three afternoon games this weekend, it gives fans an opportunity to catch some minor league action this week, which will be a nice change of pace, as the Cubs went (2-4) for the day.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS 8 - IOWA CUBS 5 (F/10)

What was once looking like another win for Will Sanders turned into a nightmare finish as the Cubs' bullpen imploded for six runs late. That included a three-run top of the 10th for Indianapolis as Nate Pearson struggled to settle in before serving up the game-winning hit.

With Sanders on the mound, the Cubs always feel confident, as he has yet to lose a start in AAA. Even with a no-decision in this one, the right-hander continues to be locked in as he gave up two runs on two hits in six innings, striking out eight. To make things easier on the right-hander, why not have an offense that scores three runs in the first, as a Kevin Alcantara single gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead, only to have Ben Cowles tack on a double to push the lead to 3-0.

That was it for most of the night when it came to the Cubs' offense, as it was going to come down to the pitching to take care of things. For the most part, Sanders did his job, allowing a fourth-inning triple to Billy Cook to bring home the Indians' first run while an RBI groundout pulled Indianapolis within 3-2.

Following a seventh-inning sacrifice fly off Tyson Miller that tied things up, the Cubs' bullpen continued to struggle as Cook continued to torment the Cubs with a double that saw the Indians grab their first lead of the night, 4-3. Once again, Cook was able to score, coming home on an RBI groundout as Iowa was faced with a 5-3 deficit late.

After going nearly seven innings without a run, James Triantos put an end to that in the eighth as he turned on a slider and rode it over the left field wall to bring things back to even and sent the game into extras. In the extra frame, it was all Indianapolis as Pearson saw the bases loaded with no outs, only to have Cook come through with another single that brought home the game-winning runs.

There was a costly throwing error on that play that allowed for another run to score, as those were the final three runs in the Indians' 8-5 win. Triantos was one of three Cubs to record multiple hits, joining Owen Caissie and Jonathon Long.

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 8 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 1

In what will go down as a complete team victory, the Smokies continued their strong series with their in-state rival, topping them 8-1 on Friday. On the mound for the Smokies was right-hander Tommy Romero, who was recently sent from AAA to AA to help with the rotation.

Romero may not have lasted long enough to pick up the win, but with four innings of one-run baseball, he did his part while the offense took care of the rest. It didn't take the Smokies offense long to get rolling as a trio of RBI singles from Reivaj Garcia, Andy Garriola, and Brett Bateman put the Smokies on top 3-0 in the second, and they would never look back.

The lone run of the game for the Lookouts came in the bottom of the second on a Jay Allen homer to make this a 3-1 game, but outside of that, offense was tough to come by for Chattanooga. Still holding that lead in the fifth, BJ Murray Jr pushed home the Smokies' fourth run of the game as his RBI double made this a 4-1 Knoxville lead.

Then came the later innings where the Smokies added four additional runs, including three runs in the seventh to create some separation. Murray Jr played a role in that with another RBI hit, but it was the two-run Jefferson Rojas single that served as the knockout blow. An Ethan Hearn solo blast in the eighth was the final run of the night for either side as the Smokies win again, 8-1.

Once again, it was Murray Jr leading the way as he led the Smokies with two hits and drove in two. Rojas added two RBIs with Bateman, Garcia, Hearn, and Garriola all grabbing an RBI hit in the win.

QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS 5 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 3

What was a blowout early with the Cubs trailing 5-0, things got interesting late as the Cubs scored three runs in the eighth to pull within 5-3. Unfortunately, that was all the offense they would have as they fell to the River Bandits by that 5-3 score.

Once again, it was Brooks Caple taking the loss as he continues to struggle against High-A hitters. Caple was better than he has been, allowing three runs (2ER) in four innings, but it still wasn't enough when Drew Beam tosses five scoreless frames for the River Bandits.

It didn't take Quad Cities long to grab the lead as a first-inning sacrifice fly put them on top 1-0, and they never trailed in this one. Throw in a pair of RBI singles from Trevor Werner in the third and Sam Kulasingam in the fourth, and Quad Cities opened up an early 3-0 lead on South Bend.

The River Bandits continued to keep the pressure on in the fifth as Luis Rujano allowed another single, Derlin Figueroa to push the lead to 4-0, while an error made things 5-0. That score would hold until the eighth when the Cubs started to mount a late-game comeback. All it took to get the offense going was a Cristian Hernandez RBI single as the Cubs were finally on the board.

Edgar Alvarez made this a 5-2 game with a sacrifice fly while Hernandez took it upon himself to steal his 39th base of the season before coming home on a throwing error to pull the Cubs within 5-3. They wouldn't get any closer, falling by that score.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 5 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 1

It is starting to become a broken record down on the beach as once again the Pelicans used a strong pitching performance to set the tone in a 5-1 win. Making the start for the Birds was right-hander Jostin Florentino, who was on top of his game.

Florentino walked two and struck out six over six innings, allowing one run to lower his ERA to 1.69 since joining the Pelicans. Florentino was backed by a third-inning double from Christian Olivo to put the Pelicans on top 1-0, only to have Alberth Palma answer with a double in the bottom of the third to make this a 1-1 game. That would be all, Florentino and the Pelicans staff would allow as they took care of their business on the mound.

It was up to the Pelicans' offense to do the same, and with a balk leading to the winning run in the fifth, it was the Pelicans holding a 2-1 lead through five. One inning later, Matt Halbach delivered the knockout blow as his three-run shot broke the game open and put the Pelicans in front 5-1 before winning by that score.