Cubs Minor League News: Wiggins shines, Garriola and Nwogu rake, Pelicans rally big |
Dustin Riese
· · 3 hours ago
When all is said and done, this could go down as one of the better weeks, if not the best overall week of competition this season. It all started with the Cubs' perfect 3-0 start to the week and continued throughout the week, as the Cubs won most of their games, including another 3-1 showing on Saturday.
This is a classic case of too little too late as the Cubs have now won the first five of this series and have taken eight straight games overall. This was one of those games where a big first inning was all the Cubs would need to grab the lead, while they did enough to hold on for the win. In what was one of the more highly anticipated AAA debuts of the season, flame-throwing Jaxon Wiggins made the start for the Cubs and was as good as advertised. Wiggins may have only gone three innings, allowing a first-inning solo shot to Harold Castro to put Omaha in front 1-0, but that was it off Wiggins, who struck out four in an impressive debut. Despite the early deficit, the Cubs' offense responded in a big way against John Gant in the bottom of the first, grabbing the lead and never looking back. Jonathon Long got things rolling with an RBI single to tie things up 1-1, but it was the Dixon Machado single that brought home a pair to give Iowa a 3-1 lead. That score would hold until the later innings as the Storm Chasers pulled within a run in the sixth off an RBI groundout to make this a 3-2 game. Parker Chavers and the offense would respond with a double to push the lead to 4-2, only to have another RBI grounder in the eighth make this a 4-3 game as Will Sanders struck out six across his four impressive innings as the Cubs added a late run to secure the 5-3 win. Since taking over for Ben Cowles, who was released a little over a week ago, Machado has looked great as he led the Cubs with two hits and two RBIs. Carlos Perez added two hits to pace the offense as the Cubs continue to take care of Omaha this week.
In what was a complete game effort from top to bottom, it was the Smokies continuing their winning ways as they disposed of their rivals 11-3. This was one of those games where the Smokies' offense came out swinging, which made things much easier for Erian Rodriguez and the entire pitching staff. Since his promotion to AA, Rodriguez has looked the part of the future Ace of this staff, going five innings and striking out four as he improved to 2-1 with an ERA of 2.87. Rodriguez was backed by a first-inning run that gave the Smokies a quick 1-0 lead, but it was the Matt Coutney double in the second that put Rocket City on top 2-1. Little did they know those would be the only runs off Rodriguez as the Smokies offense erupted for five runs in the second to open up a commanding 6-2 lead. After a wild pitch made things 2-2, it was Andy Garriola putting an end to his long homerless drought as his three-run shot was his second homer of the season to make this a 4-2 game. Jordan Nwogu added an RBI single shortly after to cap off a five-run inning as the Smokies led 6-2. That was only the start for what was a massive game from Garriola as he added an RBI single in the fifth to push the Smokies' lead to 7-2, with Reivaj Garcia following suit with a single in the seventh to make this an 8-2 game. Knoxville continued to do damage in the later innings, adding three more runs in the eighth to push the lead to 11-2 before winning by an 11-3 score. Nwogu has had a breakout season, and with three hits and three RBIs, he has raised his average to .284. Garriola also had his best game in a long time with three hits and three RBIs, with Chase Watkins adding three scoreless innings of relief to lower his ERA to 0.99.
You knew that once the Cubs were eliminated from playoff contention, things could look different the following days. Well, one day after being eliminated from playoff contention, it was the Cubs dropping the lone game of the night to Wisconsin 6-4. This was a much different-looking game early on as Koen Moreno came out dealing, allowing one run in three innings to go with four strikeouts. That run came on a Luis Pena first-inning single as the Cubs found themselves in a quick 1-0 hole. That score would hold until the third when an Edgar Alvarez double brought home a pair to put South Bend on top 2-1. Those were the only runs Manuel Rodriguez would allow as the right-hander pitched into the seventh, striking out eight in the victory. With the Cubs still holding a 2-1 lead in the sixth, it was the Timber Rattlers who put an end to that as they scored five times in the sixth to flip the game in their favor. Marco Dinges put an end to the scoreless drought with a solo homer, but it was a costly error off an RBI fielder's choice that allowed two runs to score to put Wisconsin on top for good, 4-2. Throw in a pair of singles from Luke Adams and Luis Made, and it was the Timber Rattlers pushing their lead to 6-2 as the Adams single went down as the game-winning hit. Still trailing by that score late, this became the Reggie Preciado show in the closing innings as he connected for a solo shot in the third before tacking on a double in the ninth as the Cubs pulled within 6-4 and the tying run coming to bat. That was as close as they would get, as the Cubs would fall by that score. Preciado and Alvarez were the lone players to record multiple hits, with Preciado leading the way with three and Alvarez adding two. They were also responsible for all four RBIs in the loss.
You want to talk about taking a game and flipping it on its head. That is what the Pelicans did on Saturday as they used an eight-run sixth inning to erase a 5-0 lead and turn it into a 10-5 Birds win. That inning alone erased what was a terrible outing from Edwardo Melendez, who came on in relief of Ethan Flanagan, who opened the game with three scoreless frames, to drop his ERA to 1.93. With things knotted up 0-0 entering the fourth, Columbia struck first off Melendez as an RBI fielder's choice made this a 1-0 game. They continued to build on that lead over the next two innings, scoring twice in the fifth off a pair of sacrifice hits and then two more times in the sixth to open up a 5-0 lead as all five runs came without an RBI hit. It was in the bottom of the sixth when things not only began to change, but changed in a big way as the Pelicans used a massive sixth inning to take the lead for good. Alexey Lumpuy got things rolling with an RBI triple to push home a pair, while a Matt Halbach groundout and a balk pulled the Pelicans to within 5-4. Following a Kane Kepley single that tied things up 5-5, it was the Ty Southisene bases-loaded triple that capped off the Pelicans' eight-run sixth inning, with the Pelicans now on top 8-5. Myrtle Beach would tack on two additional runs in the seventh off a Cole Mathis double and a Derik Alacantara single to cap off their 10-5 win. Kepley and Southisene paced the offense with two hits and four RBIs, with Southisene leading the way with three. The Pelicans will close out the regular season on Sunday before heading to the playoffs against this same Columbia squad next week.IOWA CUBS 5 - OMAHA STORM CHASERS 3
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 11 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 3
WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 4
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 10 - COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 5
