Cubs Minor League News: Wisdom and Canario homer, Rojas with four hits, Morel raking, more

Cubs Minor League News: Wisdom and Canario homer, Rojas with four hits, Morel raking, more
by - Senior Writer - Thu Apr 11 12:00:08 GMT-04:00 2024

Overall, the Cubs Minor League system had a great showing, as all four teams were in action for the first time this season. For the second straight night, the offense stole the show, but this time, the pitching did a good job of matching that offense in most games.

That led to an overall 3-1 showing, which you will take any day of the week.

IOWA CUBS 4 - SAINT PAUL SAINTS 1

It's incredible how much difference a year can make. After struggling to beat the Saints last season, the Cubs have looked good in two games against them, and their pitching took care of things today. Three starts into his Cubs career, Thomas Pannone finally gave up a run. He went five innings, allowing one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out six, and he may be nearing a call-up to the majors.

Once Pannone was lifted, the combination of Riley Thompson and Colten Brewer locked things down. Thompson battled through some command issues to continue his great start to the season. Opposing Pannone was Randy Dobnek, who pitched into the fifth while striking out seven.

Dobnak was charged with three earned runs, all three of which came on a fifth-inning homer by Patrick Wisdom, his second homer in as many days.

It took 16 innings for someone to finally score off of Pannone this season, as the Yunior Severino single pulled the Saints to within 3-1 in the sixth, only to have Alexander Canario cap off the scoring with an eighth-inning homer.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 9 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 3

All eyes were on the Tennessee Smokies on Wednesday as prized organizational prospect Cade Horton took the mound. Just like he was last season, Horton was sharp allowing one run in four innings with four strikeouts as the Smokies scored eight runs in two innings to win 9-3.

The lone run Horton allowed came in the first inning, with Mat Nelson delivering the RBI knock to make things 1-0. Apart from that, Horton was dialed in, although his strikeout numbers were a bit down. It didn't take long for the Smokies' offense to get rolling, as they not only battled back but also took the lead in the second. Moises Ballesteros got the party started with a solo shot, but the Pablo Aliendo double put the Smokies on top for good 3-1.

Still holding that lead in the fourth, the Lookouts pulled within 3-2 on an Austin Callahan double, while the wild pitch in the sixth brought things back to even. Once the seventh inning rolled around, it was the offense who kicked it into high gear as they pushed across six runs against the Lookouts pen, five coming in the seventh inning.

Haydn McGeary started the massive seventh inning with a bases-loaded walk, while RBI doubles from Ballesteros and Cole Roederer drove in the remaining four runs to push the lead to 8-3. Aliendo would close out the scoring with a ninth-inning sacrifice fly as the Smokies won again 9-3.

WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 14 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 8

It was the lower level Minor Leagues that provided most of the offensive fireworks, but that wasn't something that worked in the Cubs favor as they dropped another game to the Timber Rattlers. Will Sanders took the ball for the Cubs, and after allowing three runs in two innings, it was time for Tyler Santana. Unfortunately, Santana had one of the worst outings of his career, as he was charged with eight runs, six of which earned in a 14-8 Rattlers win.

It's hard to win games when you constantly spot a team early runs and after Luis Lara and Mike Boeve picked up first inning RBIs it was the Cubs trailing 2-0. Jefferson Rojas pulled the Cubs within 2-1 with a first-inning RBI single, only to have Boeve add on with his second RBI to make things 3-1 in the third.

Trailing by two in the bottom of the fourth, Ethan Hearn delivered a massive RBI double as two runs came in to score, and just like that, it was a 3-3 game. From there, it was all Wisconsin as back-to-back four-run frames saw the Rattlers stretch their lead to 11-4, only to have the Cubs battle back again as Rojas cleared the bases with an RBI triple to keep things close at 11-7.

Things remained 11-7 until the ninth inning when the Rattlers' offense got back on track and continued to make the struggling Cubs staff pay. Lara and Gregory Barrios picked up sacrifice flies in the top half of the ninth, and an error led to another run, pushing the lead to 14-7. The Cubs tacked on the final run in their last at-bats before falling 14-8.

Despite being just 18 years old, Rojas continues to prove he belongs as he led the Cubs with four hits and three RBIs.

Rafael Morel added three hits with Brian Kalmer picking up two.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - COLUMBIA FIREFLIES 6 (F/11)

What looked to be a relatively easy win turned into late-game drama as the Pelicans blew a three-run lead before heading to extras. Myrtle Beach bounced back, scoring three runs in the 11th to hold off Columbia 8-6.

Mason McGwire made his full-season debut for the Pelicans and showed some promise in his short start. He pitched into the third, allowing two runs and striking out two as the Cubs are very high on his potential. He gave way to a bullpen that pitched pretty well, especially Nick Dean, who allowed one run to go with eight strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.

McGwire was matched up against Blake Wolters, whose command issues proved costly in what was a rough three-plus inning start. For the Pelicans to be at their best, they need their offense to shoulder the load and with Reggie Preciado picking up an RBI double in the first, it was the Birds in front 1-0. That lead didn't last long, as both of Columbia's runs against McGwire in the bottom of the first, and none of them came via a hit.

After taking the 2-1 lead, Columbia's offense went quiet for quite a while while the Pelicans' offense was just starting to heat up. The Pelicans scored four times in the fourth and fifth innings to open up a 5-2 lead. Three of those runs came in the fourth, with Andy Gariola tying things up with an RBI double before the Jefferson Encarnacion double put the Birds in front 4-2. Gariola added a second RBI on a groundout in the fifth as the Pelicans took a 5-2 lead.

Still trailing 5-2 in the eighth, Columbia started to show signs of life as they looked to complete a nice come-from-behind win. Austin Charles started that rally with an eighth-inning RBI single, while a bases-loaded walk made things 5-4 heading to the ninth. Looking to close things out in his second inning of work, Branden Noriega couldn't get it done, as the Daniel Vazquez single brought things back to even and saw this game go into extras.

With both teams failing to score in the 10th, Myrtle Beach broke through in their half of the 11th as the Encarnacion single pushed home the go-ahead run while a costly two-run error put the Pelicans in front 8-5. Columbia managed to get one of those runs back in their half of the 11th, but that was it, as the Pelicans locked things down for the 8-6 win. Encarnacion led the offense with two hits and three RBIs as he was joined by Preciado and his two hits.

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