Cubs Minor League News: Caissie and Long homer, Rojas with three hits, Hearn raking, more

Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 1 day ago

Tuesday marked a new week of competition for the Cubs Minor League teams as they were looking for better fortunes this week. Apart from a few wins here and there, wins have been tough to come by in recent weeks, which is a surprise when you look at some of the elite talent this organization has.

Although a 2-2 start to the week isn't going to have you jumping for joy, it was a start in the right direction as the Cubs picked up the most wins they have had in a night since the middle of last week.

TOLEDO MUD HENS 5 - IOWA CUBS 4 (F/10)

For the most part, the Iowa Cubs have been the lone constant when it comes to winning games, as they have had the best record in the Cubs system. Sure, there will still be some ups and downs like in this one, as the Mud Hens found a way to get it done 5-4 in extras.

After a shaky Iowa debut last time out, Peter Solomon was on the bump for the Cubs as the right-hander allowed just one run in 3 1/3. Solomon walked one, struck out three, and scattered two hits before handing things off to Tyson Miller and the pen. The only run Solomon allowed came in the first as the Matt Vierling homer gave the Mud Hens a 1-0 lead.

Iowa answered in the second on a Reese McGuire single to tie things up as this remained a 1-1 game into the fifth. In that inning, both offenses started to show signs of life again with Owen Caissie going yard for the fourth time this season ahead of the game tying Andrew Navigato double that had things 2-2 through five.

Blast off for Owen Caissie! pic.twitter.com/HliDegmeO2
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 6, 2025

That double came off of Miller, as that was the first earned run he has allowed this season.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the sixth with Matt Shaw delivering a go-ahead RBI single, only to have Toledo tie things up again with a wild pitch before grabbing a 4-3 lead on a groundout.

Matt Shaw gives us the lead🙌 pic.twitter.com/ZWW711GWLx
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 7, 2025

Still trialing by that score in the ninth, Jonathon Long picked the perfect time to end his homerless drought as he connected for his third homer of the season to tie things up 4-4 and sent the game into extras.

LONG BALL pic.twitter.com/NTx2pJIanb
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 7, 2025

With the Cubs failing to cash in during the 10th, the pressure was on the Toledo offense to end the game, and they would do that courtesy of a bases-loaded hit by pitch from Brandon Hughes as the Mud Hens walked off the Cubs 5-4.

Ben Cowles led the Cubs offense with three hits, with Long adding two. Moises Ballesteros also picked up a hit, and he looks to start another long hitting streak.

Final pic.twitter.com/q7wmbUgYf7
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 7, 2025

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 6 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 3

It has been a rough last couple of weeks for the Smokies, but they returned to the state of Tennessee with the goal of getting back on track. All it took was some early offense as the Smokies scored all six of their runs in the first three innings and held on for a 6-3 win.

Will Sanders is a big reason why, as the right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.18 following five innings of one-run baseball. He walked two and struck out four as he continues to impress on the mound. Sanders was backed by some instant offense in the second as an Ethan Hearn triple put the Smokies on top 1-0 before doubling their lead on the Pablo Aliendo sacrifice fly.

Knoxville continued to build on that lead in the third with Haydn McGeary picking up an RBI single to make things 3-0 before Hearn put the game away with a three-run shot, capping off a four-run inning with the Smokies in front 6-0.

Ethan Hearn has 4 RBI and it’s only the 3rd inning 💪🏼💪🏼 #KnoxvilleSmokies #WholeNewBallGame pic.twitter.com/y4GHst3rOd
— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) May 6, 2025

Despite that being all the offense of the day for Knoxville, their pitching was good enough to make that hold as the only run off of Sanders came on the Jay Allen fourth inning single.

Chattanooga would add two runs in the sixth off a wild pitch and a Jack Rogers single in a 6-3 Smokies win. With two hits and four RBIs, Hearn had the best game of his Smokies career and led the way for the offense.

McGeary and Pedro Ramirez added two hits in a very good offensive day.

Got on 'em early, and cruised to victory. | @zips3mincarwash
Box Score: https://t.co/TeV847Xj9R #SmokiesBaseball #Cubs pic.twitter.com/9kNwG8LNpH
— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) May 7, 2025

FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 14 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 9

Yes, this was another loss by the Cubs, but you had to like the way South Bend battled as this game got out of hand early. A big reason for that was the nine-run first inning the Tin Caps put up as the Cubs played catch-up the rest of the way.

Anytime you spot a team nine runs in the first inning, it will be a long day for the pitching staff, and Tyler Schlaffer had a rough outing, allowing six of those nine runs in just 1/3 of an inning. A quartet of RBI singles from Sean Barnett, Nerwilian Cedeno, Jack Costello, and Leo De Vries led to the game's first seven runs before a two-run double from Roseman Verdugo put the Cubs in a massive 9-0 hole.

Not expected to get all those runs back right away, South Bend began to chip away in the bottom of the first with a Jefferson Rojas triple pushing across the Cubs' first run. He would come into score on an Andy Garriola single as South Bend got two of those runs back. Not only did the Cubs allow nine runs in the first, but most of the Tin Caps' damage came in two innings, with Fort Wayne adding four more runs in the fourth.

Cedeno started the scoring in that inning with a single before another two-run double from Costello made this a 12-2 game. Fort Wayne would add one more run on an RBI groundout as it was all Tin Caps at this point, 13-2. It took the South Bend offense some time to settle in, but after a bases-loaded double from Ivan Brethowr cleared the bases in the sixth, South Bend was again showing signs of life as they were down 13-5.

Trailing 14-5 in the ninth, the Cubs offense refused to quit and they began to battle back to try to make this a somewhat closer game. A pair of RBI singles from Carter Trice and Brian Kalmer certainly helped with that, as did the bases loaded Edgar Alvarez walk as South Bend pulled within 14-9 late before falling by that score.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 3 - DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS 1

At long last, the Pelicans found a way to win a game, and it was a game where the pitching set the tone. Backed by a two-run first inning, the pitching took over as the Pelicans made that two-run lead hold up for the 3-1 win.

Brooks Caple continues to impress on the mound and turned in another impressive five-inning start. After allowing no runs on just two hits, Caple is now 3-1 on the season with a 2.63 ERA. He walked two and struck out six as he has been the Ace of the Pelicans staff so far. The only offense this team would need came in the first inning as an Owen Ayers single opened up a 2-0 lead and proved to be the game-winning hit.

Had the Pelicans not scored the rest of the way, they still would have won as they added their third and final run in the seventh on a Jose Escobar single. It took the Shorebirds nine innings to break through as they ended the shutout bid on an Edrei Campos RBI groundout. Still, it wasn't even as the Pelicans win the battle of the birds 3-1.