Cubs Minor League News: Iowa’s bullpen shines, Smokies struggle, Pelicans' walk off |
Dustin Riese
· · 11 hours ago
It was another up-and-down night for the Cubs Minor League System as they continue to press on toward the end of their season. For the second night in a row, you had some good and some not so good, as some of the organization is struggling to find consistency. That resulted in a second consecutive .500 night as the Cubs posted a 2-2 mark for the day.
Bullpen days are becoming a common theme in today’s game as the need for starting pitching becomes crucial this time of year. Every now and then, you have those days where a bullpen game doesn’t pay off, but then again, you have the games where a bullpen day is all you need. This was one of those games for the Cubs as Iowa pieced together an impressive pitching performance before their offense came to life late in the Cubs' 5-0 win. Ethan Roberts got the start for the Cubs, working a scoreless first before handing things off to Riley Martin, who struck out four across four innings. The Cubs also saw appearances from Nate Pearson, Keegan Thompson, and Caleb Kilian, who was back on a AAA mound for the first time since his injury, and proceeded to throw 1 2/3 scoreless frames. Not only did the Cubs' pitching staff do their job, but so did the Space Cowboys more often than not as Miguel Ullola went pitch for pitch with the Cubs staff, walking one and striking out five across six brilliant innings. This was a scoreless game until the eighth as the Cubs' offense came to life in a big way to put this one away. James Triantos got the scoring binge started with an RBI single, only to have a costly throwing error lead to the second run to put the Cubs on top 2-0. Jonathon Long kept the line moving with an RBI double, leading to another run with Carlos Perez answering with a double of his own to cap off the five-run frame with the Cubs now in front 5-0. That would be all the offense they would need as Thompson worked around a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to secure the shutout. Iowa had eight hits in the win, two coming from Triantos to lead the way.
Runs have been tough to come by for the Smokies in this series, as they have now dropped the first two games. This was an especially tough pill to swallow as Walker Powell came out and delivered a nice bounce-back start after getting rocked his last time out. It wasn’t perfect, but with three runs allowed in five innings, he did his part, but it was the Smokies' offense that stalled out yet again. Opposing Powell was Brody Hopkins, who managed to last just four innings, but they were impressive innings nonetheless as he held the Smokies to just one hit. When you talk about instant offense, look no further than the first as Jadher Areinamo connected for a solo shot that put the Biscuits on top for good, 1-0. They would add to that lead with a Homer Bush Jr groundout in the third, as that would be all the offense they would need. Still holding a 2-0 advantage in the fifth, the Biscuits continued to create some separation as a pair of RBI singles from Colton Ledbetter and Tatem Levins over the next two frames broke the game open, and the Biscuits were on top 4-0. Knoxville delivered their lone run in the bottom of the ninth off a Pedro Ramirez double, but that was it as they dropped another quiet offensive contest 4-1. Ramirez and Casey Opitz had the lone hits for Knoxville.
Considering the ugly first half of the season, every game from here on out is crucial for the Cubs, especially considering they are in a three-team battle to win the second half. What started out as another promising game with three early runs turned ugly quickly as the Kernels used a four-run sixth to grab the lead before holding on for the 6-4 win. Kevin Valdez took the loss for the Cubs, as this was his worst start of the season for South Bend. You would’ve never guessed that early on, as he held the Kernels to just two runs through five innings before coming unraveled in the fifth as his final line ended with six runs (4ER) in 5 1/3. Some early offense backed Perez as the Cubs came out swinging in the second with Miguel Pabon putting them on top with a single. That was only the beginning of what was a massive second inning as Alexis Hernandez came through with his biggest hit as a Cub, using a two-run double to put the Cubs on top 3-0. That score would hold until the fourth when Poncho Ruiz delivered the first two runs of the night for Cedar Rapids, using an RBI single to pull the Kernels within 3-2. Then came the sixth inning when Valdez started to run out of gas, resulting in a massive offensive output for the Kernels. In total, four runs came in to score during that sixth inning with Misael Urbina getting things started with an RBI single that put the Kernels in front for good, 4-3. You then had the game-winning sacrifice fly from Kyle Hess push the lead to 5-3, while a bases-loaded walk capped off the massive inning with the Kernels now comfortably in front 6-3. If there is anything we have learned from the Cubs in the second half, it would be that this team has no quit, and with Crisitan Hernandez adding an eighth-inning double, the Cubs were within 6-4, only to fall by that score. South Bend had eight hits in the ballgame, two coming from Edgar Alvarez, who led the team. You also had an Eli Morgan appearance in relief, as he made just his third rehab appearance of the season.
You just can’t kill these Pelicans, can you? After watching the Pelicans blow a massive early lead and falling behind late, the Pelicans not only rallied once, but came through again late as they walked off their rival in 11 innings. That’s just how things have gone for them in the second half, and with Kevin Camacho having one of his worst outings as a Pelican, it just goes to show the type of level this team is on right now. Camacho wasn’t terrible, but he was also far from his best, going just four innings and serving up three runs as he had to work extremely hard in this one. Fortunately for him, he was backed by plenty of early support as a two-run double off the bat of Jose Escobar put the Pelicans on top 2-0 in the second, only to have Christian Olivo tack on a sacrifice fly shortly after. Charleston didn’t wait long to respond as they began to size up Camacho in the third, using a James Quinn-Irons single to get on the board while a wild pitch pulled them within 3-2. As if three runs this early weren’t enough, why not make it five as Dilan Granadillo unloaded for his first career Pelicans homer in the bottom of the third, pushing their lead back out to 5-2. Those were the final runs of regulation for the Pelicans, as it was going to fall on the pitching to hold this lead. Even after a fifth-inning wild pitch and a sixth-inning single from Brendan Summerhill made this a 5-4 game, you never felt like the Pelicans were going to lose, as they have been the talk of the Carolina League the entire second half. Summerhill made sure it wouldn’t come easy as he connected for a huge Ground Rule double in the eighth to tie things up 5-5 and helped send this one into extras. In extras, it was that man Summerhill again coming through as he kicked off the scoring in the 10th with a massive triple before trotting home on a wild pitch to put the Pelicans in a 7-5 hole. As has been the case the entire second half, the Pelicans took the Riverdogs' best punches. They continued to stand tall as an Angel Cepeda double pulled the Pelicans within 7-6, only to have Granadillo tie things up with a single to send this one to the 11th. After holding Charleston scoreless in their half of the 11th, it was down to the Pelicans' offense to get the job done, and that they did as Ty Southisene delivered a game-winning RBI fielder’s choice to walk off the Riverdogs 8-7. With 14 hits there was plenty of offense to go around, but once again it was the Cepeda show, leading the way with four. Escobar added three hits with Granadillo and Alexey Lumpuy picking up two.IOWA CUBS 5 - SUGAR LAND SPACE COWBOYS 0
MONTGOMERY BISCUITS 4 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 1
CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 6 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 4
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 7 (F/11)
