Cubs Minor League News: Pelicans stay red-hot, Iowa falters in heartbreaker

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 23 hours ago

Another day and another full slate of Minor League action. With one rainout taking place on Wednesday, the Cubs their Minor League system play seven games on Thursday as opposed to the typical six they would have.

Once again, Mother Nature got in the way and forced another one of the Cubs' games to be postponed to a later date, taking the initially seven scheduled games down to six. Regardless, there were plenty of wins to go around as the Cubs finished the day with a 3-3 record.

SAINT PAUL SAINTS 6 - IOWA CUBS 5

Talk about a painful loss for the Iowa Cubs. Not only did they open up a 5-0 lead in three innings, but that was the only offense they could muster as Brandon Birdsell wasn't at his best and let that lead get away just as quickly as the Cubs got it. The end result was a 6-5 Saints win as the recent struggles for Iowa continue.

Birdsell has been working his way back from a shoulder injury that he suffered in the Spring, and for the most part, he has pitched well. This wasn't one of those games as he was charged with six runs in 4 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out five. The only positive to take from that is that three of those runs were unearned, as the defense didn't help him out.

Speaking of a defense that didn't help their pitcher out, Saint Paul was atrocious on defense and committed four errors. That included several errors as part of the Cubs' five-run third as Saints starter Kendry Rojas didn't allow a single earned run in his five innings. After a James Triantos fielder's choice put the Cubs in front 1-0, Carlos Perez ripped an RBI double as the Cubs pushed their lead to 2-0.

The big blow in that inning came shortly after when Kevin Alcantara unloaded for a massive three-run shot to open up a 5-0 Cubs lead. That would be it for their offense, as this was going to come down to the Iowa pitching to hold the lead. Unfortunately for Birdsell, that wasn't the case as the Saints got on the board in the bottom of the third on a James Outman homer before tying things up with a four-run fourth.

Aaron Sabato and Carson McCusker drove home the first two runs in that inning, but it was the Will Holland homer that was the big blow, bringing things back to even at 5-5. The Saints' comeback effort was complete in the fifth as the DaShawn Keirsey Jr. triple brought home the winning run in the Saints' 6-5 win.

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 0 - BILUXI SHUCKERS 0 (Suspended in the fifth)

Although the rain suspended this one in the fifth, the Smokies and Shuckers played themselves to a 0-0 tie as the pitching stood out for both teams. Antonio Santos got the ball for Knoxville, going five innings and striking out four as he allowed just one hit.

Left-hander Tate Kuehner was able to match him through four innings, allowing just a pair of hits to Corey Joyce and Pedro Ramirez as part of his four-inning start.

FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 8 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 3: Looking to climb back into the series after the Cubs took the first game, it was the Tin Caps scoring early and often to grab an early lead before pulling away for an 8-3 win. Kevin Valdez got the start for the Cubs, striking out six across three-plus innings, but also allowing five runs in what was an ugly outing for him.

All it took for the Tin Caps to grab the win was a first-inning error that gave them a 1-0 lead, and they never looked back from there, scoring three times in the fourth to break things open 4-0. Jack Costello provided the thunder in the third with his three-run shot, only to have Kai Roberts tack on a solo shot in the fourth to make this a 5-0 Tin Caps lead.

It took four innings for the Cubs to finally cash in as Brian Kalmer opened the scoring for South Bend with a two-run shot to make this a 5-2 game. South Bend added another run in the fifth on the Cameron Sisneros groundout to pull within 5-3, but that was as close as they would get with the Tin Caps ending the game with three unanswered runs.

The first of those runs came on a seventh-inning error, while the Braedon Karpathios double brought home a pair in the eighth as the Tin Caps grabbed game three 8-3. Ariel Armas doesn't want this series to end, as he added three more hits to continue his massive series.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 9 - FREDERICKSBURG NATIONALS 0 (Game 1)

Not even Mother Nature can slow the Pelicans down as this team is on a mission right now. Coming off a series-opening loss on Tuesday, followed by a rainout on Wednesday, the Pelicans took the field Thursday for a doubleheader as they look to continue their second-half push to the playoffs.

Game one was about as dominant a performance as you can have, as the Pelicans' offense erupted for nine runs and took care of business 9-0. In what was by far his best appearance of the season, Nazier Mule secured his third win of the season, going five innings and striking out five while allowing just two hits. This is the outing they have been waiting for from him, as he has battled through command issues all season.

Backed by a first-inning Matt Halbach double, it was the Pelicans jumping in front 1-0, and they never looked back from there. Halbach continued to play a role in the Pelicans' offense, adding a sacrifice fly in the third to push the lead to 2-0 with Jose Escobar tacking on a double later in that inning to push the lead to 3-0.

The Pelicans continued to keep the pedal to the floor with Dilan Granadillo adding a fourth inning RBI double to push the lead to 4-0 and had the Nationals searching for answers. That was only the start for the Pelicans, who added five more runs over the next two innings with Eli Lovich picking up an RBI groundout in the fifth ahead of the Angel Cepeda single to extend the lead to 6-0.

Myrtle Beach closed out the scoring with three more runs in the bottom of the sixth as an Alexey Lumpuy bases-loaded walk mixed with a wild pitch led to two runs, with Escobar closing out the scoring with a sacrifice fly as the Pelicans took care of business 9-0 in game one.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 5 - FREDERICKSBURG NATIONALS 3 (F/8 Game 2)

If you don't want to beat the Pelicans right now, you are going to have to put them away while you can, which the Nationals found out firsthand on Thursday. With the score tied 0-0 entering the sixth, the Pelicans found a way to score the game's first two runs only to have the Nationals tie things up in the seventh to force extras.

In the extra frame, the Pelicans found themselves down by a run in the bottom of the inning only to have Christian Olivo play hero with a three-run shot that gave the Pelicans a 5-3 walkoff win. Although he didn't earn the win, Kevin Camacho was dominant on the mound for the Pelicans, going five shutout innings and striking out a career-high nine.

It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth that anyone was able to score as Ty Southisene legged out an infield single to give the Pelicans the lead, with two runs scoring on that play. Looking to close things out in the seventh, Victor Zarraga pitched into and out of trouble, loading the bases and allowing Randal Diaz, who brought home two runs, to make this a 2-2 game.

Zarraga managed to battle through that jam without further damage, but with the Pelicans going down quietly in the seventh, this one was going to be decided in extras. With the Nationals scoring first on a wild pitch in the top of the eighth, the pressure was back on the Pelicans' offense for them to get the job done.

When you talk about pressure, Olivo thrives under pressure as he picked a great time to deliver his second home run of the season, using a three-run shot to walk off the Nationals 5-3 and gave the Pelicans a doubleheader sweep. Olivo was one of three Pelicans to record multiple hits, joining Angel Cepeda and Jairo Diaz.