Cubs Minor League News: Alcantara homers, Pagan raking, Wiggins pitches gem, Hearn homers |
This has been an interesting week for the Cubs and their Minor League System, and that trend continued on Saturday. Not only do the Cubs continue to see an influx of promotions throughout the system, but you also saw the Myrtle Beach Pelicans get rained out for a fourth time this week.
Couple that with a blowout loss from Iowa and some strong showings across the board, and the Cubs posted a 3-2 record for the day.
In what was a highly anticipated game with Jordan Wicks set to make his first rehab start, it turned into a nightmare as the Cubs were blown out 13-3. Wicks was rusty in this one, as the left-hander struggled in his 1 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out two while allowing six earned runs. Things weren't much better for Riley Thompson and Sam McWilliams, as the Storm Chasers scored 15 of their 16 runs in two innings, which was more than enough to top the Cubs. Despite Wicks' struggles, it was good to see him on the mound again, and the Cubs did back him with some early offense. Kevin Alcantara opened the scoring with a bases-loaded walk in the first before the Jack Hager homer put the Cubs in front 2-0 in the second. Jake Hager ropes his second homer of the season!💪 pic.twitter.com/1sMK65AKhe Those were the only runs Dinelson Lamet would allow as he overcame significant command issues to get through five innings, allowing just two runs. Trailing 2-0 in the second, the Omaha offense came to life in a big way as they pushed across six runs to take a 6-2 lead. All six runs came on three homers, with Ryan Fitzgerald tying things up with a two-run blast before Cam Devanney put them in front 3-2. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of Tyler Gentry, whose three-run shot put the Storm Chasers in front 6-2. Omaha continued to do damage in the third when nine more runs came in to score as they opened up a 15-2 lead. Nelson Velazquez was part of that as he started the big inning with an RBI double to make things 7-2. That was followed by a bases-loaded walk and three additional bases-loaded hits, as the Cubs didn't help themselves in any way. Alcantara did manage to tack on his second AAA homer later in the game, but at this point, the Cubs were all but done in this one as the Storm Chasers took care of business 16-3. Kevin Alcantara's second Triple-A homer is the @GreatClips Clip of the Game! pic.twitter.com/XoFKpxRiWQ Alcantara continues to play well since his promotion as he led the Cubs with two hits and two RBIs. Back at it tomorrow pic.twitter.com/wQBRJMw5az
If the Smokies are going to clinch the second-half title and make the postseason, these are the types of series they need to take. Although things haven't been easy, a win is a win at this point in the season, as the Smokies picked up another win 5-3. For the most part, Chris Kachmar has been a solid starter this season, but hasn't been as sharp in recent outings. Kachmar allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings, but he did enough to keep his team in the game. Kachmar was backed by some instant offense, with Ezequiel Pagan opening the scoring with a second-inning RBI double before coming home on a walk to make things 2-0. Ezequiel Pagan gets the scoring started with an RBI ground-rule double! #LastYearBestYear #NextStopWrigley pic.twitter.com/yMVvFddjc4 Pagan was just getting started as he added a second RBI double in the fourth inning to push the Smokies lead to 3-1, which came after a Nicholas Northcut double put the Lookouts on the board in the top half of the fourth. Make that TWO doubles and TWO RBIs for Ezequiel Pagan tonight! #LastYearBestYear #NextStopWrigley pic.twitter.com/mP7n6mQ72c Still holding their 3-1 lead in the sixth, the Smokies saw their lead quickly evaporate as the Ruben Ibarra single brought home two runs to tie things up 3-3. Those would be the game's final runs for the Lookouts, as the Smokies pen did a great job in relief of Kachmar. The same can't be said about the Lookouts pen, as a bases-loaded walk by Felix Stevens pushed home the winning run before the Smokies tacked on another run off an error to win 5-3. Pagan delivered two of the four hits for the Smokies, with Pablo Aliendo and Johnathon Long adding the others. Powered by PINK! | @zips3mincarwash
It has been a long week for the Cubs, but following their showing on Saturday, they can at least end the week on a high. Behind a strong Jaxson Wiggins outing and some timely hitting, it was the Cubs picking up a 5-1 victory. Wiggins has been one of the faster-rising prospects in the Cubs system this year, and with five no-hit innings on Saturday, he picked up his first High-A win. Wiggins did struggle with his command at times, walking three and striking out five, but he did what he had to do before handing the ball off to the pen. Opposing Wiggins was Enmanuel Pinales, who, despite striking out six in five innings, also allowed four runs. It took the Cubs three innings to open the scoring as the Pedro Ramirez single put them in front 1-0, and they never looked back. That was only the beginning for the Cubs offense as all five runs were scored before the seventh inning. They followed that run with a pair of runs in the fourth as an Ed Howard double play and Jordan Nwogu single gave the Cubs a 3-0 advantage. Thrown in another Ethan Hearn homer in the fifth and the Nwogu sacrifice fly in the sixth, and the Cubs were in front 5-0 with the game seemingly in hand. Ethan Hearn has 🖐 round tripper's in his last 16 games! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MPspXme2PY The lone run of the game for Fort Wayne came off an Ethan Long seventh-inning double as the Cubs picked up the 5-1 win. Ramirez was one of four players to record multiple hits for the Cubs, joining Edgar Alvarez, Andy Garriola, and Nwogu. Cubs win! Here is the final score for tonight's game. Most certainly a fun one! See you tomorrow for Sunday Fun day! pic.twitter.com/RXTjtC5C3W
Tonight’s game has been postponed. https://t.co/jxvhnS71qv
OMAHA STORM CHASERS 16 - IOWA CUBS 3
TENNESSEE SMOKIES 5 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 3
Box Score: https://t.co/ZofH69Rvsw pic.twitter.com/c8vRB3jmgWSOUTH BEND CUBS 5 - FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 1
MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS vs DOWN EAST WOOD DUCKS (Postponed)
DSL CUBS BLUE 3 - DSL DODGERS 2
DSL GUARDIANS 6 - DSL CUBS RED 5
