Cubs Minor League News: Caissie collects 3 hits, Thompson impressive, Smokies season over |
For the second night in a row, the Cubs posted an 0-2 record, but this one is bittersweet.
One of the two losses came from the Tennessee Smokies, who saw their chance at a second consecutive Southern League Championship come to an end. It also marks the last time they will be known as the Tennessee Smokies, as they will move to a new home in Knoxville next season.
Talk about a pitcher's duel; the Iowa Cubs and Rochester Red Wings were locked into a tightly contested pitchers' duel and one that saw just three runs come across the home. Two of those runs came from Rochester, with one scoring in the ninth before they walked off the Cubs in 10. Riley Thompson had a great start, and you could make the case that he saved his best start for last. Not only did Thompson go six shutout innings, allowing three hits, but he walked none and struck out seven, as walks have been an issue at times this season. Going up against Brad Lord, who also went six innings while striking out seven, runs were tough to come by, as it took three innings for the game's first run to score. That run came off the bat of Owen Caissie, whose RBI single put the Cubs in front 1-0. Owen Caissie's 75th RBI of the year! pic.twitter.com/1QMwf4fcZO Matt Shaw doesn't just hit doubles, he takes them away too! pic.twitter.com/zpHDkQuXby That was the game's only run until the ninth inning when both bullpens did a great job holding the offense down once the starters were removed. In the ninth inning, the Red Wings tied things up as an RBI forceout forced extra innings. Looking to get back on the scoreboard for the first time since the third inning, the Iowa offense quietly in the 10th and thus gave Rochester a chance to walk things off. That they did, and they didn't need much time to do it as the Stone Garrett single pushed home the winning run in a 2-1 victory. Iowa had seven hits in the loss, with Caissie leading the way with three and Hayden Cantrelle picking up two. Final. pic.twitter.com/YommGBB6s6
The historic season by the Smokies ended on Friday as their quest for back-to-back Southern League Championships ended with a 6-3 loss. This game saw the Barons grab an early lead, only to have the Smokies battle back to tie things up late. Unfortunately, the three-run bottom of the eighth proved to be the difference and gave the Barons the victory. Sam Armstrong, who has been pitching very well since his promotion to AA, took the ball for the win-or-go-home game. Armstrong got hit hard early, but managed to limit the damage by allowing two runs. However, with only 2 2/3 innings under his belt, the pressure was on the Smokies pen, and they did a great job until late. Both of the runs Armstrong allowed came in the second inning as Terrell Tatum came through with his second two-RBI single in as many games to give the Barons a 2-0 lead. Rikku Nishida would add a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth to push the lead to 3-0, as it was all Birmingham in the early stages. Not only did the Barons give Riley Gowens a three-run lead, but with no hits allowed through five innings, Gowens was about as dominating as you can get as the Smokies offense were searching for answers. Those answers started to come in the top half of the sixth, with Felix Stevens getting the Smokies on the board with a solo shot. Tennessee had a chance to tie things up with the bases loaded later in the inning but only managed to add one more run with a Luis Verdugo bases-loaded walk, making this a 3-2 game. The Smokies comeback attempt continued into the seventh with Benjamin Cowles coming through with a sacrifice fly to bring things to 3-3. With the game still tied in the bottom of the eighth, the Barons' offense came to life again and put the game away for good. Jacob Gonzalez delivered the game-winning RBI single to make things 4-3 with a sacrifice fly, pushing the lead to 5-3. Later in the inning, you had Tatum cash in with his second RBI hit of the game to close out the scoring as the Barons ended the Smokies season 6-3. Final score presented by @zips3mincarwash Thank you fans for an incredible 2024 season! pic.twitter.com/8vRKwkZoEhROCHESTER RED WINGS 2 - IOWA CUBS 1 (F/10)
BIRMINGHAM BARONS 6 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 3
Box Score: https://t.co/h4cQhsG8Sa pic.twitter.com/idZpa7NGru
