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Cubs Minor League News: Caissie homers twice, Smith homers in six straight, Wicks shutout
Photo courtesy: I-Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Caissie homers twice, Smith homers in six straight, Wicks shutout
by - Senior Writer - Mon Aug 26 10:30:02 GMT-05:00 2024

You knew it had to come at some point, but the Chicago Cubs Minor League System was finally rewarded for a strong week. Not only did they go the entire week without posting a losing record, but they capped off the week the best way possible by going a perfect 4-0 on the diamond.

They did that with a mix of strong pitching, some timely hits across the board, and one player continuing to make history as he has already earned a promotion less than a month into his professional career. All that combined led to another strong day and an excellent weekly performance.

IOWA CUBS 4 - TOLEDO MUD HENS 2

This was one of the better weeks for the Iowa Cubs in quite some time, and it wasn't the way you expected it. Typically, you think of offense when discussing the Cubs, as they have one of the best lineups in AAA. However, this week was about the pitching, which continued on Sunday with the Cubs doubling Toledo 4-2.

Jordan Wicks continued his rehab on the mound and has improved with each start. This was his best yet as he scattered three hits across 4 1/3 scoreless innings, walking one and striking out four before handing things off to Riley Thompson.

Toledo took a more bullpen-like approach, keeping the Cubs' offense in check early. The game remained scoreless through three innings.

Once the fourth inning rolled around, the Cubs' offense did its part, as their three-run fourth was all the offense the Cubs would need. Owen Caissie started the scoring with one of his two homers to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead, with Darius Hill tacking on an RBI double to make this a 3-0 lead.

That score would hold until the eighth when Caissie left the yard again to push the lead to 4-0.

It took eight innings for Toledo to cash in, and it came off of one of the Cubs best relievers of late in, Keegan Thompson. Thompson has been on quite a roll this month, and despite allowing a two-run triple to Bligh Madris to make this a 4-2 game, his ERA for the month is 1.87 and is 2.96 for the season. Nearly everyone in the lineup had at least one hit, but Caissie provided the thunder with three hits and three RBIs.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 9 - PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 5

Talk about a flare for the dramatic. With the game tied 5-5 in the ninth and the Smokies looking for the sweep, it came down to one swing as Haydn McGeary delivered a walk-off grand slam to give the Smokies a 9-5 win. This was a statement for the Smokies, who are getting set to defend their league title.

Sam Armstrong made the start for Tennessee as he adjusts to life in AA. With five innings of three-run and three-strikeout ball, Armstrong isn't dominating hitters, but he is doing what he needs to do on the mound. He opposed Jeff Lindgren, who also went five innings, allowing four runs and striking out four in a great game.

Following a Jonathon Long first-inning single to put the Smokies in front 1-0, the Pensacola offense made some noise in the second as all three runs off Armstrong came in that inning.

The first of those runs came on the Shane Sasaki RBI double, with Johnny Olmstead tacking on a two-run single to make this a 3-1 game.

Tennessee responded with a Christian Franklin single in the second to pull within 3-2, only to have Long deliver another massive hit as his two-run shot in the third gave the Smokies the lead again, 4-3.

They would push their lead to 5-3 on Parker Chavers sixth inning single before the long ball came into play late.

That all started with Olmstead, who connected for a solo shot in the seventh to make this a 5-4 game. One inning later, the same story with this homer coming from Graham Pauley as the back-and-forth affair continued into the ninth 5-5. Down to their final at-bats and needing just one run to pick up the win, McGeary delivered, but not in the way you would think, as he delivered in grand fashion with a grand slam to walk off the Blue Wahoos 9-5.

It was the only hit of the game for McGeary, but he made it count as the Smokies had 11 hits in the win. Franklin, Long, Chavers, and Brett Bateman all had two hits, with Long adding three RBIs.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 3 - BELOIT SKY CARP 2 (F/11)

Not only did the Cubs have one walk-off win, but they had two as the Cubs walked off the Sky Carp 3-2. Unlike the Smokies walk off win where the offense stole the show, this was all about the pitching as runs were challenging to come by. Erian Rodriguez played a part in that by tossing five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, and striking out four.

The same can be said for Ike Buxton, who also went five innings, allowing (0ER), but was charged with one unearned run, which came on a first-inning fielding error to give the Cubs the lead. It was the only run of the game until the sixth, when Yiddi Cappe cashed in with an RBI single off Chase Watkins to tie things up 1-1. That would be all of the offense in regulation, as extra innings was needed to decide this one.

With neither team scoring in the 10th, the Sky Carp broke through in the 11th with Ryan Ignoffo delivering a go-ahead RBI double 2-1. However, the Cubs got the last laugh as they managed to tie things up on a wild pitch before the Pedro Ramirez single walked off Beloit 3-2.

Ramirez had a great day at the plate, as he had four of the team's six hits in the win.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 5 - CHARLESTON RIVERDOGS 2

Backed by a strong pitching performance and some timely hitting, the Pelicans picked up the series win over their rivals 5-2. Jeral Vizcaino set the tone on the mound by allowing two runs in five innings before the duo of Angel Hernandez and Vince Reilly took over, and they combined for four scoreless innings and five strikeouts. Hernandez lowered his ERA to 1.26 despite not having his best stuff.

Both were tasked with keeping things close. Both of the Riverdogs runs came in the first inning off a pair of RBI doubles from Emilien Pitre and Connor Hujsak. Apart from that, the Riverdogs offense was nonexistent as it was up to the Pelicans offense to battle back.

That started with a Cam Smith sacrifice fly in the third to pull within one, only to use a three-run sixth inning to grab the lead. Smith was also part of that inning, as his solo shot tied things up 2-2. It was also the sixth consecutive game in which he had hit a homer, and that has earned him a promotion to South Bend, where he will begin play this week.

Later in that inning, the Carter Trice double put the Birds in front for good, 3-2, with a Reggie Preciado sacrifice bunt making this a 4-2 game. Myrtle Beach would tack on another run in the seventh off the Alfonsin Rosario single, as they took care of business 5-2.

Leonel Espinoza led the way with two hits and has hit .283 since his promotion from the ACL.

CHICAGO DOGS 7 - LAKE COUNTRY DOCKHOUNDS 1

The Dogs closed out the week in style and took care of Lake Country 7-1. Most of their damage came late as a four-run eighth inning broke the game open to seal the victory. Before that, you had an offense doing just enough to back Brady Miller on the mound, who gave the Dogs six strong innings of one-run ball.

With the score tied 0-0 entering the fourth, Jacob Teter pushed home the first run on a single, and the Dogs never trailed in this one. They did, however, see the tying run come home on a Ryan Hernandez single in the top of the fifth, but with that being the only run for Lake Country, the Dogs' offense didn't have to do much more.

Johnny Turbo brought home the winning run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth before tacking on an RBI single in the seventh to push the lead to 3-1. Once the eighth inning rolled around, the Dogs offense put the game away as they scored four runs in that inning to break things open.

Brantley Bell brought home the first two runs in that inning off an RBI triple to push the lead to 5-1, with Narcisco Crook following with a triple of his own. Turbo capped off the scoring with his third RBI of the night as his single made this a 7-1 game. Everyone in the Dogs lineup had a hit, as Chicago had 17 hits in the win.

WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 12 - JOLIET SLAMMERS 4

This season has been a struggle offensively for the Bolts, but judging by the last two games, there is some potential there. One day after putting up 11 runs in an 11-3 win, the Bolts offense was back at by scoring 12 runs and picking up a 12-4 win.

Ruddy Gomez didn't have a great start, allowing four runs in six innings, but that kind of offensive support he didn't have to be at his best. This was one of those games where the Thunderbolts offense was on fire early by scoring seven runs in the first four innings and then tacking on four late.

Brennen Doughri started the scoring binge with a two-run double in the first, only to have former Cub Matthew Warkentin and Jonathan Sierra connect for solo shots to bring the game back to even 2-2. Cam Phelts put the Bolts back on top with a single in the top of the second, but just like the first inning, the long ball kept things close as a third solo blast from the Slammers, making this a 3-3 game after two.

The Thunderbolts' offense came to life in the third. They took the lead for good and never looked back. Joe Johnson put Windy City on top with an RBI triple, only to have Robert Chayka bring him home with a single, which proved to be the winning run. Two more singles from Henry Kusiak and Doughri in the fourth pushed the Bolts' lead to 7-3, as that was all for them offensively until late.

Holding a 7-4 lead in the seventh, the Thunderbolts tacked on three runs, with two coming on a pair of sacrifice flies from Christian Kuzemka and Johnson and Chayka adding an RBI triple to push the lead to 10-4. Windy City closed out the scoring with two more runs in the eighth as Kuzemka added another sacrifice fly ahead of the Tyler Sandoval single in the 12-4 Bolts win.

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