Cubs Minor League News: Canario raking, Long and Chavers homer, McGowin struggles, more
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Canario raking, Long and Chavers homer, McGowin struggles, more
by - Senior Writer - Wed Jun 26 11:18:13 GMT-04:00 2024

With Tuesday marking the first of five nights when all seven of the Cubs affiliates are on the field, the Cubs organization was looking to start the week off with a bang. Unfortunately, this wasn't the start they were hoping for. Just one Rookie League team and one full season managed to pick up a win, and the Cubs limped to a 2-5 showing.

SAINT PAUL SAINTS 6 - IOWA CUBS 5

Big innings were the theme of the night for both teams as four crooked numbered innings led to all 11 runs. Unfortunately, the Saints delivered one more run than the Cubs, as a pair of three-run innings was the difference in their 6-5 win. Kyle McGowin had one of his worst starts since joining the Cubs as he struggled with his command through five-plus innings. He walked four, struck out one, and allowed five runs.

McGowin was backed with some early support as the Hayden Cantrelle two-run shot gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead in the third, but with the wind blowing out at close to 20 MPH, you knew two runs wouldn't be enough.

Immediately after falling behind 2-0, the Saints responded with a three-run fourth as an RBI groundout put the Saints on the board before the Tony Kemp double gave them a 3-2 lead.

The Cubs continued to rely on the long ball in the bottom of the fifth with Cole Roederer going deep to tie things up at three before Alexander Canario unloaded for a two-run blast to put the Cubs back in front 5-3.

Once again, the Saints had answers for the Cubs as they delivered a second three-run inning with Will Holland tying things up with a two-run shot only to have Brooks Lee put the game out of reach with his solo blast to lift the Saints to the 6-5 win.

Moises Ballesteros paced the offense with two hits, with five others adding one.

BIRMINGHAM BARONS 9 - TENNESSEE SMOKIES 3

Despite one of the best teams of the first half, the Smokies were unable to take the first-half crown as they finished .5 games behind the Barons, who led from start to finish. Knowing that, the Smokies had an opportunity to send a message to the Barons as this six-game set could set the tone for what is to come in the second half.

Despite things being close entering the eighth, the Barons delivered the knockout blow as they pushed across five runs in their final two at-bats to deliver a 9-3 win. Chris Kachmar wasn't perfect by any means, but with five innings pitched and four runs allowed, he did his part to keep things close. The problem with that is that the Barons have the best starting staff in AA as Jairo Inciarte has the highest ERA on the team at 4.32 and allowed just three runs in six innings.

It took three innings for either team to break through, and the Smokies scored first off a Christian Franklin double to put them in front 1-0. Franklin would later score on a walk to double the lead before the Yohendrick Pinango sacrifice fly put them in front 3-0. Birmingham answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third off a Tim Elko single to pull within 3-2.

The Barons took the lead for good in the fifth off the Matt Hogan two-run homer before their offense tacked on five massive runs late. Two came in the seventh off a Hogan single and a Brooks Baldwin double, while the remaining three came in the eighth off the bases-clearing double from Hogan to lift the Barons 9-3.

Hogan had the hot hand all night for the Barons as he had four hits and five RBIs from the No. 9 spot. The top of the Smokies lineup did all the damage for them, with James Triantos and Franklin adding all four hits.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 8 - WISCONSIN TIMBER RATTLERS 4

Although the Timber Rattlers won the first-half title, you could make the case that the Cubs were playing equally as well by the time the first half ended. They have carried that over to start the second half and began a series with the Rattlers by sending a message as they doubled them up for the 8-4 win.

Ty Johnson pitched very well in his four innings, allowing no runs on three hits with one strikeout. He turned things over to Angel Gonzalez and Jack Patterson, who may have allowed a run each but did what they needed to keep the Cubs firmly in front. The best way to send a message is to come out strong, and with Parker Chavers delivering a two-RBI triple in the first to put the Cubs in front 2-0, they never looked back.

Chavers had a massive game for the Cubs with four RBIs, but the Jonathon Long homer in the third broke the game open 5-0 and proved to be the winning hit. Ed Howard also added an RBI single as part of that four-run third as it was all Cubs early, 6-0. It took Wisconsin five innings to crack the scoreboard with Tayden Hall delivering an RBI single to make things 5-1.

Hall was the offense for most of the game as he followed that RBI single with another one in the seventh as Wisconsin pulled within 6-2. Despite not scoring a run since the third inning, South Bend built a big enough lead where they didn't need to, but having Chavers deliver a two-run shot in the ninth as the knockout blow always helps as the Cubs led 8-2 before Felix Valerio answered with a homer of his own to close out the scoring in an 8-4 Cubs win.

Chavers and Long have been heating up lately as they combined for six hits and seven of the team's eight RBIs in the win. Pedro Ramirez and Howard added multi-hit games for the Cubs, who finished the day with 11 hits.

FAYETTEVILLE WOODPECKERS 8 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 4

Like with the South Bend game, it was one big inning that was the deciding factor in this, but that big inning came from Fayetteville who doubled up the Cubs 8-4. Kenten Egbert got off to a rough start by allowing three first-inning runs, only to settle in after that. He didn't allow a run after finishing his outing, with four innings and three runs allowed, while also striking out eight.

All three of the runs he allowed came on one swing, with Nehomar Ochoa Jr. connecting for a three-run shot to put the Birds in an early 3-0 hole. Three innings later, it was time for the Pelicans to start battling back as the Reggie Preciado double got them on the board and made this a 3-1 game. Preciado would come around to score on the Alfonsin Rosario single later in that inning before Rosario added a second RBI single in the fifth to bring things back to even 3-3.

Immediately following that single, which tied the game, the Fayetteville offense came to life. They broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning to take a 7-3 lead. Cesar Hernandez and Alejandro Nunez drove in three off a pair of RBI singles, with an error leading to the other run.

Miguel Pabon capped off the scoring for the Pelicans with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth to make things 7-4, but that was as close as they would get as the Jancel Villaroel single closed out the scoring in the Woodpeckers 8-4 win.

Rosario may not be hitting for a high average, but he led the way with two hits and two RBIs. He was joined by Andy Garriola and his two hits.

ACL ROCKIES 14 - ACL CUBS 6

DSL BLUE JAYS 7 - DSL CUBS BLUE 2

Two games into the week, and wins are becoming challenging for the Cubs DSL Blue team, which has opened the week 0-2. Their most recent loss came against the Blue Jays on Tuesday, as a pair of big innings did the Cubs in.

Darian Rivero was far from perfect, but after allowing just three runs in 3 1/3 innings, he deserved better, as he pitched well enough to win. The problem was the Cubs' offense struggling to find its footing against Silvano Hechaverria and company, as he opened the game with 4 1/3 strong innings of five strikeouts.

There wasn't much offense in the early going, with the Derik Alcantara sacrifice fly giving the Cubs a 1-0 lead in the first and being the only run for either side until the fourth. Once that fourth inning came, the Blue Jays' offense came to life, as they scored seven times across the next two frames to break the game open 7-1.

Four of those runs came in the fourth, with Esmeiquel Arrieche putting the Blue Jays in front for good with a two-run single before the Endry Reyes double extended their lead to 4-1. One inning later, the Blue Jays added three more runs to their box score, with a sacrifice fly responsible for the first run and Rafael Flores double-driving in the final runs of the game for the Blue Jays.

DSL Blue capped off the scoring on a Carlos Altuve seventh-inning single, but it was nowhere near enough in the Cubs' 7-2 loss. Alexey Lumpuy led the offense with two hits, and nearly everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.

DSL CUBS RED 8 - DSL REDS 5 (F/8)

Talk about a flare for the dramatics for DSL Red. After trailing most of the game, the offense led the comeback, pushing home five runs in their final two at-bats. That includes two in the seventh to force extras and three in the extra frame as the Cubs responded to take the 8-5 win.

A lot of pitchers were used in this one. Some had success, and some didn't, but none had the success that Kevin Camacho had. The right-hander has been impressive this season, and after striking out four in two scoreless frames, he has lowered his ERA to 1.86 on the season. He bailed out a Cubs team that fell behind 1-0 in the first of an Ichiro Cano double and a Diorland Zambrano three-run bomb in the fourth that put the Reds in front 4-1.

That homer came after Ezequiel Pena tied things up with a second-inning single, but early on, the Cubs' offense was nowhere to be found. Trailing by three in the fifth, Vincent Nunez took it upon himself to bring the Cubs closer, as his two-run single made this a 4-3 game. Zambrano added to his big game with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, but the Cubs had the last laugh in this one.

Needing a late-game rally to tie things back up, DSL Red delivered as a Leroy Escalante single, and the Enyel Rosario double brought things back to even 5-5 and helped send the game into extras.

The Cubs continued their late-game offensive barrage in the eighth, with Cesar Lugo delivering the game-winning single to put the Cubs in front 6-5 before tacking on a pair of runs later in the inning to close out the 8-5 comeback win.

CHICAGO DOGS 12 - WINNIPEG GOLDEYES 6

LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS 11 - WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 6

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