Cubs Minor League News: Franklin and McGuire homer, Wicks impressive, Hughes rocked, more |
Dustin Riese
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- Sunday, March 30 2025
DES MOINES - After an impressive season-opening win against Omaha on Friday, the Iowa Cubs returned to action on Saturday, looking to clinch their opening series. This time, it was left-hander Jordan Wicks getting the start, as he is expected to play a big role for the Cubs this season.
For the most part, the Cubs had complete control of this game and, at one point, led 7-2. That was until Omaha ripped off 10 unanswered runs to end the game, including a pair of four-run innings late to take game two 12-7. As mentioned on Friday, if healthy the Cubs rotation should be in a much better position to win games this season than they were a year ago. Wicks is a significant reason for that, as he was 9-0 in his time with the Iowa Cubs in 2023, prior to being called up late in the season. Wicks is coming off a very good Spring, and despite walking four in 4 2/3 innings, he was off to a great start, allowing just two runs with three strikeouts. Both of those runs came in the second and third innings, with Luke Maile opening the scoring with an RBI single in the second and Tyler Gentry adding an RBI groundout in the third. Between those two runs came a big three-run inning for Iowa as they erased an early 1-0 deficit in a big way. Dixon Machado was part of the action for a second consecutive game, delivering a two-run single to left that put Iowa ahead 2-1. Dixon Machado gives I-Cubs the lead 2-1 in the early stages! Makes it 4 RBIs in the first two games! pic.twitter.com/AOKCeLJFjr The Cubs would tack on an additional run later in the inning off a Christian Franklin walk to extend their lead to 3-1. Walk it out Franklin! 3-1 I-Cubs! pic.twitter.com/Bq0G3G8tBs Iowa continued to tee off on Omaha pitching in the fourth inning, using a massive four-run frame to take a 3-2 lead and turn it into a 7-2 advantage. Jonathon Long got the inning started with an RBI single before Reese McGuire came through with a massive three-run blast to push the Cubs lead to 7-2. REESE MCGUIRE WELCOME TO THE HOME RUN CLUB! Despite leading by five, those were the game's only runs for Iowa, as it was the bullpen that let the Cubs down late. That all started with Riley Martin and Phil Bickford in the sixth as Omaha answered with four runs to pull within 7-6. John Rave opened the scoring in that inning with a bases-loaded walk, only to have Gentry clear the bases with an RBI double, pulling Omaha within 7-6. Omaha continued their comeback bid in the seventh with the Tyler Tolbert single, and suddenly, this game was tied 7-7. Looking to stop the bleeding, Brandon Hughes was called on to pitch in the eighth as he is looking to save his career this season. Another former Iowa Cub getting a second chance with the team, Hughes had plenty of success in his first go around, which is why he made the big league roster in the first. Although this may have been just one game, it was not a great outing for Hughes, as he was charged with four earned runs, all coming on one swing from Maile, whose grand slam put the Storm Chasers in front for good, 11-7. Omaha would tack on another run in the ninth inning off a Cam Devanney homer to close out the game with 10 unanswered runs, paving the way for a 12-7 victory. For the second time in as many games, the Cubs came away with 10 hits, eight coming from a quarter of multi-hit games. Kevin Alcantara was responsible for one of those two hit nights, as were Machado, Long, and James Triantos. Final. pic.twitter.com/gH7lm3QDvh
3-run home run by McGuire extends Iowa's lead to 7-2 over Omaha! pic.twitter.com/kfsXgDQcBA
