Cubs Minor League News: Horton pitches a gem, Sanders impressive, Aliendo clutch, more

Horton continues to impress for the I-Cubs (Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs)

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 6 hours ago

There was some good across the Cubs Minor League system on Thursday, and some bad, which will be the case every day. The bad: The Cubs saw their system drop two of its three games, both of them by just one run.

The good news is that several players put together strong showings on the diamond, with one of them starting to make an impression that could have implications later on this season. That is all you can ask for from your kids, as the Cubs are positioned to make some noise across the board this season.

LOUISVILLE BATS 1 - IOWA CUBS 0 (F/11)

You want to talk about a heartbreaking loss for the Iowa Cubs. Not only did they drop this one in 11 innings, but they wasted what was an absolutely amazing start from Cade Horton, which is becoming the norm this season. Listed as the Cubs' top pitching prospect, Horton has been on a roll this season, as his ERA has fallen to 1.06.

This may have been his best start yet as the right-hander gave the Cubs 4 2/3 innings of shutout ball, walking one and striking out five while allowing two hits.

Opposing him was Chase Petty, as he matched Horton pitch for pitch and then some. Petty gave the Bats six shutout innings on the mound, allowing just one hit and striking out seven in a classic pitcher's duel.

The lone run of the game came in the 11th as Will Benson picked up the game-winning RBI single off of Frank Scalzo Jr to deliver the walk-off win. Iowa was held to four hits in the loss, as Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara, and Reese McGuire had those hits.

Joining Horton with strong showings on the mound were Brandon Hughes, who struck out two across 1 1/3 innings, Tyson Miller, and Jack Neely, who added four strikeouts in two innings.

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PENSACOLA BLUE WAHOOS 4 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 3 (F/10)

It's hard enough losing one extra-inning game the way the Cubs did, but to lose two of them on the same night, that's painful. This was another game where it looked as if one run would be enough, as neither team scored a run through six.

Then came the seventh, where Pensacola scored twice to take the lead before watching the Smokies tie things up in the ninth, only to get walked off in extras. It was another great start from right-hander Will Sanders, who continues to impress in AA. Sanders went five shutout innings, allowing four hits and striking out five as his ERA sits at 2.95.

Like in the Iowa game, the Smokies needed an outing like that from him, as Robby Snelling was just as good, if not better. Snelling lasted six innings, struck out nine, and didn't allow a run as neither offense wanted to break through. With things still deadlocked 0-0 in the seventh, the Blue Wahoos broke through first as the Dalvy Rosario single opened the scoring with a 1-0 lead.

Pensacola added another run later in the inning off an error as the Smokies found themselves down 2-0. Things only got worse from there as another error in the eighth led to another Blue Wahoos run to extend their lead to 3-0. Still trailing by that score and down to their final at-bats, Knoxville started to make some noise as they began to mount a late-game rally.

A one-out single from Pedro Ramirez started the rally while the BJ Murray Jr walk put a pair of runners down. Down to their final out, it was Pablo Aliendo coming through with his biggest hit of the season as he cranked a three-run shot to left and brought things back to even 3-3 with extra innings looming.

However, this was one of those days when extras weren't kind to the Smokies, as Pensacola walked off the Smokies in 10 on the Josh Zamora single. Knoxville had six hits in the loss, with Jordan Nwogu leading the way with two.

SOUTH BEND CUBS 8 - BEOLIT SKY CARP 5

While offense was tough to come by in the upper levels, that wasn't the issue for South Bend, as they scored more runs in the first inning than Knoxville and Iowa combined. That was enough to pick up the lone win, as the Cubs kept their home cooking alive with an 8-5 win.

Luis Rujano got the start, and despite allowing three runs in 3 1/3 innings, he did his part to keep the Cubs in front before handing things off to Sam Thoresen and the pen. Thoresen struck out five in 2 1/3 innings in one of his better outings of the season. Most of the Cubs' damage came in the first inning, as they erupted for a six-spot to take a 6-0 lead.

Carter Trice opened the scoring with an RBI double, while Reivaj Garcia's double brought home a pair to make this a 3-0 game. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of Ariel Armas, whose three-run shot broke the game open 6-0. That was only the beginning for the Cubs' offense as Cristian Hernandez unloaded for a long solo shot to extend the Cubs' lead to 7-0 through two.

It took four innings for Beloit to get on the scoreboard as Rujano was roughed up after holding them scoreless through three innings. Fenwick Trimble ended the shutout with a bases-loaded walk while the Brock Vradenburg double pulled the Sky Carp within 7-3. South Bend continued to rely on the long ball at the bottom of the fourth, and Ivan Brethowr closed out the scoring for South Bend with another solo shot to make this an 8-3 game.

Beloit did manage to add two runs later in the game, but it wasn't enough as the Cubs continued to play well at home. Trice and Garcia led the Cubs with two hits, and the team had eight hits in the win.