Cubs Minor League News: I-Cubs fall to Indians |
Dustin Riese
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- 19 hours ago
INDIANAPOLIS—After torrential rain moved through the area on Wednesday, canceling their game, the Iowa Cubs (2-2) and Indianapolis Indians (2-1) settled in for a busy day of doubleheader baseball. In game one, right-hander Caleb Kilian took the ball for the Cubs as he faced off against Bubba Chandler.
This was a bizarre game for the Cubs, who fell behind by six runs early in the game. They battled back to tie things up late, only to fall to the Indians in extras 7-6. Kilian is one of those players who will be under the microscope this season, as he is nearing his final opportunity with the organization. From a stuff side of things, he has always had the stuff to be one of the better pitchers in the game, but he hasn't been able to get the results you would expect from his stuff. Thursday was a prime example of that, as Kilian was lit up for six runs in just 2 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out two, but also allowing three homers, which continues to be an issue for him. The Indians didn't waste any time grabbing the early lead as the Billy Cook sacrifice fly put Indianapolis in front 1-0 in the first. They continued to build on that lead in the second with a Nick Solak homer as the Cubs found themselves down 2-0 after two. That was the first of three Indianapolis homers in the game as the long ball continued to be an issue for Kilian in the third. Not only did DJ Stewart hit a three-run shot to break the game open, 5-0, but Matt Gorski added an additional solo shot to extend the Indians' lead to 6-0, putting them in complete control. Given the way Chandler was pitching at the time, you had to think six runs of support would be enough, as doubleheader games are seven innings as opposed to the usual nine, leaving less of a chance for the Iowa offense to come back. However, as we have seen in the past, the Iowa offense is one of those that doesn't need much time to get rolling. Despite being held scoreless through five, they started to show signs of life in the sixth, and it came in a big way. Ben Cowles got what wound up being a five-run sixth inning for the Cubs started as his two-run triple put the Cubs on the board 6-2. 2-run triple for Cowles! Deficit is cut down to 6-2 pic.twitter.com/iEJ1j4XhsP Cowles would come in to score on the Reese McGuire sacrifice fly, and suddenly, the Indians saw their lead cut in half at 6-3. The Cubs weren't quite finished as Owen Caissie came through with what seemed like his first hit in forever, using an RBI double to plate a pair and had the Cubs within 6-5 late. Caissie brings in two more runs, 6-5 in favor of Indy! pic.twitter.com/1toNDEJaU7 Iowa continued their comeback effort in the seventh as a leadoff error allowed Moises Ballesteros to reach, opening the door for the Cubs to take the lead. Still standing on base with two outs, Ballesteros was finally able to score the tying run as James Triantos came through with a clutch RBI double, making it a 6-6 game. TRIANTOS TIES THE GAME pic.twitter.com/HmOhly0nj4 Ethan Roberts then worked his second consecutive scoreless inning, sending the game into extras. As bad as things were at the start for Kilian and the offense, the Cubs do deserve a ton of credit for battling back, especially the bullpen, which was put in a tough spot after the short outing. Roberts gave the Cubs two scoreless innings and joined Daniel Palencia, Riley Martin, and Brandon Hughes as the quartet, combining 10 strikeouts in five hitless innings. Despite their effort, it wasn't enough, as Hughes was saddled with the loss in extras, as Malcolm Nunez delivered a game-winning fielder's choice to lift the Indians to a 7-6 extra-inning win. What hurts even more is that Iowa had the bases loaded in the top half of that same inning, only to come away empty.
