Cubs Minor League News: I-Cubs game suspended, Knoxville with comeback win, Pels win, more

Jerry Lai - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 1 day ago

We are not even a full two weeks into the Minor League season, and Mother Nature has continued to wreak havoc on many teams. One team in particular has been affected by the weather the most, as the Iowa Cubs have been dealing with a significant amount of rain this week.

That rain forced a postponement earlier in the week, which was made up on Wednesday, while the rain got in the way again on Friday, forcing a 3-3 game to be suspended and played on Saturday. Well, guess again, as rain washed away another day of baseball and thus canceled a game. Even without Iowa stepping onto the field, the Cubs still had three other affiliated teams in action, posting a 2-1 record.

IOWA CUBS at INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS (Canceled)

Bad news (again): Tonight's game has been suspended due to heavy rain.

We'll resume the game tomorrow at 5 PM. Gates will open at 4:30 PM, and only one ticket is needed to attend both games.
— Indianapolis Indians (@indyindians) April 5, 2025

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 6 - BIRMINGHAM BARONS 4

It didn't come easy, but the Knoxville Smokies found a way to get it done as they scored five times in the final three innings to pick up a 6-4 win. It was a win that no one saw coming as Chris Kachmar didn't have his best stuff, allowing four runs in four innings.

All those runs came in the first inning as the Barons jumped on the Smokies quickly before their bats cooled down late. Knoxville managed to score the game's first run on a BJ Murray Jr. bases-loaded walk, but it was a lead short-lived as the Barons went to work in the bottom of the first to push across four runs.

Omar Narvaez opened the scoring for the Barons, connecting for an RBI double off Kachmar to put the Barons ahead 2-1. Birmingham continued to keep the pressure on, with Oscar Colas taking Kachmar deep a few pitches later to push the lead to 4-1, as this was looking like a blowout in the making.

It was at that moment when the Smokies pitching staff began to settle in as they didn't allow a run the rest of the way. The problem was that Hagan Smith was having a start for the ages, as he allowed one run in four innings to go with 10 strikeouts, and the Smokies had no answers for the Barons starter.

Still trailing 4-1 in the seventh, the Smokies offense started to show signs of life as a Jordan Nwogu double pulled the Smokies within 4-3. Then came the ninth when their offense continued their comeback bid as Hayden Cantrelle came through with another clutch hit as his RBI double tied things up 4-4.

Pedro Ramirez added a game-winning two-RBI single later in the inning to put the Smokies back in front 6-4 and then went on to win by that score.

CAME BACK LIKE A BOOMERANG! | @zips3mincarwash
Box Score: https://t.co/NQFsUcr16B pic.twitter.com/bICPl01Whb
— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) April 6, 2025

BELOIT SKY CARP 5 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 4 (F/10)

In what was nearly a carbon copy of the Knoxville game, South Bend found themselves down early, battling back to tie things late, but this time they were on the losing end of an extra-inning win. That has been the theme of this team over the past few seasons, and the Cubs are hoping to end that trend sooner rather than later.

Making his season debut was right-hander Kenten Egbert, who aims to build on an impressive 2024 season. Egbert had his flashes on the mound, but with three runs allowed in 3 2/3 innings, plenty of work must be done. Two of the three runs he allowed came in the first inning, when Colby Shade and Connor Caskenette connected for RBI singles to put the Sky Carp ahead 2-0.

South Bend managed to get one of those runs back on the Drew Bowser single in the fourth, but a Michael Snyder single and the Ryan Ignoffo homer put the Cubs in a 4-1 hole through five. Given how Brayan Mendoza and Nick Maldonado had been pitching up to this point, four runs looked like it would be more than enough for the Sky Carp, as they were in complete control early.

Then came the seventh inning where the Cubs offense not only started to wake up, but started to make this a game after struggling to get things going early on. Reivaj Garcia started the scoring binge with an RBI double before the Cristian Hernandez single pulled the Cubs within 4-3. Hernandez was in the middle of the action throughout this inning as Hernandez stole third later in the inning and came in to score on the same pitch to tie things up 4-4.

Hernandez is coming off a season in which he set the Myrtle Beach stolen Base record and is already off to a great start in 2025 with four steals. That would be the final run of the game for the Cubs and the final run in regulation, as this game was ticketed for extra innings. Unfortunately for South Bend, Beloit got the last laugh, as Yiddi Cappe came through with a walk-off single in the 10th to give the Sky Carp the 5-4 win.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 4 - CHARLESTON RIVER DOGS 3

Who saw this coming to start 2025? After going through a horrible 2024 campaign and seeing Buddy Bailey announce his retirement from the team, the Pelicans appointed Yovanny Cuevas as the new manager, hoping to bring success to this team.

Not only have the Pelicans had instant success, but after two games, they're sitting at 2-0 on the season, having topped the River Dogs 4-3. Yenrri Rojas got the start for the Birds and pitched four innings of two-run baseball. He walked four and struck out two, which was a great start overall.

Rojas was backed by plenty of support as the Pelicans offense struck for three runs off Jose Urbina in the first and never looked back. Eriandys Ramon got the scoring started with a two-run double, while an error extended their lead to 3-0. That was it for the Pelicans offense until later in the game, when the Pelicans' pitching did what they needed to do to pick up the win.

Charleston did manage to scratch across a run in the bottom of the first off an RBI groundout, while the Angel Mateo third-inning single pulled the Riverdogs within 3-2. After their offense went quiet for nearly four innings, the Angel Cepeda homer loomed large as his solo shot in the fifth put the Birds in front 4-2 and proved to be the game-winning hit.