Cubs Minor League News: Wicks and Flexon impressive, Hernandez and Trice raking, more

Cubs Minor League News: Wicks and Flexon impressive, Hernandez and Trice raking, more
Dustin Riese Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 1 day ago

They always say that winning breeds winning, and the Cubs Minor League system has done a lot of winning in the last few seasons. Despite the wins not coming as often as they would like in the early stages of 2025, the more the MLB team wins, the more the Minors will follow as players will step up their games with the hope of contributing in 2025.

Sunday was a much lighter day on the diamond as the standard four games were in full effect as opposed to six the day before. It wasn't a great day in terms of wins, with the organization going 2-2, but it was a competitive day as all of the losses were decided by two runs or less.

IOWA CUBS 2 - TOLEDO MUD HENS 0

The Cubs closed out an impressive road trip with a shutout victory, as the offense was once again tough to come by. Chris Flexon, mentioned as a potential Justin Steele replacement, was on the hill for Iowa, turning in his second consecutive strong start.

The right-hander gave the Cubs six shutout innings of three-hit and four-strikeout baseball, lowering his ERA to 0.55. Jordan Wicks is also mentioned as a possible Steele replacement. He took over to finish the game, striking out five in three innings. All it took for the Cubs to get the win was a Ben Cowles double off Lael Lockhart in the third, as his double was the game-winning hit.

Lockhart gave Toledo five innings, allowing just that lone run and striking out five as he did well to go pitch for pitch with Flexon. It wasn't until the ninth inning when the Cubs found the scoreboard again as Christian Franklin doubled home the game's final run in a 2-0 victory.

Franklin led the Cubs with two hits and was joined by Chase Strumpf.

KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 2 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 1 (F/10)

Like Iowa, runs were challenging to come by in Rocket City as the Smokies and Trash Pandas combined for three total runs. However, the Smokies found a way to get it done as they came away with an extra-inning win.

It was a painful no decision for both starters, especially Sam Armstrong who continues to impress. Across his five innings, the right-hander allowed just one run and struck out six as he continued to show his worth in the rotation. Armstrong went toe-to-toe with Sam Aldegheri, who kept the Smokies scoreless through 4 2/3 and struck out six.

The lone run that Armstrong would allow came in the third inning off a Nelson Rada single as Rocket City led 1-0. It was a lead they made hold until late when BJ Murray Jr connected for his first homer of the season, tying things up 1-1 in the seventh. That would be the final run of regulation as this game would come down to extras where a Pedro Ramirez sacrifice fly was the difference in the Smokies' 2-1 victory.

Knoxville collected six hits in the win, with Jaylen Palmer and Murray Jr. pacing the Smokies with two.

PEORIA CHIEFS 11 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 9

While the offense was tough to come by in the upper levels, the same can't be said about A ball where both teams put runs up in bunches. The problem was their pitching, especially relief pitching, as the Cubs fell to Peoria 11-9 but still managed to win the series.

After a rough start in his last appearance, Kenten Egbert turned a bit of a corner by allowing two runs (1ER) in three innings with two punchouts. Those runs came in the first two innings, with Peoria opening the scoring in the first off an error before the Michael Curialle homer extended the lead to 2-0 in the second.

Those were the game's only runs until the fifth, but with Hancel Rincon keeping the Cubs offense off the board through four, it was an uphill battle for South Bend from start to finish. Backed by the two-run Won-Bin Cho single, Peoria broke the game open with three runs in the fifth and added another one in the sixth as they opened up a commanding 6-0 lead.

South Bend did manage to end the shutout in the bottom of the sixth on a Reginald Preciado forceout. Still, with three more runs coming in during the seventh, including two on the Zach Levenson single, it was all Peoria at this point, leading 9-1 late. In that moment, the momentum started to shift as the Cubs offense not only came to life, but came to life in a big way by scoring seven runs in the seventh to pull within one.

A pair of bases-loaded walks from Drew Bowser and Edgar Alvarez started the massive inning, while the Carter Trice single made this a 9-4 game. Following an error that brought home another run, another bases-loaded walk from Cristian Hernandez kept the line moving as South Bend was within 9-6. Reivaj Garcia closed out the massive inning with his two-run single, and suddenly, this was a 9-8 game.

That was as close as the Cubs would get as Peoria tacked on two more runs in the eighth off a bases-loaded wild pitch and a walk to open up an 11-8 lead before winning 11-9. Preciado had the game's final RBI with a single in the bottom of the eighth.

Trice was one of three players to record two hits in the game, joining Hernandez whose hitting .417 and Garcia.

CAROLINA MUDCATS 8 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 6

Like in South Bend, it was the offense that stole the show in Myrtle Beach, but one where the Mudcats had just a bit more as they closed out a strong series against the Birds with an 8-6 win. Brooks Caple was looking to build off his impressive season debut, and although he allowed three runs in four innings, he continues to pitch well.

Caple was victimized by a pair of RBI triples from Reece Walling and Braylon Payne in the first and third innings, aiding to two of the three runs off him as the Pelicans trailed 3-2 in the third. Leonel Espinoza opened the scoring for Myrtle Beach in the second with his two-run single as they held a brief lead early.

After falling behind in the third, it was the Birds turn to answer back and that they did with Matt Halbach coming through with a two-run single in the fifth to put Myrtle Beach back in front 4-3. It was a lead that didn't last long, with Payne tying things up in the top of the sixth with an RBI single, only to have Angel Cepeda put Myrtle Beach back in front with an RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth.

The back-and-forth affair continued into the later innings, with Carolina tying things up with an RBI single in the seventh before retaking the lead with an RBI groundout in the eighth. They added some massive insurance in the ninth as Fillipo Di Turi's loaded walk led to another run and an RBI groundout, pushing the lead to 8-5.

Myrtle Beach did its best to rally back once more, setting itself up nicely, but the Halbach double play killed the rally, which was the final run of the game, resulting in the Pelicans' 8-6 defeat.

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