Cubs Minor League News: Rookie League Action |
A new week of competition means another Monday of Minor League action as the DSL squads return to the field after having their midseason break. With that came three games to keep tabs on, but only one that mattered in the standings as both DSL squads played against each other in a doubleheader.
Any time you play against each other, the wins and losses don't matter. All that matters is that the fans get a chance to follow more prospects that will be up and coming through the system in the coming years.
Led by six runs in the first two innings, that would be all the offense the Angels would need as they doubled up the Cubs 6-3. Derek Casey was back on the bump for the Cubs, and despite allowing four runs in the first, none of them were earned runs, as the defense didn't do him any favors. In fact, all six of the Angels runs were unearned as the Cubs struck out 12 batters in the game, including four from Tyler Duffey in his two innings of relief. Four of the Angels six runs came in the first inning, with a John Wimmer sacrifice fly opening the scoring and giving the Halos the 1-0 lead and a lead they would never give back. The big hit in the first came from Anthony Scull, whose bases-loaded triple cleared the bases and extended the lead to 4-0. The Angels would take on two more in the second on RBI singles from Wimmer and Randy De Jesus as they opened up an early 6-0 lead. Granted, those may have been the only runs for the Angels, but the Cubs still had a ton of work to do if they wanted to make this a game. Jefferson Encarnacion did his part and put the Cubs on the board with an RBI single in the third as his great summer continues. Little did the Cubs know that it would be their only run until late in the game when 11th-round pick Zyhir Hope unloaded for his first homer of the season to pull the Cubs within 6-3. They would fall by that score, but seeing some of their 2023 rookie class start to hit the ground running the past two weeks has been excellent. Hope led the Cubs offense with two hits and two RBIs as Leonel Espinoza joined him with two hits. Alexis Hernandez, Encarnacion, and Frank Hernandez rounded out the hits for the Cubs. Rivera and Shaw not in the lineup for the Cubs' ACL team tonight. Still listed on the roster....for now. Likely headed to South Bend tomorrow. Likely. pic.twitter.com/Wc8i6Wb5sa
In what was the completion of the July 25 game that got stormed out, it was the DSL Red squad making quick work of DSL Blue as they took care of business 10-2. Justin Florentino got the win for the DSL Red squad as he fired four scoreless innings of relief to go with three punchouts. Both teams had their offense going early, with DSL Red taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a steal of home while Derniche Valdez picked up a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first to tie things up. Once the second inning rolled around, the DSL Red offense put the pedal to the medal and began to pull away. A Sandy Sanchez two-run double gave the Cubs the lead for good, 3-1, with an RBI fielder's choice making things 4-1. DSL Blue kept things close, with Grenyerbert Velasquez picking up another sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second to make things 4-2. That would be it for the Blue offense, as Red scored six unanswered runs to end the game. The first of those came on the Joan Delgado homer in the top half of the third to make things 5-2 with an error leading to an additional run in the fifth. You also had Sanchez pick up another RBI with a single to push the lead to 7-2 in the fifth before tacking on an additional RBI in the seventh. Derik Alcantara also got in on the fun in that seventh inning as his two-run triple was part of a three-run inning as DSL Red took game one 10-2. Sanchez had a monster day, finishing with three hits and four RBIs.
Normally, when you get swept in a doubleheader, it is a bad look, but in this case, the Cubs can handle it as their sister club swept them. Unlike the first game, where the DSL offense was alive and well, this game came down to the pitching as both teams threw the ball exceptionally well. Jeral Vizcaino took the ball for DSL Blue, and after striking out three in four scoreless frames, he lowered his ERA to 1.88 for the season. Compare that to Zhiorman Imbriano, and Vizcaino was better as Imbriano struck out four in his four innings but allowed the only run of the day for the Blue squad. After driving in the first run of the game for Blue in game one, Valdez was at it again as he picked up the only RBI for them in game two with a solo shot to begin the fourth to make things 1-0. Valdez has settled in nicely since his slow start to the season, as he is hitting .247 with six homers and 20 RBIs so far. 17 year old Derniche Valdez hit his 6th HR in just 89 PAs in the DSL yesterday (and didn’t strike out! The K% sits at 40.4%). Despite striking first, their lead didn't last long, as all three of the runs for DSL Red came in the fifth inning. With just one swing, Luis Maza played hero as his RBI double tied things up and gave the DSL Red squad the lead for good, 2-1. Albert Gutierrez added an RBI single shortly after to extend the lead to 3-1, which was the final score. ACL ANGELS 6 - ACL CUBS 3
DSL CUBS RED 10 - DSL CUBS BLUE 2 (Completion of 07/25)
DSL CUBS RED 3 - DSL CUBS BLUE 1
The most HRs by a DSL Cub since 2006 (as far back as FG goes) is 10 (by a 19 year old in 256 PAs). Christopher Morel hit 7 in 268 PAs as an 18 year old. pic.twitter.com/LpXbhVR3TS
