Cubs Minor League News: Alcantara with two homers, Triantos raking, Aliendo going off
Alcantara aka the Jaguar has been sizzling of late (Allan Henry - USA Today Sports)

Cubs Minor League News: Alcantara with two homers, Triantos raking, Aliendo going off
by - Senior Writer - Wed Apr 24 11:10:45 GMT-05:00 2024

Winning can certainly be contagious, which was the case for the Chicago Cubs. Not only did the MLB team take care of business against the Houston Astros, but the Cubs Minor League system came out and opened the week with a 2-1 record. That gives them consecutive days with a winning record, which isn't something you could say much about early on.

IOWA CUBS vs. BUFFALO BISON (Postponed)

The only downside on Tuesday was that the Iowa Cubs' game with Buffalo was postponed. On the flip side, the Cubs will now have a doubleheader on Thursday as they look to remain in first place.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 10 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 4

Entering the season, many felt that the Tennessee Smokies not only had the most talented roster in the Cubs system but also had a roster capable of putting up massive offensive numbers. Last night, this team showed how dangerous it can be, connecting for seven homers in their victory over the Trash Pandas.

Ideally, you like to score runs outside of the long ball, but if you are going to hit that many homers, you can live with it. Kevin Alcantara and Haydn McGeary got the party started, with Alcantara connecting for a leadoff homer and McGeary tacking on a two-run shot to make things 3-0 in the first. For McGeary, this is a massive series for him as he has been a Trash Pandas killer the past two seasons, but was also stuck in an 0-33 slump before that homer.

Pitching with the lead is all you can ask for as a starter, and Connor Noland was given a nice cushion right from the jump. Although Noland wasn't great early on, as a bases-loaded walk and sacrifice fly in the first pulled the Trash Pandas within 3-2, he settled down from there to give Tennessee five innings, allowing just those two runs.

Even when the momentum was starting to shift, James Triantos made sure it wouldn't completely go away as he connected for a two-run shot in the third before adding a solo shot in the sixth to push the lead to 6-2.

Triantos was one of three Smokies to hit multiple homers, joining Alcantara, who hit a second solo shot in the seventh, and Pablo Aliendo, who delivered a two-run shot in the sixth and a solo shot in the eighth to lead the Smokies to the 10-4 win.

QUAD CITY RIVER BANDITS 8 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 5

Nothing is coming easy for the Cubs right now, as wins are hard to come by for this team. Despite leading the league-leading River Bandits late after a strong pitching performance through eight innings, the five-run ninth did them in as Quad City rallied to pick up the 8-5 win.

Nick Hull started for the Cubs and, despite some early-game struggles, gave his team a chance to win. Hull pitched five innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four. He turned things over to Koen Moreno, who pitched well in his two innings, but it was the back end of the pen that struggled.

Despite Hull's strong showing on the mound, Hunter Owen was equally as good, if not better, as the Cubs offense was unable to get much of anything going early. Owen matched Hull with five innings while also allowing two runs and striking out four. South Bend managed to grab the early lead in the first off the Yohendrick Pinango triple, only to have Quad City return the favor in the second with a Delvis Nadal triple that put the River Bandits in front 2-1.

Those were the lone runs Hull would allow as he settled in to give his team a chance. Jefferson Rojas kept things close with his game-tying sacrifice fly in the fifth, but once again, Quad City had the answers as Moreno allowed a Brett Squires single to give the River Bandits a 3-2 lead. Not to be outdone, the back-and-forth affair continued into the bottom half of the seventh, with Brett Bateman tying things up with the third RBI triple of the game. A Pinango homer followed that, and just like that, it was 5-3 in favor of the Cubs.

Coming off the series they had in Beloit, any win at this point is a positive step for this team, but when things aren't going well, wins are tough to come by. Allowing a run to score on an error doesn't help, as Quad City was within 5-4 in the ninth. That was only the beginning, as the River Bandits scored five times in the ninth off RBI singles from Kale Emshoff, Dustin Dickerson, Jean Ramirez, and Carson Roccaforte to close out the 8-5 win.

Ramirez is credited with winning the RBI, which was another disappointing loss for the Cubs. Bateman and Pinango had the hot hand on offense, collecting three hits and driving in four of the five runs. Pinango had three of those RBIs, with Ed Howard also grabbing three hits.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 8 - LYNCHBURG HILLCATS 6 (F/10)

This was a tale of two games for the Pelicans as they managed to erase an early deficit before rallying to win in extras. This was another start to forget for Alfredo Romero who hasn't had any luck this season. Romero labored through three innings, allowing six runs and striking out two. Fortunately, the Pelicans bullpen took over from there as they held the Hillcats scoreless for seven innings to pick up the win.

Apart from one bad inning, Romero had his moments, but in the second, things went south as all six runs for Lynchburg came in that inning. Ralphy Velasquez opened the scoring with a two-run single, while a sacrifice fly made things 3-0. Wulifredo Antunez tacked on an RBI triple later in the inning to push the lead to 5-0, with Manuel Mejias closing out the scoring with another single.

Any time you are trailing by six this early in a game, it doesn't bode well, but the Pelicans did a phenomenal job battling back. Their comeback effort began with a Jacob Wetzel double in the fourth, while the Jefferson Encarnacion two-run shot made things 6-3 in the seventh.

The long ball continued to play a significant role for the Pelicans in the eighth, with Cristian Hernandez leaving the yard for the first time this season to make things 6-5.

Frank Hernandez would add an RBI double later in the eighth to make it 6-6, as this game was ticketed for extras.

In the extra frame, it was the Pelicans capping off their comeback bid with Wetzel connecting for the game-winning RBI triple. Wetzel would come around to score on a Reggie Preciado single as the Pelicans picked up an impressive 8-6 win.

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