Cubs Minor League News: Alzolay with impressive rehab start, Davis to South Bend, more |
This Monday is a bit of a somber column as it marks the final day for Rookie League Monday. Yes, with their season ending on Tuesday, this is the last day where the Rookie Leagues will take center stage as all the attention will shift to the full-season leagues starting Wednesday.
The next two days are vital to watch if you are a fan of the minor league system, as you will see a steady influx of minor league players promoted through the system. That includes guys like Pedro Ramirez, Cristian Hernandez, Rafael Morel, and Brennen Davis, as they could all land with different teams in the organization to help them win.
Despite the loss on Monday, where the Giants scored six times in the final two innings, it was a massive day for them and the Cubs organization. First, it was revealed that Brennen Davis was on the way out of Mesa and would be joining South Bend for the next step in his rehab process. Hi Brennen! ??@BrennenDavis__ #ItsDifferentHere pic.twitter.com/aCZOjzLA2o
Expect a few other guys to link on with different teams within the organization in the coming weeks as they gear up for the final stretch of games. Perhaps more importantly than the Davis news was the return of Adbert Alzolay, who made his first pitching appearance of the season and got the start. Alzolay was impressive on the mound allowing just one run on three hits in three innings while striking out four. I expect him to get additional work with Arizona this week before potentially heading out to Iowa for a few weeks and maybe Chicago by season's end. #cubs @adbert29 rehab start in #ACL game at Papago Park. pic.twitter.com/vjZM3inUV7 Even though he allowed a run, the Cubs put him in a position to win, with Reggie Preciado talking a bases-loaded walk in the first to make things 1-0, while the Haydn McGeary groundout put the Cubs in front 2-0. The lone run off Alzolay came in the bottom of the first when Logan Wyatt picked up an RBI single to make things 2-1. The game stayed like that until the fifth inning when the Matt Higgins RBI single tied things up 2-2 while the Derwin Laya sacrifice fly put the Giants in front 3-2. Not about to go down quietly, Cristian Hernandez tied things up with an RBI groundout in the sixth, only to see the Giants score four times in the bottom of the sixth to pull away 7-3. Laya delivered the knockout punch with a three-run shot. 2022 20th-round pick Ke'Shun Collier led the way for the offense as he collected two hits. Preciado added one and was joined by Pedro Ramirez, Miguel Fabrizio, Preciado, and Michael Hermosillo, who finally returned to the field.
It has been a long season for the DSL teams as the DSL Red squad is sitting with a 21-38 record. That includes a tough-luck loss to the Braves on Monday as their season couldn't end soon enough. Take away the rough outing from Wilme Mora, who allowed three runs in 2 1/3 innings, and the Cubs pitching was solid as they gave the team a chance to win. The Cubs grabbed the early lead in the first inning as they benefitted from a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead. It didn't last long, with the Braves tying things up on a balk in the second and the Diego Benitez double in the third that put the Braves in front for good 3-1. DSL Red kept things close in the fourth when Lizardo Ruiz circled the bases with an inside-the-park homer to pull the Cubs within 3-2. In the sixth inning, the Braves put the game away for good as Yorfran Nieves delivered the game-winning RBI triple to extend the lead to 4-2. Yodel Diaz connected for a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth, but the Cubs couldn't get any closer. Diaz and Ruiz led the way with two hits and a pair of homers. Andrws Cruz, Daniel Benschop and Erbin Jaque all had hits in the loss.
Apart from a few games this season, the Yankees have been one of the Cubs Kryptonite in the DSL League this season. That continued on Monday as the Yankees used an eight-run sixth inning to take the lead and didn't look back. Eligio Paredes was brilliant in his four innings, keeping the Yankees off the board while striking out eight. He was backed by some early run support, including a pair in the first inning with Jefferson Rojas picking up an RBI triple before coming home on the Jose Escobar groundout to make things 2-0. The Cubs continued to build on their lead in the fourth when Daniel Ferreira picked up an RBI double before Rojas stole home in the fifth to make things 4-0. That was when the Yankees offense came to life as they erupted for eight runs in the sixth inning to make things 8-4. Enmanuel Tejada put the Yankees on the board with an RBI triple, while a wild pitch and an error made things 4-4. Add in the John Cruz triple to make things 5-4, but the Joel Mendez homer proved to be the game-winning hit as he extended the lead to 8-4. Looking to battle back in the seventh, Escobar picked up an RBI single before the Josefrailin Alcantara ground out pulled the Cubs to within 8-6. That would be as close as they would get as the Yankees would add a pair of runs later off the Fidel Montero double in the seventh and the Juan Sanchez homer in the eighth. Rojas had a massive day at the plate, picking up four hits and an RBI to lead the offense. Raul Guzman added two hits from the leadoff role, with five other players picking up one hit.ACL GIANTS 7 - ACL CUBS 3
DSL BRAVES 4 - DSL CUBS RED 3
DSL YANKEES 10 - DSL CUBS BLUE 6
