Cubs Minor League News: Davis stays hot, Murray homers, Pelicans with walk-off win, more
Photo courtesy: Iowa Cubs

Cubs Minor League News: Davis stays hot, Murray homers, Pelicans with walk-off win, more
by - Senior Writer - Thu May 16 10:34:22 GMT-05:00 2024

The Cubs Minor League system has struggled to win the past two weeks as it continues to go through the motions. Sure, there have been plenty of competitive games, but unless the wins start following those games, it won't matter.

After another 2-3 showing on Wednesday, the Cubs continue to struggle to win games consistently, which is frustrating given the overall talent in the system.

SYRACUSE METS 4 - IOWA CUBS 3 (F/6)

Mother Nature wasn't too kind to the Cubs on Wednesday, as there was steady rain from the first pitch on. Early on, the conditions were decent enough to try and push through, but by the end, there was no way this game could've been completed, so the decision was made to call it in the sixth, with the Mets getting the win.

Thomas Pannone was the tough-luck loser for the Cubs as he went all five innings, allowing four runs and striking out five, and his ERA now stands at 3.13. Mike Vasil took the ball against him and pitched five innings, allowing three runs and striking out three to secure the win.

All of the runs Vasil allowed came in the second inning, and they came off a pair of homers, with Brennen Davis connecting for a two-run blast while BJ Murray Jr added a solo shot. Davis has been one of the Cubs' best hitters for the past week or so, and he is starting to look like the 2021 version that everyone fell in love with.

Immediately after grabbing the lead, the Cubs gave it right back, as Mike Brosseau opened the scoring for the Mets with an RBI double. Later in the same inning, it was their turn to play long ball, as Yolmer Sanchez connected for a two-run shot to make this a 3-3 game.

That score would hold until the bottom of the fifth when Hayden Senger took Pannone deep for the Mets' second homer, which was the winning run in their 4-3 victory.

TENNESSEE SMOKIES 4 - ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 1

Looking to bounce back after their series-opening loss, the Smokies picked up a strong pitching performance across the board while their offense did enough to win. Led by Chris Kachmar and his brief, but strong outing, the Smokies pitching set the tone as they struck out 13 men in the win.

Kachmar allowed one run in his three-plus innings on the mound, which came on a Tucker Flint single in the first to put Rocket City up 1-0.

After that, it was all Smokies, as they ended the game with four unanswered runs. Three of those runs came in the fourth, with Luis Verdugo tying things up with an RBI single before a pair of wild pitches led to the other two runs.

Tennessee added their final run of the game on a sixth-inning fielder's choice as the Smokies picked up another win. Verdugo led the offense with two hits and an RBI, with James Triantos also having two hits.

You also saw Ethan Roberts continue his rehab from Tommy John as he walked two in 2/3 scoreless frames.

FORT WAYNE TIN CAPS 3 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 2

It was a rare pitcher's duel in High-A as the Cubs and Tin Caps were locked into a great one. With extra innings on the horizon, the Tin Caps had other plans as they pushed across the winning run off Mitchell Tyranski in the bottom of the ninth to walk off the Cubs.

Aaron Perry and Tyler Santana started things off on the mound for the Cubs and delivered strong outings. The duo combined for seven two-run innings. Considering that Jagger Haynes gave Fort Wayne six shutout innings, their performance was crucial, as they managed to keep things close throughout.

This was a scoreless game until the fourth when Brian Kalmer delivered the first blow with an RBI single. The Tin Caps would tie things up in the bottom of the fourth, only to have Casey Opitz put the Cubs back in front in the fifth with his third homer of the season. That homer would be the last of the runs for the Cubs offense as it would come down to their pen again.

For the most part, the Cubs pen did their job, with Nerwilan Cedeno tying things up with an RBI single in the seventh. That was the only run they would have off the pen until the ninth when Devin Ortiz connected for the walk-off RBI double.

Kalmer paced the offense with two hits and his RBI, with Brett Bateman adding two more hits to his name.

MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 6 - FREDERICKSBURG NATIONALS 5

For the second day in a row, there was some late-game in the Cubs system, and once again, it was a Cubs affiliate coming out on top. This time, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans raced out to an early lead only to be forced to rally late for the win.

Mason McGwire has taken his bumps this season, but Wednesday was a step in the right direction for the young righty. McGwire threw a season-high four innings, allowing three runs and striking out four. Even better news, he didn't walk a man, which was an issue for him in his first few starts. McGwire gave way to the bullpen, where Marino Santy and Nico Zeglin took over, and Zeglin got the win.

Opposing McGwire on the mound was Bryan Polanco, who also pitched four innings but was charged with five earned runs. One of the hottest hitters in the Carolina League has been Leonel Espinoza, and that trend continued as his first-inning homer gave the Birds a 1-0 lead. Homers played a role in all of the early offense, with Caleb Farmer tying things up with a long ball in the second before Wally Soto put the Pelicans in front 3-1 after two.

Like in the second inning when the Pelicans grabbed the lead for the first time, the Nationals had an answer for the Soto homer, with one of their own as Brandon Pimentel connected for a two-run shot to tie things up 3-3. Not to be outdone, the Pelicans continued to keep the pressure on as the Miguel Pabon single gave the Pelicans the 4-3 lead, with an Espinoza double pushing the lead to 5-3.

It was a lead that the Pelicans would hold until late as a sacrifice fly made things 5-4 in the seventh before the Nathaniel Ochoa double off Zeglin brought things back to even and saw this game on the brink of extras. That was until the Pelicans came to bat for the last time, as the game-winning Christopher Paciolla fielder's choice gave the Pelicans a 6-5 walk-off win.

ACL ANGELS 10 - ACL CUBS 5

Treated to a rare Rookie League game on Wednesday, the Cubs came out on the losing end as they were doubled up by the Angels 10-5. Most of the Angels damage came in two innings as they scored nine times in the first and sixth innings with six of those runs coming in the first off Miguel Cruz.

Cruz struggled right from the jump, allowing a two-run double to Victor Rodriguez to start things off, while the Raudi Rodriguez single made things 3-0. Cruz also uncorked three wild pitches, which led to three runs as the Cubs were in a massive hole. Over the next two innings, you saw the Cubs start to battle back with an Albert Gutierrez double, making things 6-2 in the second and an error leading to two more runs in the third.

After Raudi Rodriguez added a homer to make things 7-4, Carter Trice got that run right back as his sacrifice fly kept the Cubs in it 7-5. That was until the bottom of the sixth when the Angels offense got rolling again to push across three more runs as the Edgar Alfonso triple and Rio Foster homer closed out the scoring in the 10-5 Angels win.

INDEPENDENT BALL

LAKE COUNTY DOCKHOUNDS 4 - CHICAGO DOGS 3

For the second game in a row, it was the Dogs on the short end of the stick falling to Lake County. Jason Bilous looked sharp at times in his 4 1/3 inning as he struck out six and allowed three runs. He opposed John Swanda, who got through five innings while striking out eight.

Most of the Dockhounds damage came on one swing as the three-run Josh Altmann homer put Lake County in front 3-0 in the fourth. Chicago got two of those runs back in the fifth off a Brantley Bell homer before a Pavin Parks RBI groundout tied things up in the sixth. Lake County pushed across the winning run in the eighth as Cesar Izturis JR delivered the game-winning single.

WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS 7 - FLORENCE Y'ALLS 6 (F/11)

In a much more exciting game, the Thunderbolts evened up their series with an impressive 11-inning win. This had a little bit of everything, including a three-run first inning by the Yalls off of Taylor Sugg to open up an early lead.

Hank Ziesler opened the scoring with a two-RBI triple before coming home on the Zade Richardson sacrifice fly. It took Windy City four innings to break through, but in that inning, they scored three times to tie things up. Ethan Lopez continued his hot start with another RBI hit, and Cam Phelts followed up with one of his own.

Phelts also benefitted from a wild pitch, which led to the tying run scoring.

Trailing 4-3 in the fifth, Joe Encarnacion tied things up with an RBI double before the JJ Figueroa homer put the Thunderbolts in front 5-4.

They would hold that lead until late until the eighth inning Brian Fuentes double tied things up and forced extras. In the extra frame, both teams pushed across a run in the 10th, sending the game into the 11th. Taylor Batter would make sure things didn't go any farther as he connected for the walk-off homer to lift Windy City to the 7-6 win.

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